Consciousness and the Novel

A fascinating survey of how novels convey our thoughts

Guardian

The abandonment of civilized talk about literature by the ‘theory’ fraternity would leave us very short if it were not for the likes of Lodge, the quality of whose prose and insights, not least because they both come matured from the casks of his own vocation, is a high treat. Leave consciousness to the neurophysiologists and philosophers, and explore human experience and selfhood with Lodge and the novelists, and enjoy

A. C. Grayling, Financial Times

Lodge is a clear writer, wise about things and a careful reader and in general kind even to people who plainly irritate him

Sam Leith, Spectator

He excels when he writes about books. His wide learning and through understanding of critical trends give confidence and enthusiasm to his work

Sunday Times

Lodge’s animating spark is his sedulousness, his ability to marshal the facts, pronounce a judgement and then subtly qualify it

D. J. Taylor, Independent on Sunday

Consciousness and the Novel makes a bright, instructive introduction to David Lodge – as critic and novelist – for anyone who does not know his work

San Francisco Chronicle

Most other critics would make heavy weather of such topics, but Lodge always scintillates

Boston Globe

[Lodge] gives fresh perspectives of fellow writers and an enthralling way to read much of the twentieth-century novel

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