F. Kermode and L. C. Knights were both Cambridge men.
Professor Kermode said the test of a good novel: is it re-readable?
Professor Knights said the test of a good novel is: if I walk more in the world.
I like both those answers. I’m sure the reader can think of more.
It's a good novel if the world inside the novel adds to my internal world.
Contemporary can still stand the test of time.
I think authors prefer to write about the past. Yet great novels of their era feel fresh decades on.
Test of a good novel ? Hmmm.... I think it is the fact that it is not the end but it persuades the reader to enter its world and change the world!