An extraordinary, harrowing, endlessly surprising novel from a literary master.
In 1946, two brothers and a Jewish girl fall into alignmen... read full description
In 1946, two brothers and a Jewish girl fall into alignmen... read full description
reviews
Jul 10, 2011
Janet
rated it: 
So far, well-written but not my favorite Amis (Money, Time's Arrow), even with the Russian subject matter (the gulag 1950s, Stalin's death, love and the camps...) For some strange reason it reminds me of Andrew Weiner's The Marriage Artist, love and jealousy in times of atrocity... though that book had a lot more soul. Maybe I'm just too deep into my Russia book not to judge it in terms of what I like in a novel, what I would do--we call that 'the narcissism of minor differences.' While I find
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Dec 17, 2009
R.
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Selected notes from my review of Martin Amis' reading at the Seattle Town Hall in January:
Five Things Regarding the Writing of House of Meetings:
1. "I'm very reliant on the unconscious mind to write, but it wouldn't do a damn thing for me. The book was imploring me to write it. I don't think I could suffer the Gulag. Instead, I suffered the study."
2. "I was gratified when a Russian lady expressed incredulity that I hadn't been (to Russia)." More...
Five Things Regarding the Writing of House of Meetings:
1. "I'm very reliant on the unconscious mind to write, but it wouldn't do a damn thing for me. The book was imploring me to write it. I don't think I could suffer the Gulag. Instead, I suffered the study."
2. "I was gratified when a Russian lady expressed incredulity that I hadn't been (to Russia)." More...
Dec 17, 2009
Alicia
rated it: 
My, what a pretty, pretty book.
When I refer to House of Meetings as a pretty book I am not referring to the subject matter, plot or style of the book. I am instead referring to the lovely way that Martin Amis can string words together to make beautiful lyrical sentences, succinct and inventive turns of phrase and amazing descriptive passages.
Now on to the plot, which is one of the oldest, about two brothers and their love (or lust) of the same woman. Set in a Russian pris More...
When I refer to House of Meetings as a pretty book I am not referring to the subject matter, plot or style of the book. I am instead referring to the lovely way that Martin Amis can string words together to make beautiful lyrical sentences, succinct and inventive turns of phrase and amazing descriptive passages.
Now on to the plot, which is one of the oldest, about two brothers and their love (or lust) of the same woman. Set in a Russian pris More...
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Nov 28, 2010
Jenny
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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/20...
Amis regains footing
'House' is engrossing tale of an ill-fated love triangle, set in the Soviet gulag
Jenny Shank, Special to the News
Published January 26, 2007 at midnight
Martin Amis' brief, deft new novel House of Meetings, features a love triangle involving brothers who are political prisoners in the Soviet Union after World War II. Each evening as I took up the book again, I would think, "back to the gulag More...
Amis regains footing
'House' is engrossing tale of an ill-fated love triangle, set in the Soviet gulag
Jenny Shank, Special to the News
Published January 26, 2007 at midnight
Martin Amis' brief, deft new novel House of Meetings, features a love triangle involving brothers who are political prisoners in the Soviet Union after World War II. Each evening as I took up the book again, I would think, "back to the gulag More...
Nov 14, 2010
Kirstie
rated it:
It's always difficult for me to read books where I don't like the protagonist, especially when the novel is written in first person perspective. This one is sort of like that..I mean, the protagonist actually admits to raping all of these women and being brutish to others while put in a prison camp in Russia. He's tough and yet he's quite human too. This is the end of his life and he's looking back on it for perspective and relating all of this to his daughter as he's hungover and readying hi
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Mar 24, 2010
Vernon
rated it:
I don't think anyone can deny that Amis' writerly powers are extraordinary; sentence by sentence he's one of the finest English stylists ever. He wins the war against cliche--nukes cliche to dust--and I would scrounge through his trash to read his grocery list.
Yet I want to trot out cliches about his books: his vision is keen, incisive, crystal clear...yet terribly fucking bleak. I wonder where his heart is in all of this. So I could say that the blood is clearly infused into the rh More...
