In Their Own Words: Praise for Malcolm Bradbury

Monday 23rd Jul 2012
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Malcolm Bradbury, British novelist, critic and academic, was best known for his satirical portrayals of the university life he was so familiar with. A dedicated advocate for the appreciation of literature in wider society, Bradbury co-founded the first Creative Writing course at the University of East Anglia. 

Here's some of the astonishing praise that Bradbury's novels garnered, as well tributes from his past colleagues David Lodge and Andrew Motion, and ex-students Ian McEwan and Kazuo Ishiguro. 

Witty and acute, Malcolm Bradbury was my oldest and closest friend in the literary world.

David Lodge


He was a man of immense charm, affability and kindness.

Andrew Motion



‘Satirical brilliance’ Times Literary Supplement on Eating People is Wrong

'Charming, engaging, witty, amusing, playful and reflective' Edward Docx on To the Hermitage

‘Grim wit, chill comedy and a fictional energy which is as imaginative as the tale is shocking’ A. S. Byatt on The History Man

'The work of a master not only of language and comedy, but of feeling too' Claire Tomalin on Rates of Exchange


His artful reticence and his passion for literature transformed my life.

Ian McEwan


He regarded literature, in all its aspects, as a serious matter.

Kazuo Ishiguro


‘The funniest and best-written novel I have seen for a very long time’ Auberon Waugh on The History Man

‘Highly entertaining’ Margaret Drabble on Stepping Westward

‘Brilliantly funny’ Sunday Times on Eating People is Wrong 

‘Explosively funny’ Daily Telegraph on Doctor Criminale

'The funniest book I have read this year' Daily Telegraph on Eating People is Wrong 

‘Playful, smart and entertaining’ New York Times Book Review on Doctor Criminale

‘He was not only an important novelist but a man of letters of a kind that is now rare.’ David Lodge 

‘Eminently readable . . . perceptive and poignant’ Time Out on Doctor Criminale

A satirist of great assurance and accomplishment.

Observer


Read Malcolm Bradbury's own thoughts on The History Man here.
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