Amis And Son: Two Literary Generations

by Neil Powell

Amis & Two Literary Generations [Hardcover] Powell, Neil

Genres: Biography

429 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Dan Honeywell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy anything about Kingsley Amis so I was happy to see and read this book. However, in this case, the author respects Kingsley but doesn't like Martin. Further, the title and cover imply that this is a study and comparison of the writing when it was more of a biography in the Kingsley section and a criticism in the Martin section. And most of what is in the Kingsley section can be found in The Life of Kingsley Amis.

The book jumps all over the place. There were places where its going into something and then it seems like it prematurely goes on to another topic.

I agreed with some of the criticism in the Martin section but I felt like I was reading something by someone who has an ax to grind. Then the book came to an abrupt end.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) This is not really a biography. I think it's more accurately described as a chronological literary critique of both authors' life outputs, with the biographical narratives as secondarily important.

2) The book is lopsided - there's much more about Kingsley than Martin.

3) Neil Powell is mystifying, he should probably have a biographer of his own.

4) He seems at times much too fixated on the diction of random scraps in the archive

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began by quite enjoying this book: Powell’s prose was crisp, his overview of Kingsley Amis’s intermeshed personal and writing life informed and perceptive, and his touch as a critic and quasi-biographer sympathetic. About halfway through - with Amis Snr’s life basically a static variation on a theme of eat, sleep, abuse alcohol, bash out another vaguely embittered novel - Powell simply enumerates said novels and plot synopses stand in for critical or informed writing. Kingsley and Martin’s stories don’t play out in parallel, so once Powell finally deigns to consider Amis Jnr (he gets about a hundred of the book’s 375 pages) it entails a lot of chronological doubling back and repetition. Nor does it allow for any useful o focused compare and contrast between father and son. Damningly, it becomes apparent very quickly that Powell doesn’t like Martin Amis’s writing, which raises the question: why not then confine the book simply to Kingsley’s life and work? It also shows up Powell’s prissy and provincial sensibilities, and the fact that he shrugs off not only Kingsley’s all too evident bigotry and the casual sexism and racism of his bezzie mate Philip Larkin, yet works himself into affronted rage over Martin’s co-option of colloquialism and Americanisms to create a literary style all his own, says a lot more about Powell than his subjects.

[Sanjay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-informed and opinionated, and therefore almost always interesting -- but Martin Amis puts in an appearance only in the last 100 or so pages, and the author's clear dislike for his work makes for a disappointing ending. Moreover, one would have thought a compare-and-contrast approach to father and son's work throughout would have worked better than a linear progression and evaluation.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting comparison of the lives and writing of two very successful novelists. On balance and reflection the father is less irritating in print than the son...

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of either Kingsley or Martin Amis this may not be the book for you. What is so perplexing is that Powell has written a kind of biography of both authors, mainly concerned with their literary output, but is apparently a fan of neither. And he really doesn't like Martin's books. I have read 12 of those & mostly enjoyed them, but only 1 of his father's. But I still found this to be immensely enjoyable, which probably says something about its author's ability to tell his tale(s). If you are into English 2oth century literature you might also find much to enjoy.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably would have enjoyed this more if I’d read more of Kingsley’s books, as along with a biography the author offers an interesting literary critique of Kingsley’s work. Poor Martin gets a serve though.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this an extra star just because I'm a Kingsley Amis enthusiast and it's always entertaining to read about him and his books. It's not a bad book, but tends to dwell on some things a little long and pretty much skim over others ("Ending Up", which is an amazing book, doesn't get looked at for long). The author has pretty decent taste, seeming to like "Lucky Jim", "Take A Girl Like You", "Girl, 20", and "The Old Devils" the best. The title is a little odd, since the bulk of the book is about Kingsley rather than Martin, and he only comes in, in any detail, at the end.