Yet I want to trot out cliches about his books: his vision is keen, incisive, crystal clear...yet terribly fucking bleak. I wonder where his heart is in all of this. So I could say that the blood is clearly infused into the rh More...
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Dec 07, 2009
Charles
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With its Dostoevskian anti-hero and its willingness to explore the essence of humanity in the depths of degradation, Martin Amis’ House of Meetings may be the best Russian novel ever written by an Englishman.
In 2002, Amis published a slim non-fiction volume, Koba the Dread, in which he took liberal intellectuals to task for mostly downplaying Stalin’s tyranny in comparison to Hitler’s. It’s a comparison that still weighs on Amis’ mind in his new novel.
The narrator, a Russian More...
In 2002, Amis published a slim non-fiction volume, Koba the Dread, in which he took liberal intellectuals to task for mostly downplaying Stalin’s tyranny in comparison to Hitler’s. It’s a comparison that still weighs on Amis’ mind in his new novel.
The narrator, a Russian More...
Jul 09, 2011
Dan
rated it:
I disagree with people who think Mr. Amis' best work was in the 1980s and that he has been in decline since. They have missed the profound inventions and importance of his "history novels" like "Time's Arrow" and this one. I do think that, yes, "Money" and "London Fields" are better and more successful books, but the history novels are after something much bigger than those two were. Instead of looking at the contemporary west in the traditional critical m
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Mar 09, 2011
Baseni
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"Die Dreiecksbeziehung zwischen einer Frau und zweier Halbbrüdern wird hier beschrieben. Die Brüder könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein. Der Ältere, nebenbei auch der Ich-Erzähler des Buches, aggressiv, Machotyp und durch den II. Weltkrieg zusätzlich verroht, der Jüngere, Intellektueller und in der weiteren Handlung bekennender Pazifist. Die Frau, eine Schönheit, und Männern zugetan, verweigert sich dem ersten und heiratet, wenn auch nur heimlich durch einem Rabbiner getraut, den letzteren
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Feb 05, 2009
Martin Amis has long been frustrated by the lack of outrage at the atrocities committed by the Stalinist regime, which he equates with the Third Reich. (He explored Soviet Communism in 2002's Koba the Dread.) Building on extensive research, Amis attempts to bring the era to light in this ambitious tale of one man's life, in his own words, as a representation of the suffering of millions. Most reviewers found the story engrossing, but, according to the Boston Globe, "Amis has taken on more t
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Oct 28, 2011
Yair
rated it:
I didn't think a book as slim and quick to read as this one could be as powerful and epic as this. Condensing the turmoil and strife of Russian history with a parallel love triangle doomed to the same pain and repeated collapsings, Amis tells a masterful story with a narrative completely free of superfluity, sentimentalism, cliche, and woodenness.
The story runs fast and cuts deep with little recourse to clean cut resolution or apology. Horrific tragedy and the facelessness of sta More...
The story runs fast and cuts deep with little recourse to clean cut resolution or apology. Horrific tragedy and the facelessness of sta More...
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Apr 17, 2008
Lisa
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This is an exceptional book. Written in the first person, as a series of memories and letters to his "daughter", an elderly man in simple, sometimes brutal, terms reveals parts of his life as a Russian male. Spanning the early parts of 20th century Russia to present, as a frame for his life, it's a pithy, witty, sometimes brutal, never ponderous book. I couldn't put it down.
