Lodge, David. Therapy.

Therapy is a book that has been on my mind for ten years.  Seriously.  I started reading it ten years ago and then lost it—to my despair.  For some reason I didn’t get my hands on another copy right away, and then I forgot the exact title and author—you know how that is—and from time to time I would remember this book as a wonderful pleasurable read and curse myself for losing it in the first place.  But the universe often rights itself, and I recently stumbled upon the title.  Hooray!  Of course, I finished the book in two days: a) because I loved it b) to minimize the chances of me losing it again. 

I had remembered this novel as humorous, charming, and immensely readable—which it is—but what I didn’t initially realize is that David Lodge is a serious—funny—British writer.  Therapy will not be the last David Lodge book that I read.   I am now a David Lodge fan.  He’s funny.  He’s smart.  He’s a fan of Graham Greene.  What more can I ask for?   Anyway, what isTherapy about, you may wonder?  Well, Tubby Passmore is a successful sitcom screenwriter who goes to various therapies for aches and pains and angst.  That’s basically it.  Well, there is a lot more involving love relationships and existential doubt…but you will just have to read it to find out.