Lying together marks the end (one hopes) of a sequence of novels D.M. Thomas began in 1983 with Ararat. Now called in its entirety 'Russian Nights', the sequence has been a fluid thing. At various points Thomas projected a trilogy and a quartet. In the event, 'Russian Nights' has turned out to be five novels long. Five novels too long, some might say. Thomas admits in his preface that 'I kept changing my mind about whether the work was finished. I should have realised that an author does not decide this; the work itself decides, by suddenly letting go - as it has now done.'

LRB 16 August 1990 | PDF Download