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Sep 26, 2011
Sebastián
rated it:
Es lo primero que leo de Amis y sé que es un autor que me va a encantar, y que es un autor que tiene una particular forma de mirar-revisar-indignarse-mostrar las situaciones históricas como algo enorme pero que hace parte del carácter de una nación y por eso mismo conllevan una responsabilidad colectiva que muchas veces se pasa por alto. Porque esto es algo importantísimo en La casa de los encuentros: cómo, tal vez inconscientemente, el pueblo ruso es de alguna manera responsable por los horrore
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Dec 30, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
Not your usual Amis, and the fact that he does so well outisde his natural settings is one of this books strenghts. The theme itself - life in Stalinist USSR and its Gulags - is one I have a personal obssession with, and have done much reading on. Amis holds his own, presents a brutal description of what life was like for these characters made brutal by the daily struggles to survive - in and out of the gulag itself. Into this he inserts the tragedy of a love triangle between two brothers, both
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Sep 29, 2011
Steve
rated it: 
I suppose this is some sort of continuation of Amis' fascination with Russia under Stalin that started with 'Koba the Dread', and further proof that a reader would be better served by seeking out the source material that Amis perused, rather than either of the books mentioned here. 'Koba' is an entertaining introduction to Stalin's lunacy for the uninformed but adds little to the volumes of existing literature, and 'House of Meetings' serves best as a mild diversion for anyone, like me, who nee
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Sep 14, 2011
Frank
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Simply put, House of Meetings is about a love triangle, set against a background of the Soviet Gulag in the 1940s and ‘50s. That two sides of the triangle are brothers only adds to the depth of emotions Amis explores. The eponymous building was, incongruously enough, a small cottage set aside for conjugal visits to the slave labour camp. Such a concept is so outrageous, it must have been true, and one can see how the author, stumbling across such a fact, might be inspired to research it further.
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Jul 31, 2011
Connie
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This has served as my introduction to Amis. First point: Profound respect for a British writer of a Russian novel. Halfway through I found myself thinking I was reading a quasi-Solzhenitsyn work. Second: The length was not too bad for a first person narrative. Third: Parallels made with the Beslan tragedy was a touch of genius. Even the addressee makes for interesting parallel.
However, I find myself missing the Dostoevsky style (which the narrator dislikes) of pain-loving characters or Solzhenit More...
However, I find myself missing the Dostoevsky style (which the narrator dislikes) of pain-loving characters or Solzhenit More...
Aug 13, 2009
James
rated it:
A poignant, but sadistic story of war and the Russian gulag. This is a disturbing quarry into the mind of a Russian soldier denounced under Stalin portrays the nightmare that is Russia - a nightmare that Martin suggests has never ended and may never end. I believe Politkovskaya would have agreed with that assessment.
I do not recommend this book to those who are sensitive to violence against women. Martin's intent was clearly to show the heinousness of such violence. The protagonist i More...
I do not recommend this book to those who are sensitive to violence against women. Martin's intent was clearly to show the heinousness of such violence. The protagonist i More...
Jan 14, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
I class Amis as one of the best living authors. From my point of view a work of art should always be about more than its central subject matter, and Amis is the master of the unexpected and exciting digression. House of Meetings is ostensively about a Russian gulag in which two brothers have been imprisoned, but could more properly be called a story about the nature of violence (and revenge), love (and envy), and memory (and its unresolved attributes). I read this on a short vacation to Hangzho
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May 02, 2011
La Stamberga dei Lettori
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'La casa degli incontri' è il nome che i detenuti del gulag di Norlag hanno affibbiato a una baracca poco più confortevole delle normali camerate, destinata a ospitare gli incontri tra i prigionieri e le loro mogli o compagne. A quegli incontri è riservato un trattamento di lusso rispetto alle normali condizioni di vita del gulag: cibo caldo, alcune comodità e un po' di riservatezza.
Nel caso di Lev e Zoya, per i quali quell'incontro coincide con la luna di miele, la casa degli incontri però ha u More...
Nel caso di Lev e Zoya, per i quali quell'incontro coincide con la luna di miele, la casa degli incontri però ha u More...
