Author: Martin Amis File Type: pdf In Success Amis pens a mismatched pair of foster brothers--one a quivering condom of neurosis and ineptitude, the other a bundle of contempt, vanity and stock-response--in a single London flat. He binds them with ties of class hatred, sexual rivalry, and disappointed love, and throws in a disloyal girlfriend and a spectacularly unstable sister to create a modern-day Jacobean revenge comedy that soars with malicious poetry.From Publishers WeeklyAmiss American reputation is accelerating, and this early novel, published in Britain nine years ago, is appearing here for the first time. It bears his usual hallmarks an irresistible narrative flow, writing that seems effortlessly to embrace extremes of tough verismo and delicate poetry, and a remorseless cynicism that one London reviewer has unerringly characterized as exhilarating unpleasantness. Amiss tale is of two foster brothers Gregory, an aristocratic, self-deluded esthete and sexual all-rounder, and his lower-class adopted sibling Terry, who is as physically uncouth as Gregory is gorgeous, but whose grim tenacity and realism enable him to prevail in the hideous social struggle that is Amiss vision of London in the 70s. This is not a book for the squeamish there is misogynism and racism galore (shades of Amis pere?), an obsessive attention to the messier bodily functions, a prevailing mood of apocalyptic hysteria and a number of comic asides that inspire winces more often than laughs. Amis is a vast talent who seems to have only his prose under control but there is no escaping his ghastly readability, or the way his festering visions linger in the mind. 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalGregory Riding and Terry Service, foster brothers who loathe each other, are the central characters in Martin Amiss pungent novel, originally published in England in 1978. For Gregory, London is a gilded galaxy, an endless whirl of smart parties, tony art galleries, and easy conquests. Terrys life is altogether more squalid, marred by a history of nagging sexual failures and missed opportunities. Inexplicably, success suddenly smiles on Terry as Gregory plunges to subterranean depths. But it is Gregorys story that most engages the readers sympathy. In this unusual novel Amis provides a verbal feast for connoisseurs of fine writing the prose is at times dazzling. But beneath the surface brilliance lies a serious exploration of contemporary life and morals. Highly recommended. Laurence Hull, Cannon Memorial Lib., Concord, N.C. 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. Smooth-talking, sensual and self-deluded, Gregory Riding leads an existence of formidable foppishness, his days and nights a series of effortless, titillating conquests and tireless sex - sister, employers, acquaintances are but co-stars among a cast of thousands to have passed through his busy bed. His foster brother, Terry, has to make do with the leavings as he trawls through life in a miasma of grief, burdened by an unmentionable past and the unlikelihood of ever having a good time in bed. But roles are reversed with both lives dramatically changed, when Success swivels her capricious gaze.

Author: Hito Steryerl File Type: pdf