A great book from the perfect tour guide! - Rated 
This book originated in the early 1990's when David Lodge was invited by the Independent on Sunday to contribute a series of weekly articles in which he chose a literary topic (such as Beginnings, Mystery, A Sense of Place, Allegory or Endings) and illustrated this with one or two short extracts from relatively well-known novels.
The constraint of a short weekly newspaper column has demanded that Lodge restricts his comments and analysis to the most significant elements of the passages that he has chosen.
As Lodge is not only a highly successful novelist in his own right, but also was a lecturer and professor in English Literature at Birmingham University for almost 30 years, you will be hard pressed to find a more knowledgeable, entertaining or lucid guide to accompany you through some of the landmark works of English fiction, regardless of whether you are an aspiring writer or simply wish to understand how literature works.
A quick read for plenty of knowledge - Rated
I borrowed this from school, which was using it as part of a course (I'm not sure what course).
I took me 5 days to read the whole thing, because I had little time on my hands, but I could have read the entire thing in a day - it's so entertaining and you can't put it down, which is rare (for me at least) in a non-fiction book.
With excellent examples starting each short chapter (around 5 pages at MOST in each chapter), one is introduced to new texts and techniques.
I personally found it most helpful for recognising techniques and having a wide range of literary knowledge stashed away for my upcoming English Advanced Extension Award exam.
If you're studying for an exam with an "unseen" portion or for the AEA, I highly recommend it. You can dip in and out or read the whole thing.
Another excellent book by David Lodge.
Get it? Got it. GOOD! - Rated
This is a brilliant book. Elegantly written and erudite without ever being boring. I love it. You can read it like a novel, almost, from beginning to end without losing your way, or you could dip in to it as and when. My advice is to read it all then dip in. Furthermore, Lodge's insightful commentary on the quoted novels makes you want to revisit the books you have read and read the ones you have not. A real and true education without being patronising. Lovely.
Horrible - Rated 
The book might be cheap but it isn't worth the amount of money asked. I thought I would get an idea how to write a novel, just some insight and advise, and instead I get nothing. The author with great care, talks about ancient books, that are probably very important books, but are of no relevance really to anyone trying to write for fun and in our current century.
I don't need to know who or why someone wrote something in 100 years ago and while Jane Astin was an excellent writer, I don't want to know about her style or what it is called.
I had been looking for some qualified advise what to do in writing a story and what not to do, what techniques to apply and how certain sentence structurs could be used, I do not care to know how ancient English worked.
Therefore, while the book is most certainly well researched and if there is an interest in how or why some writers from a long time ago chose to write in a certain way, then I would recommend it but otherwise, it is a waste of money.
No valid points I can use for myself, just grief that I have wasted my money on it.
And I never leave any comments like this but this time, I felt I really had to.
Indispensable for the novelist - Rated
Terms are bandied around for different forms of novel writing, and you dismiss them as 'jargon', or perhaps 'gobbledegook', and move on. It's only when you've actually written a novel that doesn't fit the standard genre - historical, fantasy, adventure, thriller, etc - that you wish you'd paid more attention. If you've completed writing such a book without having recourse to the Art of Fiction, you'll need it at this point, otherwise you might be excused for thinking you've ploughed a completely new literary furrow. So, before you start preparing your witty acceptance speech on winning the Booker, do read David Lodge and you'll learn that someone famous has been there before you and that, in some cases, they have been lauded and slated by the critics in equal proportions.
You'll learn about Magic Realism, Stream of Consciousness, The Reader in the Text, Teenage Skaz etc etc. There's much in the Art of Fiction for the more orthodox writer, too. His essays are beautifully written, very clear and he uses well-known illustrative texts. I can thoroughly recommend this one for the discerning writer and reader.
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