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A review by nwhyte
A Man of Parts by David Lodge
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2915999.html
This is a fictional biography of H.G. Wells, by David Lodge, many of whose novels I read in my early 20s and none since. Wells comes across as a well-meaning and very intelligent chap, not very self-aware, committed to his writing, to his politics, and to liberating women from the shackles of conventional sexuality; this last activity left several of them pregnant. Since it's a novel rather than a biography, it's a bit difficult to judge by the standards of biographies: all I can say is that I was entertained by it, I learned a lot about Wells' life and work from it, and I hope that most of what I learned was true.
This is a fictional biography of H.G. Wells, by David Lodge, many of whose novels I read in my early 20s and none since. Wells comes across as a well-meaning and very intelligent chap, not very self-aware, committed to his writing, to his politics, and to liberating women from the shackles of conventional sexuality; this last activity left several of them pregnant. Since it's a novel rather than a biography, it's a bit difficult to judge by the standards of biographies: all I can say is that I was entertained by it, I learned a lot about Wells' life and work from it, and I hope that most of what I learned was true.