At his best, Amis is a master social satirist, possessing genuine linguistic verve, an unfailing ear and a true genius for Hogarthian portrayals of muddled no-hopers. Not all of the nine stories here are new, not all of them are memorable, but a couple of them, particularly the hilarious States of England, featuring as anti-hero Mal the failed East End bouncer, testify to exactly how painfully, outrageously funny Amis can be. It is school sports day and old Mal, who has run off with another woman, is under pressure. He and his estranged wife are speaking, but only on their mobile phones. Jet, his small leering son, has almost certainly lost faith in his old dad, who has given him one burger too many. There's also the problem of Mal's battered face from a beating-up by some angry opera-goers the night before. All he can do is finally agree to run in the father's race. As soon as he begins to shift his bulk, "Mal felt about nineteen things go at once." Considering Amis has spent so much of his career trying to write like an American, no-one of his generation matches his flawless London street argot. Should you buy this book only for Mal's story, you will still have got a bargain.
Eileen Battersby