adrian Ludlow, A Novelist With A Distinguished But Slightly Faded Reputation, Is Living In Semi-retirement With His Wife, Eleanor, In An Isolated Cottage Beneath The Flight Path Of London's Gatwick Airport. Their Old Friend From College Days, Sam Sharp, Who Has Since Become A Successful Screenplay Writer, Drops By Unexpectedly On The Way To Los Angeles. Sam Is Fuming Over A Scathing Profile Of Himself By Fanny Tarrant, One Of The New Breed Of Pugnacious Interviewers, In That Day's Newspaper. Together, Sam And Adrian Plan To Take Revenge On The Journalist, Though Adrian Is Risking What He Values Most: His Privacy. What Follows Is Unexpected And Upsetting For All Of Them, Including Fanny.
david Lodge's Delicious Novella Examines With Characteristic Wit And Insight The Tensions Between Private Life And Public Interest In Contemporary Culture.

david Lodge Is The Author Of Ten Novels, Including small World And nice Work, Both Of Which Were Shortlisted For The Booker Prize. He Is Also The Author Of Several Works Of Literary Criticism, Including the Art Of Fiction And the Practice Of Writing.

though This Brief Novel May Be The First Of Its Kind--a Dramatist's Novelization Of His Play--it Doesn't Present Much Of An Argument For Anyone Trying It Again Anytime Soon. Reportedly Dissatisfied With The Critical Reception In England Of His Comedy, Lodge Has Sketched This Very Readable Yet Ultimately Lightweight (in More Than One Sense Of The Word) Satire Of Our Media-obsessed Age, In Which Once-great Writer Adrian Ludlow Consents To An Interview With Tabloid Journalist Fanny Tarrant. Ludlow's Intention Is To Turn The Tables On The Muckraking Tarrant, Yet, Not Surprisingly, Finds Himself Revealing More Of Himself Than He Had Intended. Though Lodge's Dissections Of Male-female Relations Are Wittily Handled, His Media Critiques Are Rather Hackneyed. And, Although Lodge Has Authored Some Of The Most Hilarious And Enjoyable Comedies Of Contemporary Academic Life, Particularly changing Places And small World, This Effort Reflects A Growing Tendency On The Author's Part To Sacrifice His Considerable Humor For A Somewhat Geriatric, World-wearied Bitterness. One Hopes That Poor Critical Reception Of This Novella Won't Inspire The Disgruntled Writer To Turn It Into A Musical.

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