The Anti-Death League

The blurb on the rear of this edition would lead the reader to think that the book is some sort of mad cap farce. It is as if the reviewer had been told second hand about some of the story elements of this book but they had ever actually read anything bar Amis’s “Lucky Jim” and just assumed it was more of the same.The reality is very different. It isn’t exactly laugh out loud funny, which is hardly surprising as it subjects its characters to: domestic violence, cancer, crises of faith, crises of conscience, professional failure, sudden death, madness, sexual assault, unrequited love, and alcoholism. Even the very last sentence of the very last page throws in one last moment of random horror for one (or more) of the characters.What is it then? It’s certainly surreal and it’s not entirely without some humour. It might come close to being described as being a bit like a British version of “Catch 22”. What it certainly is an insight into Amis’s own then hardening views on religion and his approaches to alcohol and the women in his life.

He's great