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. Michael Frayn not only succeeded, he actually got better—a devoted follower could watch him exploring his way into a tricky form until he had the confidence to lash out with one of those superbly accurate pieces of social criticism for which one either loves or hates him. The Day of the Dog contains the best of these, and may come as a surprise to those who are not already with it, Fraynwise. Michael Frayn actually holds a handful of opinions, and doesn't care if people discover the shameful fact, nor whether his opinions are fashionable ones or not. Inevitably, one's hackles sometimes rise (dammit, a man who doesn't like dogs can't be good for much!), but even in the act of throwing the book out of the window one suddenly finds oneself chortling, and retrieving it for another shamefaced dip. (p. 826)
Jeremy Brooks, "Posh Funnies," in The Spectator, Vol. 209, No. 7013, November 23, 1962, pp. 826-27.∗
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