Reviews for Therapy

The average rating for Therapy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-25 00:00:00 Timothy Karas I remember this as an enjoyable book. It contains several typical Lodge themes - the contrast, really mild culture shock, between two families & British Catholicism. The narrator works in television and as the novel opens his life goes into a downward spiral. He develops his self-awareness, reads Kierkegaard (and that notion of debate within Kierkegaard's writing is mirrored by the narrator's inner dialogue) tracks down and meets up with his old school girlfriend, who has lost a breast as a risk of cancer (I think she has also lost a son). There is balance between the narrator's comical sex life early in the novel and the tenderness that he achieves with the old girlfriend towards the end that worked well for me. The novel felt satisfying and despite the mention of Kierkegaard above, philosophy is not required prior to reading. It's just one of those things that enlarges the novel when you come across them. I wonder if his use of the pilgrimage to Compostella played any part in the recent growing popularity of that undertaking, or if it is simply symptomatic of that growth?

Review # 2 was written on 2016-12-30 00:00:00 Renate Schenkeli David Lodge is always entertaining, with a great gift for witty dialogue, and is genuinely funny. The writing is good, the insight into life acute as ever. This book centres on an ageing scriptwriter who is successful at work, but depressed, hence the therapy. As his life falls apart, he becomes increasingly obsessed with Kirkegaard, the father of existential angst. There is a cheerful resolution at the end though, which is quite satisfying.