Beautiful, lush, hard-nosed prose of someone who clearly hammers together and prises apart sentences. Pitch-perfect diction, with the sort of OED, heat-seeking missile accuracy that speaks of dogged talent and workmanship.

However, has the same sort of emotional distance and aloofness as his memoir, Experience. Connects cerebrally but doesn't really hit any switches in the heart or gut.

But oh the prose. ( )

Found it a little hard to follow but enjoyed Amis' writing style. Perhaps the subject matter was something that I just didn't have enough insight into ( )

This is the first book I have read by Martin Amis though I have had him on my reading list for some time. I can therfore draw no comparisons between it and his previous books. I enjoyed reading the reviews by other members who did that. I can say however that Mr Amis is a very fine writer and I found this first person memoir of a survivor of Stalin's labour camps a compelling read. My overwhelming reaction was that he is just such a good writer. I definitely will be reading more of his books.
While the literacy and wit of the narrator may be unrealistic given his personal circumstances (no education) , it was nevertheless brilliant and entertaining. The book is quite readable, two sittings were just right. And I have to admit that the first sitting kept me up a bit late.
I did not find the story of the love triangle very interesting, suffering as it did from the usual male fantasy of a woman as nothing but a passive sexual being upon which they project their supposedly profound jealousy, violence and angst. But after all we put up with that in many great books so it is hard to fault Mr Amis for being traditional.
This is a Russian story, and the narrator survives WWII as a supposed war hero but is then sent to a slave -labour camp above the Arctic circle called Norlag. Later , his brother arrives at the same camp. Their brutal lives are described but this is in the context of their personal relationship and their shared history and the narrator's growing political consiousness. There is direct reference to Russia's leaders through the 20th century and the footnotes are a welcome aid. This is a political novel, a harsh commentary on the repressive politics of Russia, and the book ends with a discussion of Russia's dramatic fall in birhrate, perhaps a rational response to life. ( )

The one good thing about this book is that it is quite readable, I finished it in two sittings (it helps that I find the Soviet Union fascinating -- in a "thank God I wasnt born there" way). Much of the rest often feels good and bad at the same time.The protagonist/narrator *describes* himself as angry, well-read, a war veteran and rapist, labour-camp survivor, black marketeer, technical expert (ie. he is interesting, flawed, multifarious) but what *comes across* due to the writing is a pretentious, literary bore (Amis himself?). The descriptions of the Gulag and insights into the Soviet Union are well put, but there is no feeling in them. Perhaps it's because Amis isnt Russian and it shows: one cant *write* British and *be* Russian at the same time (apparently the narrator's English is so good because he dated an Englishwoman!).The suspense about the brother's letter is felt well by the reader, but there is absolutely no reason for keeping it. Moreover, the contents of the letter are totally and *pretentiously* anticlimactic. The writing towards the end feels confused, and it could be because after the anticlimax of the letter, all I wanted to do was finish the book fast. On the whole, not a bad read, but left me with a "what was the point" dissatisfied feeling, so I wouldnt recommend it. ( )

I really enjoyed The Rachel Papers and early books by Amis. Then the whole world seemed to go off him. I thought I would pick him up again, especially as this only cost a quid in a charity shop. Haven't read it yet though.