Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Sir Kingsley Amis, who died in October 1995, was born in London in 1922. In 1954 his first novel, Lucky Jim, burst onto the literary scene with extraordinary force, gaining him instant fame and notoriety as one of the most prominent of the so-called ‘angry young men’. He went on to write over twenty novels (winning the Booker Prize in 1986 for The Old Devils), and many volumes of poetry and non-fiction. He was knighted in 1991. His last novel, The Biographer’s Moustache, was published in September 1995.Gordon Scott-Thompson, a struggling hack, gets commissioned to write the biography of veteran novelist, Jimmie Fane. It is a task which proves to be fraught with extraordinary and unforeseen difficulties.
Fane, an unashamed snob, has many pet hates, including younger men with moustaches and trendy pronuncation. Scott-Thompson, however, is extrememly attached to his own moustache and not so particular about his use of language. It doesn’t help matters that Fane’s wife Joanna isn’t yet sure what she feels about coustaches, but has decided views on younger men.
Gordon Scott-Thompson, a struggling hack, gets commissioned to write the biography of veteran novelist, Jimmie Fane. It is a task which proves to be fraught with extraordinary and unforeseen difficulties.
Gordon Scott-Thompson, a struggling hack, gets commissioned to write the biography of veteran novelist, Jimmie Fane. It is a task which proves to be fraught with extraordinary and unforeseen difficulties. Fane, an unashamed snob, has many pet hates, including younger men with moustaches and trendy pronunciation. Scott-Thompson, however, is extremely attached to his own moustache and not so particular about his use of language. It doesn’t help matters that Fane’s wife Joanne isn’t yet sure what she feels about moustaches, but she has decided views on younger men …
“A good dry romantic comedy with a distinctive Amis wit. 'The Biographer’s Moustache' is light, funny and splendid in its prejudices, and at times touching in its compassion.”
MALCOLM BRADBURY, 'Mail on Sunday'
“'The Biographer’s Moustache' is rich in shrewd and mischievous social observation. The reader – or this reader, at any rate – shouts with laughter as another pretension is skewered. Amis allows his characters’ graces and strengths to emerge gradually and stealthily; this underlying texture of his writing is part of his greatness as a novelist.”
PETER WHITEBROOK, 'Scotland on Sunday'
“Full of characteristic Amisian qualities: wit, pace, linguistic dexterity, character, thoughtfulness.”
ERIC JACOBS, 'The Spectator'
“Every bit as readable as any of its predecessors. Amis’s extraordinary skill at shaping material and his ear for dialogue seem to be as sharp as ever.”
A.N. WILSON, 'Evening Standard'
Also available in Flamingo: 'You Can’t Do Both'