- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (Jan 13 1989)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0517566494
- ISBN-13: 978-0517566497
- Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.5 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #681,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Amis's American reputation is accelerating, and this early novel, published in Britain nine years ago, is appearing here for the first time. It bears his usual hallmarks: an irresistible narrative flow, writing that seems effortlessly to embrace extremes of tough verismo and delicate poetry, and a remorseless cynicism that one London reviewer has unerringly characterized as "exhilarating unpleasantness." Amis's tale is of two foster brothers: Gregory, an aristocratic, self-deluded esthete and sexual all-rounder, and his lower-class adopted sibling Terry, who is as physically uncouth as Gregory is gorgeous, but whose grim tenacity and realism enable him to prevail in the hideous social struggle that is Amis's vision of London in the '70s. This is not a book for the squeamish: there is misogynism and racism galore (shades of Amis pere?), an obsessive attention to the messier bodily functions, a prevailing mood of apocalyptic hysteria and a number of comic asides that inspire winces more often than laughs. Amis is a vast talent who seems to have only his prose under control; but there is no escaping his ghastly readability, or the way his festering visions linger in the mind.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Gregory Riding and Terry Service, foster brothers who loathe each other, are the central characters in Martin Amis's pungent novel, originally published in England in 1978. For Gregory, London is a gilded galaxy, an endless whirl of smart parties, tony art galleries, and easy conquests. Terry's life is altogether more squalid, marred by a history of nagging sexual failures and missed opportunities. Inexplicably, success suddenly smiles on Terry as Gregory plunges to subterranean depths. But it is Gregory's story that most engages the reader's sympathy. In this unusual novel Amis provides a verbal feast for connoisseurs of fine writing; the prose is at times dazzling. But beneath the surface brilliance lies a serious exploration of contemporary life and morals. Highly recommended. Laurence Hull, Cannon Memorial Lib., Concord, N.C.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bonsai,
By A Customer
This review is from: Success (Paperback)
This early novel by Martin Amis is one of his best.The co-protagonist, office boy Terence Service, is so convincingly drawn that you wonder if Amis actually had a hot-wire into someone else's mind while writing Success. Service's descriptions of london are so poignant you want to actually go and see the place.I think that this mental landscape/ urban landscape thing is what Amis does best. When it works, it works. But when it doesn't it's a disaster. For every truly great Amis novel there's a stinker like London Fields or dead babies. But Success, as far as I'm concerned,is easily as good as anything Dickens wrote (apart from Dombey & Son, perhaps)
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't read it.,
By "gosibro" (Athens Greece) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Success (Paperback)
In a few words, disturbing, over-indulgent, misogynist, homophobic, sadist twaddle. And completely, unbeliavably pointless. (The part were the loathsome protagonist forces himself on his mentally unstable half-sister who then commits suicide was outrageous, how can anyone enjoy reading such a book is beyond me.)
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great "success" on Amis' part...,
This review is from: Success (Paperback)
Let me just say that Martin Amis is probably not for everyone. His ecceedingly dark meditations on British Middle Class issues (think of it as the dark side to Jane Austen) may be either too disturbing or totally irrelevant to some readers. But for those who go in for dark irony in thick layers, and carefully constructed narratives, Amis is probably for you. *Success* chonicles a pivotal year in the life of foster brothers. Terry Service, a "yob", as well as a compelling, gittering pile of neuroses, self-hatred and self-pity who hasn't had sex in months is the adopted brother of Gregory Riding, rich, self-assured, attractive and completely heartless. Terry was adopted after watching his father kill his sister. Add to the antagonistic brew of the two "brothers", unreliable first-person accounts of the year, a decidedly insane sister and some rather biting role reversal, and the book turns out to be a real treat. It's fairly clear early on what is going to happen in the course of the novel, at least in the grand scheme of things, if not in the minutiae of the plot details. It's still a fun ride to watch Amis pull off the expected with incredible panache and some unexpected turns. Trust me, get through the first two chapters and continue reading, it's definitely worth it. What's also interesting is to read Amis' *MONEY* after reading this book. The main character in *MONEY* is like a mix of Terry and Greg (if that were imaginable). *SUCCESS* is a good introduction to the aesthetics of Amis, after this read *MONEY* or *THE INFORMATION*. Then you'll probably be ready for *LONDON FIELDS*.
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