The Old Devils: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1986 novel by Kingsley Amis}} |
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[[Image:OldDevils.jpg|thumb|First-edition (publ. [[Hutchinson (publisher)|Hutchinson]])]] |
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'''''The Old Devils''''' is a novel by [[Kingsley Amis]], published in 1986.<ref name="Guardian2010">{{cite news |last1=Jordison |first1=Sam |title=Booker club: The Old Devils |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/feb/15/booker-old-devils-kingsley-amis |access-date=8 December 2018 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |date=16 February 2010}}</ref> It won the [[Booker Prize]].<ref name="Leader2009">{{cite book|author=Zachary Leader|title=The Life of Kingsley Amis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6-jZ7FsQUcC|date=12 March 2009|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-49645-4|page=737}}</ref> Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, returns to his native Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend of Weaver's old acquaintance Peter Thomas. Alun begins associating with a group of former friends, including Peter, all of whom have continued to live locally while he was away. Drinking daily in the pub with the men, he [[cuckolds]] most of them. |
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'''''The Old Devils''''' is a novel by [[Kingsley Amis]], first published in 1986. The novel won the [[Booker Prize]]. It was adapted for television by [[Andrew Davies (screenwriter)|Andrew Davies]] for the [[BBC]] in 1992, starring [[John Stride]], [[Bernard Hepton]], [[James Grout]] and [[Ray Smith (actor)|Ray Smith]] (it was the latter's last screen appearance before his death). |
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As in others of Amis's novels, the characters and parts of the plot are based on real people and experiences. A poet, Brydan, is a thinly disguised parody of [[Dylan Thomas]], whom Amis once met. Amis had a low opinion of Thomas, calling him a "pernicious figure, one who has helped to get Wales and Welsh poetry a bad name and generally done lasting harm to both... the general picture he draws of the place and the people [in his work] is false, sentimentalising, melodramatising, sensationalising, and ingratiating".<ref>Amis, Kingsley, ''Memoirs'', 1991, p. 133</ref> The novel incorporates a theme of perceptions of Wales in history and culture. It touches on the subjects of old age, alcoholism, marital unhappiness and unrequited love. |
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Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, returns to his native Wales with his wife Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend of Weaver's old acquaintance Peter Thomas. Weaver begins associating with a group of former friends, including Thomas, all of whom have continued to live locally while he was away. While drinking in the house of another acquaintance, Weaver drops dead, leaving the rest of the group to pick up the pieces of their brief reunion. |
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==Television adaptation== |
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It is considered by [[Martin Amis]] to be his father's masterpiece, writing in his autobiography: "...it stands comparison with any English novel of the century." |
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<ref>Amis, Martin. ''Experience: A Memoir'', 2000, p. 258</ref> |
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The novel was adapted for television by [[Andrew Davies (writer)|Andrew Davies]] for the [[BBC]] in 1992, starring [[John Stride]], [[Bernard Hepton]], [[James Grout]] and [[Ray Smith (actor)|Ray Smith]] (it was the latter's last screen appearance before his death).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Old Devils: Love, Lust and Litre Bottles |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0437phj |website=BBC |publisher=BBC |access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The New Criterion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xhQ4AQAAIAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Foundation for Cultural Review|page=9}}</ref> |
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== |
==Reception== |
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* [http://collectibleex.com/#/component/BO.TODA.GB.CEX How to identify and value the UK First Edition on '''CollectibleEx'''] |
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Reviewing the book for ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2010, Sam Jordison wrote that Amis's "comic genius relies so much upon build-up, context and impeccable timing that it can only be fully appreciated in its correct setting... get hold of the book yourself. It's that rare and precious thing—a novel that is a delight from start to finish."<ref name="Guardian2010"/> |
