http://blog.booklistonline.com/2006/10/17/again-with-the-bragging/ Behind the Book Reviews--The Official Blog of Booklist Online Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:43:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 http://blog.booklistonline.com/2006/10/17/again-with-the-bragging/#comment-483 Likely Stories » Blog Archive » Love, Gulag-Style Tue, 24 Oct 2006 15:26:44 +0000 http://blog.booklistonline.com/2006/10/17/again-with-the-bragging/#comment-483 [...] The narrator is a man who’s done terrible things and is able to look at them philosophically–a perfect character for a writer like Amis, who isn’t afraid to say anything. (And who indeed may fear the idea of failing to outrage people.) But I do suspect that old age leads us toward extremes of either nostalgia or disillusionment, and the narrator is at a point in his life where there’s nothing to be gained by dishonesty. (Although I find myself wondering why he’s so blunt with Venus, the young woman for whom he’s writing.) [...] […] The narrator is a man who’s done terrible things and is able to look at them philosophically–a perfect character for a writer like Amis, who isn’t afraid to say anything. (And who indeed may fear the idea of failing to outrage people.) But I do suspect that old age leads us toward extremes of either nostalgia or disillusionment, and the narrator is at a point in his life where there’s nothing to be gained by dishonesty. (Although I find myself wondering why he’s so blunt with Venus, the young woman for whom he’s writing.) […]

]]>