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A review by eddie
The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis
4.0
Dear Goodreads
I confess the Amises father & son are two writers I have an implacable, irrational block against. This is the first Kingsley I’ve read & I only read it because I am working my way through all the Booker Prize Winners & I picked up a cheap first edition at Any Amount of Books.
Loved it.
He writes English like an angel. The novel chronicles the misadventures of a group of well-to-do aging 1980s reprobates, with nothing to do but drink themselves silly and gossip idly. The narrative follows their aimless and chaotic existence but is anything but chaotic itself: structure, plot, character, language all as tight as a drum and delivering sharply accurate observation. This really is a master firing at peak ability.
Amis really doesn’t miss a single human frailty to mock, frequently harshly: but there is warmth and human sympathy there as well. A quick glance at Kingsley’s own life will suggest just how much of this novel is autobiographical, and made of searing regrets. I felt the last couple of lines were addressed directly to his ex-wife, but who can really say. This won the Booker Prize in 1986.
I confess the Amises father & son are two writers I have an implacable, irrational block against. This is the first Kingsley I’ve read & I only read it because I am working my way through all the Booker Prize Winners & I picked up a cheap first edition at Any Amount of Books.
Loved it.
He writes English like an angel. The novel chronicles the misadventures of a group of well-to-do aging 1980s reprobates, with nothing to do but drink themselves silly and gossip idly. The narrative follows their aimless and chaotic existence but is anything but chaotic itself: structure, plot, character, language all as tight as a drum and delivering sharply accurate observation. This really is a master firing at peak ability.
Amis really doesn’t miss a single human frailty to mock, frequently harshly: but there is warmth and human sympathy there as well. A quick glance at Kingsley’s own life will suggest just how much of this novel is autobiographical, and made of searing regrets. I felt the last couple of lines were addressed directly to his ex-wife, but who can really say. This won the Booker Prize in 1986.