- Published: 31 July 2013
- ISBN: 9781446418161
- Imprint: Vintage Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 1008
The Life of Kingsley Amis
- Published: 31 July 2013
- ISBN: 9781446418161
- Imprint: Vintage Digital
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 1008
A portrait of great complexity that is both an exhilarating and a melancholy read
Carlo Gebler, Irish Times
Elegantly organised, lovingly detailed, and - how could it not be? - eruptively funny, Zachary Leader's book is hard to put down
Christopher Bray, New Statesman
In Zachary Leader, who has edited the letters, he has an omniscient biographer, who relentlessly truffles out parallels with Amis's life in every novel
Valerie Grove, The Times
Leader edited Amis's Letters, and this biography is in its way superb. Well-written, balanced... it makes sensible connections between the novels and the life
Christopher Hudson, Evening Standard
Leader has surpassed himself... he gives us not only the man, but also his milieu; he gives us not only the compelling virtues but also the staggering flaws. This is the best biography I have read for ages: deeply researched, crisply written and beautifully judged
Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph
Leader is authoritative, erudite, steeped in his sources and balanced in his judgements
Scotland on Sunday
Marvellous...I ought to say that this book is 200 pages too long, but as I enjoyed almost every word of it, I can't
Ferdinand Mount, Spectator
Marvellous...It has become a fashion to denounce long biographies as telling us more than we need to know, but Leader's is a triumphant vindication of its 900-plus pages. It's a pleasure to read, and the accumulation of detail gives a real sense of a life being led
Jeremy Lewis, Independent
Mr Leader's style and approach are unfussy and effective... Exhaustively researched, it is likely to be definitive
Economist
This is a book of true stature about a complex talent. Few literary biographies can match it for depth and intimacy
John Carey, Sunday Times
Unsurprisingly in a biography of this size, he really has left no stone unturned
Lesley McDowell, Scotsman
Very thorough and very straight-talking. It's also very clear in its aims...He displays the facts of each matter plainly, allowing the reader to deliver their own praise and blame, and counterbalances them with his attention to the work. It's an impressively well-judged response
Andrew Motion, Guardian