Michael Frayn Summary

Michael Frayn is a satirist who has moved from newspaper columns to novels to television productions to stage plays. Judging from the critical responses, he seems to have conquered each medium. His pl... Read more

Michael Frayn's versatility has prevented his full recognition in any of the areas he has worked in during a forty-year career: novelist, comic novelist, lay philosopher, humorist, translator of class... Read more

Critical Essay by Jeremy Brooks It can't be easy to write even a weekly funny column. To be constructively funny—i.e., satirical—three times a week would seem an impossible task.... Read more

Critical Essay by Leonie Caldicott 'And this is what the product is all about,' declares [John Garrard] at the end of Make and Break, swinging round the final section of his firm'... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Ratcliffe ['Benefactors'] is a seriously amusing four-hander which takes Frayn away from the richer emotional resourcefulness of (in my opinion) his best play ... Read more

Critical Essay by Anthony Thwaite The pieces in On the Outskirts, like its predecessors [The Day of the Dog and The Book of Fub], have the remarkable virtue, shared with some books of poems, of gaini... Read more

Critical Essay by Julian Gloag There was every reason to look forward to Michael Frayn's first novel with the mouth already formed for laughter and wry smiles…. Mr. Frayn at his best is... Read more

Critical Essay by Pamela Marsh Michael Frayn has been compared to Evelyn Waugh. It is easy to see why…. [In The Russian Interpreter] Mr. Frayn succeeds in a tricky job of juggling deceivers... Read more

In the following review, Worth asserts that Frayn proves himself a master of the stage farce with Noises Off. “Is God?”, asks Professor George Moore in Stoppard's Jumpers. ... Read more

In the following review, Eder extols the strengths of A Landing on the Sun, calling the book a satirical examination of bureaucracies, academic institutions, and the differences between men and women.... Read more

In the following review, Reading offers a positive assessment of Now You Know, calling the novel witty and entertaining. It will surprise no one to learn that Michael Frayn's new novel, Now ... Read more

In the following review, Raymond observes that Frayn is a clever and adroit writer but argues that Now You Know falls short in its construction, plot, and ethical values. In the effective modern st... Read more

In the following review, Duguid asserts that the strength of Here lies in the play's sense of dramatic immediacy. Many of the jokes in Michael Frayn's new play [Here] come from famili... Read more

In the following review, Lezard judges the stage version of Now You Know as a successful adaptation of the novel, commenting that the play “both raises and dodges issues of openness and secrecy... Read more

In the following essay, Blansfield discusses the themes of work and professional life in Frayn's plays, concluding that Frayn's interest in these themes is based on “a perception ... Read more

In the following review, Brookner evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of Headlong. The journey [in Headlong] begins with a literal journey: a couple travelling north with their young baby. They ... Read more

In the following review, Dunford contends that Headlong demonstrates Frayn's abilities as an intelligent, funny, and clever writer. What would we readers do without the infernally brilliant ... Read more

In the following review, Wood discusses the theme of self-delusion in Headlong, commenting that the book has a fine beginning but loses its momentum when bogged down by the plodding details of the pro... Read more

In the following review, Bien describes Headlong as “urbane and funny,” but comments that some readers may find the academic and research portions of the book to be tedious and uninteres... Read more

In the following review, Fearn praises Frayn's sense of humor in Celia's Secret, calling the work an “entertaining record of folly.” People who claim to have seen God wh... Read more

In the following review, Harper asserts that the strength of Headlong lies in its effective mixture of philosophy and farce. Michael Frayn's current Broadway play, Copenhagen, dramatizes a h... Read more

In the following review, Gee asserts that Celia's Secret is a factual account of a hoax carried out between two friends. This curious little book is a coda to Michael Frayn's successf... Read more

In the following essay, Moseley notes that Headlong, which was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize, was his personal choice to win the award, asserting that Headlong is “a novel of lasting si... Read more

In the following review, Kamine praises Frayn's entertaining, witty, and dexterous prose in The Trick of It, stating that the central themes of the novel include the writing process and the way... Read more

In the following review, Mackenzie asserts that although many of the characters in A Landing on the Sun are irritating stereotypes, Frayn skillfully blends the genres of philosophy and literature in t... Read more

In the following review, King comments that reading A Landing on the Sun is a pleasurable experience due to Frayn's successful combination of seriousness and humor. Since Harold Wilson was a... Read more

Consider the ways Frayn presents Keith's mother Frayn presents Keith's mother, Mrs Hayward in many different ways by his use of imagery, metaphors and irony. From being a perfect, composed lady who ... Read more