The Life of Kingsley Amis, by Zachary Leader
17th Nov 2006, 01:55 GMT
Not long after the publication of Lucky Jim in 1954, Kingsley Amis wrote to Philip Larkin to thank him "for stopping me from being a shit and encouraging me to be funny in the right way". Larkin had suggested extensive changes to his friend's first novel, which had been rejected by the publisher Michael Joseph. Those who believe Amis was never as funny thereafter may draw their own conclusions; those who endured Amis's sporadic bouts of monumental rudeness - often as not inflamed by drink - may wish the shittiness had been better contained.
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