内容简介
AgehasdoneeverythingexceptmellowthecharactersinKingsleyAmis’sTheOldDevils,whichturnsitshumaneandironicgazeonagroupofWelshmarriedcoupleswhohavebeenspendingtheirgoldenyears—when“allofasuddentheeveningstartsstartingafterbreakfast”—nattering,complaining,reminiscing,and,aboveall,drinking.Thismoreorlessorderlysocialworldisthrownoff-kilter,however,whentwooldfriendsunexpectedlyreturnfromEngland:AlunWeaver,nowacelebratedmanofWelshletters,andhisentrancingwife,Rhiannon.Long-dormantrivalriesandromancesarerudelyawakened,aslifeattheBibleandCrown,thelocalpub,ischangedirrevocably.ConsideredbyMartinAmistobeKingsleyAmis’sgreatestachievement—abookthat“standscomparisonwithanyEnglishnovelofthe[twentieth]century”—TheOldDevilsconfrontstheattritionofageingwithrarecandor,sympathy,andmoralintelligence.
作者简介
KingsleyAmis(1922–1995)wasapopularandprolificBritishnovelist,poet,andcritic,widelyregardedasoneofthegreatestsatiricalwritersofthetwentiethcentury.BorninsuburbanSouthLondon,theonlychildofaclerkintheofficeofthemustard-makerColman’s,hewenttotheCityofLondonSchoolontheThamesbeforewinninganEnglishscholarshiptoSt.John’sCollege,Oxford,wherehebeganalifelongfriendshipwithfellowstudentPhilipLarkin.FollowingserviceintheBritishArmy’sRoyalCorpsofSignalsduringWorldWarII,hecompletedhisdegreeandjoinedthefacultyattheUniversityCollegeofSwanseainWales.LuckyJim,hisfirstnovel,appearedin1954togreatacclaimandwonaSomersetMaughamAward.AmisspentayearasavisitingfellowinthecreativewritingdepartmentofPrincetonUniversityandin1961becameafellowatPeterhouseCollege,Cambridge,butresignedthepositiontwoyearslater,lamentingtheincompatibilityofwritingandteaching(“Ifoundmyselffitfornothingmuchmoreexactingthanplayingthegramophoneafterthreesupervisionsaday”).Ultimatelyhepublishedtwenty-fournovels,includingsciencefictionandaJamesBondsequel;morethanadozencollectionsofpoetry,shortstories,andliterarycriticism;restaurantreviewsandthreebooksaboutdrinking;politicalpamphletsandamemoir;andmore.AmisreceivedtheBookerPrizeforhisnovelTheOldDevilsin1986andwasknightedbyQueenElizabethIIin1990.Hehadthreechildren,amongthemthenovelistMartinAmis,withhisfirstwife,HilaryAnneBardwell,fromwhomhewasdivorcedin1965.Afterhissecond,eighteen-yearmarriagetothenovelistElizabethJaneHowardendedin1983,helivedinaLondonhousewithhisfirstwifeandherthirdhusband.JohnBanvillewasborninWexford,Ireland,in1945.Heistheauthorofmanynovels,includingTheBookofEvidence,TheUntouchable,Eclipse,TheSea(winneroftheManBookerPrize),andmostrecently,AncientLight.AsBenjaminBlackhehaswrittensixcrimenovels,includingtherecentlypublishedVengeance.
