Therapy
Penguin Books, 1996
ISBN 0-14-024900-1
Monika says:
Lawrence Passmore, nicknamed "Tubby" (a name he doesn't like)
is in his early fifties, plump, balding, and rather depressed. Even though
he is successful on a professional level (he is a scriptwriter for the
popular sitcom The People Next Door), he is going through a midlife
crisis. His marriage isn't what it used to be, he suspects his wife of
having an affair with her tennis coach, and his own affair with a
colleague from the television station turns out to be a major let-down. In
order to cure his various (psychosomatic) ailments, Lawrence resorts to
all sorts of therapies, from classic psychotherapy to acupuncture to aroma
therapy. He doesn't like to tell people about the latter because it isn't
as highly regarded a therapy as the rest. Only when he meets an old
acquaintance from his youth, his life seems to take a more positive turn
once more.
English literature professor David Lodge is better known for his
satiric novels, notably Changing Places
and Small World. Lawrence Passmore isn't as grotesque a character
as Philip Swallow and Morris Zapp, the protagonists of the aforementioned
books, but Lodge's British humour made me laugh out loud more than once
when I read Therapy. Like Changing Places, Therapy is
set in Rummidge, the fictional counterpart of Birmingham. I think these
rather depressing surroundings must have been responsible for Passmore's
mental state; throughout the whole book, I wasn't sure if I liked him or
not. In the end, I did like him, but I won't tell you why, it would be
giving a major plot point away. All in all, Therapy didn't thrill
me the way Changing Places did, which is one of the funniest books
I ever read, but it is good and intelligent entertainment, something I
can't say about quite a few bestsellers I have read. |
Any comments? Write us:
Monika
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