Mar 29, 2010
Grady
rated it:
"House of Meetings" is a jet-powered roller coaster ride. By the third chapter Amis had reached out and grabbed me by the throat. The subject matter is modern Russian politics and the self-sabotage of the Soviet government. This is not an easy book to read; war, casual violence, gulags, betrayal on many levels, government operated industrial slavery, unspeakable acts of cruelty. Nevertheless, one must read with full attention in order to engage the brilliance of Amis's style. Like
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Dec 28, 2010
Scott
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This is the first book by Amis that I have read. I got his name after reading several references to him by Christopher Hitchens. You might have to get your dictionary ready as Amis uses his extensive command of the English vernacular. As an example, just now I randomly opened the book and scanned the paragraphs to get invidiousness, frivolity, recompense, and locution. The storyline itself is about two Russian brothers and the profound effect that Russian pogroms, specifically Stalin's slave
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Sep 11, 2010
MJ
rated it:
This is the last Martin Amis novel I will ever read. Utter pants. I blame Christopher Allen for giving this one five stars and making me curious. Thanks mate.
What is it about? Who cares. Whether writing about amnesiac women, porn moguls, talentless writers, or life in a Gulag, the end product is always Martin Amis. The protagonist (a sixty-four-year-old Russian) is Martin Amis. Amis, Amis, fucking Amis.
I give up. Dude cannot write anymore. I give up, I give up, I give up. More...
What is it about? Who cares. Whether writing about amnesiac women, porn moguls, talentless writers, or life in a Gulag, the end product is always Martin Amis. The protagonist (a sixty-four-year-old Russian) is Martin Amis. Amis, Amis, fucking Amis.
I give up. Dude cannot write anymore. I give up, I give up, I give up. More...
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Oct 30, 2011
Russio
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Thought-provoking tae of two brothers embroiled in a love triangle set against the last 60 years of Russian history. As a window on Russia it is unrelentingly bleak and Amis keeps up his usual quotient of saying things that others are going to find unpalatable. While part of me wants to deride him for this, this is actually much more human and certainly more unflinching than most of his modern counterparts. I no longer felt, as I did with, say, The Information, that he was just trying to say
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Mar 11, 2008
Marianne
rated it: 
Just awful and pretentious. To be avoided at all cost.
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Aug 04, 2009
Bibliophile
rated it:
I thought Martin Amis’s non-fiction musings on Stalin in Koba the Dread were engrossing and beautifully written and his indignation at how the murder and enslavement of millions were largely ignored by Western lefties (like his father, Kingsley Amis) was passionate and moving. So I was quite excited by the prospect that Amis had written a novel called House of Meetings set at least partially in the Gulags of Stalin. A nameless narrator and his brother Lev are each sentenced at different times
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Feb 14, 2011
Oscar
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Esta es la historia de dos hermanos, Lev, el menor, y el narrador sin nombre, ambos detenidos y encerrados en Norlag, un gulag soviético, condenados a realizar trabajos de esclavos en Siberia. La historia está contada por este narrador, ya octogenario, en 2004, en una especie de memorias dirigidas a Venus, su hijastra. Estos dos hermanos tienen en común algo más que el haber ido a parar al mismo campo de prisioneros, también están enamorados de la misma mujer, Zoya, que finalmente se casó con Le
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Jan 31, 2010
Andrea Carolina
rated it:
Si alguien quiere ver mi lado más masoquista, mi lado más victimista, mi lado más depresivo, ahí está Martin Amis. Ah, lo bueno de la literatura, como todas las artes es que mata nuestros demonios o más bien, nos permite vivirlos de una forma ficcionada. Quizá por eso me guste tanto Amis, él me hace sufrir tanto en sus libros… pero lo más triste de la literatura es que uno ya no sabe si sufre por algo ficticio o real, la verdad es que es tan real que eso la hace aun más triste. Formas adecuadas
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Apr 27, 2008
Keerthik
rated it:
intensely violent -- in a psychological manner of speaking. filled with latent misogyny, amazing paragraphs filled with contradictions on aging, children and the aftereffects of the Gulags. an homage, of sorts, to the "banality of evil". at its simplest, story told by a WW2 war hero-rapist who gets set to the Norlag prison near the Arctic (reasons not clear barring being "political") where his half-brother arrives as well. they both reminisce the love and wiles of the same w
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