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''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote, "For longtime admirers of the Amis of ''Lucky Jim'' and after, ''The Old Devils'' is welcomed evidence that the master remains masterful, able now to conjoin the mischievous with the mellow. As always, he is an insightful guide through the terrain where what is said is not meant and what is felt is not said, but where much of life is lived."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nyrb.com/products/the-old-devils?variant=1094932325|title=The Old Devils|date=2 October 2012|website=New York Review Books}}</ref> ''The Old Devils'' was considered Amis's masterpiece by his son, [[Martin Amis]], who wrote, "it stands comparison with any English novel of the century."<ref>Amis, Martin. ''Experience: A Memoir'', 2000, p. 258</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Succession box|title=[[Booker Prize|Booker Prize recipient]]|before=''[[The Bone People]]''|after=''[[Moon Tiger]]''|years=[[1986 in literature|1986]]}} |
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{{S-end}} |
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{{Kingsley Amis}} |
{{Kingsley Amis}} |
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{{Booker Prize}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Devils, The}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Devils, The}} |
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[[Category:1986 novels]] |
[[Category:1986 British novels]] |
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[[Category:Novels by Kingsley Amis]] |
[[Category:Novels by Kingsley Amis]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Booker Prize–winning works]] |
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[[Category:Novels set in Wales]] |
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[[Category:Novels about infidelity]] |
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[[Category:Hutchinson (publisher) books]] |
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{{1980s-novel-stub}} |
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[[Category:NYRB Classics]] |
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[[Category:Television shows written by Andrew Davies]] |
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Latest revision as of 21:32, 10 December 2024
The Old Devils is a novel by Kingsley Amis, published in 1986.[1] It won the Booker Prize.[2] Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, returns to his native Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend of Weaver's old acquaintance Peter Thomas. Alun begins associating with a group of former friends, including Peter, all of whom have continued to live locally while he was away. Drinking daily in the pub with the men, he cuckolds most of them.
As in others of Amis's novels, the characters and parts of the plot are based on real people and experiences. A poet, Brydan, is a thinly disguised parody of Dylan Thomas, whom Amis once met. Amis had a low opinion of Thomas, calling him a "pernicious figure, one who has helped to get Wales and Welsh poetry a bad name and generally done lasting harm to both... the general picture he draws of the place and the people [in his work] is false, sentimentalising, melodramatising, sensationalising, and ingratiating".[3] The novel incorporates a theme of perceptions of Wales in history and culture. It touches on the subjects of old age, alcoholism, marital unhappiness and unrequited love.
Television adaptation
[edit]The novel was adapted for television by Andrew Davies for the BBC in 1992, starring John Stride, Bernard Hepton, James Grout and Ray Smith (it was the latter's last screen appearance before his death).[4][5]
Reception
[edit]Reviewing the book for The Guardian in 2010, Sam Jordison wrote that Amis's "comic genius relies so much upon build-up, context and impeccable timing that it can only be fully appreciated in its correct setting... get hold of the book yourself. It's that rare and precious thing—a novel that is a delight from start to finish."[1]
The Los Angeles Times wrote, "For longtime admirers of the Amis of Lucky Jim and after, The Old Devils is welcomed evidence that the master remains masterful, able now to conjoin the mischievous with the mellow. As always, he is an insightful guide through the terrain where what is said is not meant and what is felt is not said, but where much of life is lived."[6] The Old Devils was considered Amis's masterpiece by his son, Martin Amis, who wrote, "it stands comparison with any English novel of the century."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jordison, Sam (16 February 2010). "Booker club: The Old Devils". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Zachary Leader (12 March 2009). The Life of Kingsley Amis. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 737. ISBN 978-0-307-49645-4.
- ^ Amis, Kingsley, Memoirs, 1991, p. 133
- ^ "The Old Devils: Love, Lust and Litre Bottles". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ The New Criterion. Foundation for Cultural Review. 2007. p. 9.
- ^ "The Old Devils". New York Review Books. 2 October 2012.
- ^ Amis, Martin. Experience: A Memoir, 2000, p. 258