The British Museum is Falling Down [Paperback]

Admittedly he does give a good alternative line to a Catholic priest: "Practise some self control: I do," but even this paints the picture of the devout catholic couple having to undergo great sacrifice and suffering ... as if there are no other means (perhaps even preferable ones for the woman) of achieving sexual pleasure than intercourse. The naivety surprises me, but I suppose sex was so little talked about in the fifties that a lot of 'nice' people did assume that sex meant merely the 'act' (part of me feels sure, however, that a lot of people in pre-pill times would have been better at finding ways of 'safe-sex' than today's condom-culture knows). Conversational mores have changed - previously the bible was something social pressure pushed you to make time for, discuss and pursue, but sex was embarrassing to talk about, something of a faux pas, and characterised by much ignorance: now the roles are reversed. Whatever, I can't feel the degree of sympathy Lodge wants to evoke given the knowledge that it's not an either/or of celibacy or conception, of contraception or rare and fearfully anxious sex.

Moreover he doesn't begin to address the uncomfortable notion that just maybe the catholic church does have a case: that it would be no bad thing if society felt that if you weren't prepared to potentially raise a(nother) child you shouldn't be having intercourse; that sex should be treated with a lot more reverence and respect. The denial of consequence in sex is immediately convenient, but hardly morally courageous, or even intellectually admissible. I'm not saying a case can't be made for contraception, I'm just saying that Lodge doesn't seem to acknowledge that some intelligent and sincere people have made a reasonable case against it. Clearly in the last generation there's been a massive increase in casual sex due to the easy acceptance of contraception: whether or not this is a GOOD thing, either morally or even in terms of the ultimate felicity of the individuals involved, is hardly a closed question.

Lodge is a craftsman, and it is sheer pleasure to read his sentences. His knowledge of and facility with Anglo-Catholicism is unique, especially since he can turn it into laugh-out-loud comedy. His characters are well developed and garner your sympathy, and he leaves you with a rare sense of our humanity and shared irony. Again, he is a craftsman, and his writing is superb. This novel is short and especially funny. Don't miss it!

Lodge is a craftsman, and it is sheer pleasure to read his sentences. His knowledge of and facility with Anglo-Catholicism is unique, especially since he can turn it into laugh-out-loud comedy. His characters are well developed and garner your sympathy, and he leaves you with a rare sense of our humanity and shared irony. Again, he is a craftsman, and his writing is superb. This novel is short and especially funny. Don't miss it!