Sign in with Facebook
W.D. Clarke's Reviews > The Old Devils
The Old Devils
by
by
A thoroughly enjoyable romance in the Shakespearean sense of the word. Lots of proto-Martin humour (though if Amis fils 'goes to 11' in terms of hyperbole as the trope of choice, his père dials it all in at just over a 3, irony and understatement being more his thing than "monkeying about with the reader" [<--as quoted in son Martin's latest book The Rub Of Time]
Lots of talk about the Welsh, and lots of talk about (and actual) boozing: every single chapter seems to have a drink in it, as the old ensemble cast of codgers (who all seem to have slept with each other in the wayback of when) careen through threatened catastrophe, navigate a minor death, and fittingly end up at a wedding, still kicking against the pricks of the horseman and his cold, steady eye.
Lots of talk about the Welsh, and lots of talk about (and actual) boozing: every single chapter seems to have a drink in it, as the old ensemble cast of codgers (who all seem to have slept with each other in the wayback of when) careen through threatened catastrophe, navigate a minor death, and fittingly end up at a wedding, still kicking against the pricks of the horseman and his cold, steady eye.
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
The Old Devils.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
November 25, 2017
– Shelved
November 25, 2017
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 29, 2017
–
Started Reading
November 29, 2017
–
0.0%
"I have an early start to ATJG's Xmas gift to our Proust group (Madeleine Dunkers --join us there!) ...a month off from ROTP/ISOLT!! So I am going to dip into some 20C English novels I've never gotten to (picked this hardcover up for 3 bucks the other day, imagine!), as well as probably some more TC Boyle and Kundera"
page
0
December 1, 2017
–
28.91%
"'They do say fuck off in America, don't they?' asked Alun anxiously.
'I'm sure they understand it.'
'And it doesn't mean how's your father or anything?�
‘Not that I know of, no.'
'...Amazing how quickly the bloom fades on fuck off, you know. Say it a couple of times running & you've got out of it nearly all of what you're going to get.'
'And there's not a lot you can go to later...'
'Well exactly.'
Fun!"
page
85
'I'm sure they understand it.'
'And it doesn't mean how's your father or anything?�
‘Not that I know of, no.'
'...Amazing how quickly the bloom fades on fuck off, you know. Say it a couple of times running & you've got out of it nearly all of what you're going to get.'
'And there's not a lot you can go to later...'
'Well exactly.'
Fun!"
December 5, 2017
–
61.9%
"'Poetry? You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a great big hulking fellow like you. What are your other shortcomings?'"
page
182
December 6, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-11 of 11 (11 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Kris
(new)
-
added it
Dec 06, 2017 06:38PM
It looks like Lenny is telling me to read Kingsley Amis.
reply
|
flag
It won't blow your mind or anything, but Kingsley can sure paint a scene and his ear for dialogue is superb. I shall have to go way back to the beginning and try Lucky Jim soon!
I have Lucky Jim in my pre-currently reading queue, which is pretty amorphous and changes hourly.
Is it a polite queue, a green and pleasant land in which other books hold their spots for them if they have to nip out to the loo? Or is it something more red in tooth and claw?
W.D. wrote: "Is it a polite queue, a green and pleasant land in which other books hold their spots for them if they have to nip out to the loo? Or is it something more red in tooth and claw?"Definitely red in tooth and claw. The polite, unassuming books don't stand a chance. Survival of the fittest.
Yes, that's an excellent parallel. What is your queue like? I assume it's more orderly than mine. I don't exercise enough self control, and the consequences can be dire.
My queue is mostly hunch-based. Books get the tap on the shoulder when not expecting it, but then I may start them only to leave them for months, sometimes years before coming back to finish them (Moby Dick was, stupidly, 10 years between start and finish [well, complete re-start], for example. So no, no order at all. They are not even piled properly.
I know what you mean re. unruly piles. I had a major book purge last year, and as a result my shelves are completely disorganized -- and there are still a lot of books here. I need to try to organize the shelves over break, but it's been more satisfying to read. However, I'm getting to the crisis stage where I'm worried about buying books I already own. I keep hoping to conscript my niece (14) and nephew (17) to help.....
Just make sure to keep the fire hazard rating at "moderate" Kris![I just mistakenly bought a book I already own...the bright side of which is being able to turn it into a gift]]
W.D. And Kris thank you for the book banter from a year ago ! Made me laugh as I struggled to get through The Old Devils and became more and more anxious and pessimistic of aging and the shrinking, insular world it seems to impose...
