by SIMON GRAY
'The moral position of a novelist who undertakes a discussion on the responsibilities of the reviewer reminds me of the man in Dickens who once backed apologetically out of a room on his knees while his fist independently and indignantly continued to shake itself at the remaining guests.'
Mr. Gray's third novel, Little Portia , was published earlier this year. He describes what it is like for him to write a novel, and what it is like for him to write a review.