Thinks is just as entertaining as the one other of his books (Therapy) I read some time ago and remember little of. If Thinks was a movie it would have been "made for television" with a small thread of life philosophy. The essence of the novel is a discussion of what is human consciousness. Is it merely an outcome of normal human physiological functioning (Ralph Messenger, the cognitive science point of view), or something about meaning of one's existence (Helen Reed, the novelist view teaching a creative writing course). As opposite the viewpoints on consciousness so are the two protagonists, the philandering Ralph and the recently widowed and still getting over it Helen. There is an attraction between the two - not surprisingly for Ralph, but strange for Helen, who likes Ralph's wife and enjoys their family company. Through their interactions various points of consciousness are discussed - narrative to make sense of personal experience, differentiating fact and fiction, of truth and lies; sensations, affect, meaning, death, memories.

There are a few different styles in this book which may unsettle some readers. Ralph is revealed through his new thought experiment - recording on tape his reflections of the day, to eventually analyse it to get more insight into human consciousness and help get his work over the hurdle of artificial intelligence only reproducing monkey behaviour, and at best an autistic child, and produce results that are more like normal functioning humans. Helen starts writing a diary to help her get over the death of her husband and to find her writing impulse again. A third 3rd person view of the story is used sparingly and helps the narrative unfold. Overall it did give you the "view from the trenches" of each camp.

The book is full of a lot of cliches and predictable situations and outcomes - the one exception was Helen discovering some facts about her married life. But that is not where the action is - its in the exchange of ideas. issues are raised but not really resolved, so the author needs to "pull a rabbit out of the hat" to bring the narrative to a conclusion, in a somewhat stock standard manner - and that was disappointing as no new understanding of consciousness emerged. Or maybe that is the point of human consciousness - no answers, just a way of getting around.

A good, worthwhile read. ( )

David Lodge's books go a long way to dispelling the myth that university lecturers are bearded relics that sit gathering dust in small offices. Here we have the terminally randy Ralph Messenger, professor of Cognitive Science, making it his mission to get the visiting Creative Writing lecturer into bed. This opens the door to plenty of educational cross-pollination as arts clash with sciences, and yet even the high minded lectures on consciousness etc work, leavened as they are by the laugh out loud humour lots of sex, and a plot surprise or two.

I got the feeling the author was experimenting with styles here - mixing up third person narrative in which the reader has no insight into the characters' inner thoughts with first person narrative and "stream of conscious" narrative (and that last one could be testing at times, until it settled down later in the book and paragraphs were included).

It was clever, it was gripping and above all it was funny: "What it's like to be a bat" in the style of Irvine Welsh was the funniest thing I've read this year. ( )

Entertaining interactions and comparisons between a novelist and a cognitive scientist written at just the time I was on my own CogSci course. Most of the well-known thought experiments and counter-intuitive research findings of the time are included: Lodge also manages to throw in some game theory and quantum mechanics for good measure. Like other books I have read by this author it tails off towards the end though with its characters, after a brief kerfuffle, more or less plodding on as normal. ( )

About half way through the book, one of Lodge's characters discusses "the novel as a thought experiment." That is the perfect genre for Thinks . . .. Lodge has an intriguing combination of three viewpoints. He writes in the first person for each of his main characters, one male and one female, then changes to the third-person perspective from time to time. At a point in the book where I am expecting loose ends to begin coming together, Lodge abruptly abandons his deep conversations on consciousness and introduces a series of new subplots, simultaneously introducing a new pace and sensibility. With so few pages left to resolve his many-pronged plot, Lodge crashes through the wall to his finish line. Thinks . . . should become a classic among experimental novels. Lodge has combined three viewpoints and two genres in a short novel, with a very interesting result. My greatest criticism would be that I was too aware of these shifts in viewpoint, pace, and interest as I was reading. Instead of becoming lost in the characters and action, I frequently found myself muttering, "Isn't that an interesting way to handle that." Perhaps a second (or third, or fourth) read might be needed to sort out my ambivalence. Lodge's "thought experiment" is a remarkable exercise, and although I question its entertainment value, I am certain of its considerable value as a topic of conversation. I think it's one of those rare books that, with the wry wit of the right screen play and direction, would be much better as a film. ( )

David Lodge's book, THINKS..., is a puzzler. (Okay, I'm stealing this comment from a Darwin quote found in the book: "Crying is a puzzler.") I remember being captivated by his DEAF SENTENCE, a later book I read a year or two ago, but this one was quite different. I mean it's good, but I had trouble at times wading through the pseudo-scientific jargon, and kept wishing he'd get back to the "story-part," about the affair between Ralph Messenger and Helen Reed. But it is all connected, so I suppose I shouldn't fault Lodge for including all that stuff about cognitive science and consciousness.

The narrative felt a bit slowed down by all the information about this obscure science, but then really picked up steam in the last hundred pages or so when Ralph became concerned that he could have a terminal illness. I kept thinking, "No! Don't kill the messenger!" Although the truth is, Ralph Messenger was not a very likeable or sympathetic protagonist. The female lead, Helen Reed, was eminently more likeable. But the truth is, Lodge is perhaps one of the most skillful living practitioners of the art of fiction, and, despite Messenger's reprehensible and rather predatory behavior toward women, this was another darn good read.

I was surprised to note in his acknowledgements page that Lodge was inspired to write this book by an article written by John Cornwell, a name I knew from reading Cornwell's memoir, SEMINARY BOY - an excellent and absorbing look at the Catholic Church's 'priest factories' in the 1950s. Since Helen Reed is a lapsed Catholic still clinging to fragments of her faith, learning of Cornwell's influence provides an intersting twist. Or maybe that's just me. In any case, THINKS... is a fascinating look at all the nooks and crannies of what it means to be a thinking human being. ( )