Sign in with Facebook
Ray's Reviews > Lionel Asbo: State of England
Lionel Asbo: State of England
by
by
Ray's review
bookshelves: fiction
Apr 15, 2020
bookshelves: fiction
Read 2 times. Last read April 6, 2020 to April 10, 2020.
I suspect that Amis had a blast writing this. This is an exploration of a violent career criminal who unexpectedly comes into money, often literally (posh bints like a bit of rough).
Lionel is a problem child. His mother first gives birth at twelve and has seven children by six fathers by the age of 19. She is a grandma at 24, and she becomes a rite of passage for local schoolboys shortly thereafter. Lionel has an ASBO by the age of three (anti social behaviour order - a badge of pride amongst some of the chaveratti) and progresses to violent and petty crime, often involving attack dogs which he trains to peak viciousness. Lionel is always on a short fuse, coming across him on a bad day, or an inadvertant wrong look at him can easily land you in A&E, or a wheelchair.
Lionel does have a soft side and he sort of adopts his nephew when his sister dies. He also looks out for his mum, developing a pathological hatred for any men sniffing around her. One poor schoolboy disappears after developing a penchant for biddy fiddling. This is bad news for Lionels nephew as he is, ahem, extremely close to his gran (Normal For Norfolk). Luckily for him Lionel does not know about this - yet.
The characters are clearly meant to be two dimensional and Amis hams it up for laughs (and in truth I laughed a lot), but it is all a bit over the top for me. Hence three stars in the arbitrary marking system I use.
Lionel is a problem child. His mother first gives birth at twelve and has seven children by six fathers by the age of 19. She is a grandma at 24, and she becomes a rite of passage for local schoolboys shortly thereafter. Lionel has an ASBO by the age of three (anti social behaviour order - a badge of pride amongst some of the chaveratti) and progresses to violent and petty crime, often involving attack dogs which he trains to peak viciousness. Lionel is always on a short fuse, coming across him on a bad day, or an inadvertant wrong look at him can easily land you in A&E, or a wheelchair.
Lionel does have a soft side and he sort of adopts his nephew when his sister dies. He also looks out for his mum, developing a pathological hatred for any men sniffing around her. One poor schoolboy disappears after developing a penchant for biddy fiddling. This is bad news for Lionels nephew as he is, ahem, extremely close to his gran (Normal For Norfolk). Luckily for him Lionel does not know about this - yet.
The characters are clearly meant to be two dimensional and Amis hams it up for laughs (and in truth I laughed a lot), but it is all a bit over the top for me. Hence three stars in the arbitrary marking system I use.
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
Lionel Asbo.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Finished Reading
September 20, 2017
– Shelved as:
fiction
September 20, 2017
– Shelved
September 21, 2017
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 6, 2020
–
Started Reading
April 6, 2020
–
32.64%
"Martin Amis is a marmite author - I either really like his books or cannot stand them. This is a "good" one.
Low life Lionel Asbo scrapes a living as a jobbing criminal. His tools of the trade are a short fuse, an ability to inflict indiscriminate violence and a pair of psychopathic dogs. He has a soft spot for his mum, a mother of seven by 6 different men, a grandmother at 25 - with a soft spot for teenage boys"
page
94
Low life Lionel Asbo scrapes a living as a jobbing criminal. His tools of the trade are a short fuse, an ability to inflict indiscriminate violence and a pair of psychopathic dogs. He has a soft spot for his mum, a mother of seven by 6 different men, a grandmother at 25 - with a soft spot for teenage boys"
April 7, 2020
–
41.67%
"LA is a caricature, a two dimensional thug made good with a big lottery win. Hugely enjoyable and I am sure a character that Amis loved writing. Just don't look for anything profound."
page
120
April 8, 2020
–
65.97%
"Lionel, Lionel where did it all go right? Sprawling mansion, dolly bird, flash car. Winning £140m on the lottery helps.
Next - the fall?
Enter stage left Mark E Smith, with his gran on the bongos."
page
190
Next - the fall?
Enter stage left Mark E Smith, with his gran on the bongos."
April 10, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Ilse
(new)
Apr 15, 2020 05:16AM
I like that concept of a marmite author (so far I haven't tried marmite (yet)). Which novel would you recommend to get a taste of Martin Amis, Ray?
reply
|
flag
Ilse wrote: "I like that concept of a marmite author (so far I haven't tried marmite (yet)). Which novel would you recommend to get a taste of Martin Amis, Ray?"I would go for London Fields or House of Meetings, maybe Money as a reserve. Lionel Asbo is up there too, as long as you do not take it seriously.
Marmite. I would steer well clear. From the net
"Marmite has a very distinctive flavor. The taste is so unique as to defy description, but think of a yeasty, salty, soy sauce-esque flavor with the consistency of old engine oil."
I’ve haven’t read Martin Amis for years but did love Money and London Fields. I’ll read this book one day and did enjoy your review, but I have to pick you up on your reply to Ilse ......... a smidgin of Marmite on hot buttered toast is wonderful!!
Richard wrote: "I’ve haven’t read Martin Amis for years but did love Money and London Fields. I’ll read this book one day and did enjoy your review, but I have to pick you up on your reply to Ilse ......... a smid..."OK, its a fair cop - each to their own. There is space in this world for those who like marmite, my wife being one of them.
Thanks, Ray - I have a copy of London Fields so I would settle for that. 'Money' I will keep in mind too.Both you and Richard make marmite sound an adventure. I wonder if the marmite would turn out too disgusting if one could use it for other purposes too, eg for oiling creaking doors. I imagined it with a similar texture like Syrope de Liège, but indeed more salty than sweet...
Hi Iles, in these days of lockdown even Marmite can become an adventure! :) I had to look up Syrope de Liege and it looks similar to Marmite but tastes very different I think :)
Ilse wrote: "Thanks, Ray - I have a copy of London Fields so I would settle for that. 'Money' I will keep in mind too.Both you and Richard make marmite sound an adventure. I wonder if the marmite would turn o..."
Spot on! Other possible uses
Oiling bicycle chains
Wood filler
Insect repellant
Smelling salts (it hums)
Ski wax
The potential is endless
