Provocative and fascinating.
Esteemed English novelist Lodge (Home Truths, 2000, etc.) explores the relationship between consciousness and literature.
Intrigued by the way the very notion of consciousness seems to be evolving in an age of cyber and virtual reality, the author focuses here on a wide range of topics that offer perspective on consciousness in fiction. He discusses, among other things, recent theories of artificial intelligence, the historical give-and-take of literature and literary criticism, the timelessness of Dickens, and E.M. Forster’s juggling of the various English class-consciousnesses in his seminal novel Howard’s End. Delving into the recent popularity of filming Henry James’s fiction, Lodge reveals the disparity between James’s in-depth examination of human consciousness and the usually inadequate attempts to replicate it onscreen. He explores the work of the prominent American postwar authors John Updike and Philip Roth, with particular emphasis on Roth’s prolific body of work and daring (or reckless) plumbing of the depths of sexual consciousness. Lodge also provides an affectionate portrait of England’s father-and-son novelists Kingsley and Martin Amis (whose relationship was as special as it was famously troubled), and sympathetically assesses Experience, Martin’s account of the years in the mid-1990s when his father died and his marriage broke up, among other life crises. In a warm appraisal of Evelyn Waugh’s work, Lodge contrasts his own lower-middle-class origins in postwar England with the sparkling appeal of the glittering Brideshead Revisited cosmos, affectionately dissecting Waugh’s precise and unerring comic flair. Finally, Lodge describes the rationale behind one of his own recent novels, Thinks . . . (2001), in which he pursues the subject of consciousness in a fictional form. All of these pieces have the well-crafted tone of an assured master who knows writers and the business of writing extremely well. Lodge offers a kaleidoscopic adventure into the potentially forbidding realm of “consciousness studies,” sticking with familiar elements (well-known authors and books) and skillfully breaking his larger, more amorphous ideas into digestible bits.
Provocative and fascinating.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-674-00949-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harvard Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
IN THE NEWS
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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