775. The Old Devils

The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
1986

Around 380 pages

I'll be honest, I thought Kingsley Amis was already dead at this point. We already welcomed his son on the List, so um, maybe it's time to step aside? I've always found Amis to be a very bitter man. Although he is still winning prestigious awards at this point, so I take it not everybody agrees. Maybe Martin does.

Alun Weaver, a writer of minor celebrity, returns to Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend of Weaver's old acquaintance Peter Thomas. Alun begins associating with a group of former friends, including Peter. So he spends his days drinking daily in the pub with the men, he cuckolds most of them.

As with his previous work, Amis uses fiction to skewer people he hates in real life, like Dylan Thomas. I always find his comedy ineffective and mean-spirited. I wish Amis would go gently into that good night.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker Prize.

UP NEXT: Matigari by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

625. The Green Man

The Green Man
Kingsley Amis
1969
Around 180 pages

I used to frequent a pub in London called The Green Man, which is the beginning and end of my pleasant association with this title. They had vegetarian fish and chips. You don't see that everyday.

This Green Man is located between London and Cambridge, and owned by Maurice Allington, a man in his fifties who lives with his second wife, teenage daughter, and elderly father. His father dies, and Maurice is plagued by sleep issues and the specter of Thomas Underhill, who was the inn's 17th century owner. 

I've never really clicked with hallucinogenic novels, and this is no exception. Amis strikes me as a boorish alcoholic, who bullied his son (#TeamMartin), and for that reason, Maurice seems like a stand-in for Kingsley.  

Parts of this novel felt incredibly unnecessary, like Maurice trying to initiate a threesome between his wife and his mistress, only to be shunted out during the orgy. I guess it was supposed to be funny, but to me, his humor feels mean-spirited.

You'd think a story with ghosts and extramarital affairs would be more compelling, but I was just waiting for this to end. At least it was short.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Adapted by BBC in 1990, starring Albert Finney.

UP NEXT: The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

489. Lucky Jim

Lucky Jim
Kingsley Amis
1954
Around 250 pages

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Kingsley and Martin are our only father-son duo on this List. Apparently ole Kingsley wasn't a fan of his son's works, but having a cold, emotionally withdrawn English father can only improve your writing, so maybe Martin was okay with it. Let's pit Amis against Amis and determine who is the A-plus, and who is the Anus.

Jim Dixon is a medieval history professor in England who has to impress the head of his department in order to secure a permanent position. These attempts are somewhat hampered by Dixon's alcoholism and his romance with the head professor's son's girlfriend. He is also being blackmailed into staying in a relationship by Margaret Peel, who is the embodiment of the emotionally unstable shrew that men are fond of putting on page. I'm not saying these women don't exist, I'm just saying we see them a lot. 

This is a comic novel, kind of a mean one, which makes sense. Kingsley once said "I've finally worked out why I don't like Americans ....Because everyone there is either a Jew or a hick." His personality bleeds into the story, making it unenjoyable for me. He seems like a very bitter man.

We didn't click and I will be sporting a Team Martin shirt from now on. He really could have benefited from therapy.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Christopher Hitchens described it as the funniest book of the second half of the 20th century, writing: "Lucky Jim illustrates a crucial human difference between the little guy and the small man. And Dixon, like his creator, was no clown but a man of feeling after all."

UP NEXT: Watt by Samuel Beckett