Book Summary and Reviews of The Life of Kingsley Amis by Zachary Leader

The Life of Kingsley Amis by Zachary Leader

The Life of Kingsley Amis

by Zachary Leader

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2007, 1008 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Here is the authorized, definitive biography of one of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century literature, renowned for his blistering intelligence, savage wit and belligerent fierceness of opinion: Kingsley Amis was not only the finest comic novelist of his generation–having first achieved prominence with the publication of Lucky Jim in 1954 and as one of the Angry Young Men–but also a dominant figure in post—World War II British writing as novelist, poet, critic and polemicist.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. This massive, splendid biography bears out Leader's contention that Amis was "a compelling person, a man of alarming appetites and energies, the funniest man most people had ever met, or the cleverest, or the rudest." - PW.

"A fastidious effort to portray the mighty Kingsley in his full glory. " - Kirkus.

"Very thorough and very straight-talking. It’s also very clear in its aims. [Leader] displays the facts of each matter plainly, allowing readers to deliver their own praise and blame, and counterbalances them with his attention to the work. It’s an impressively well-judged response." –The Guardian.

This information about The Life of Kingsley Amis was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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