2 1/2* "There was something of the same difficulty with the works: talented charlatanry, or deeply flawed works of genius? Or perhaps they were just beside the point?"* Trying to review this "work" is somewhat like trying to hold onto and evaluate a weighty polished marble sculpture in a dim and misty room, while drinking copious amounts of booze. Kingsley Amis is absolutely remarkable in his ability to twist sentences, omit focus and create a sense of meaning without actually expounding one. I was not able to decipher substantial parts of conversations presented by the "devils" for want, I fear, of sociological knowledge on the issues dividing Wales from England in the mind of the English upper class. I am not able to verify if the drinking habits, the marital habits or the gossipy back-biting behaviors reported in the book are meant to be literal or symbolic. But whether the life and proclivities of the elders depicted in this were meant to be accurate, this reader (and "old devil" himself) is unable to relate to their situations. So I offer the quote above as capturing my gross view of this effort.
* (This work, NYRB edition, 1986, page 230.)