David reviewed Girl, 20 by Kingsley Amis (New York review books classics)
Review of 'Girl, 20' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Rounded up from 2.5 stars.
Is it possible to enjoy and not enjoy a book at the same time? That’s how I feel walking away from Girl, 20.
I was largely entertained by this, the first novel by Kingsley Amis I’ve read, but couldn’t help feeling that I was missing something overall. The characters are interesting but are all despicable to differing degrees. The story is great in the beginning and feels like it’s building toward something, but nothing really happens. The language is beautiful and meticulously constructed, but ultimately is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
As a music professor, I truly appreciated the realism of the classical musicians in this novel. Believe it or not, we all really do talk like that. And as everyone says, it’s impossible to not see Leonard Bernstein in Sir Roy Vandervane. All in all, however, I was left with a …
Rounded up from 2.5 stars.
Is it possible to enjoy and not enjoy a book at the same time? That’s how I feel walking away from Girl, 20.
I was largely entertained by this, the first novel by Kingsley Amis I’ve read, but couldn’t help feeling that I was missing something overall. The characters are interesting but are all despicable to differing degrees. The story is great in the beginning and feels like it’s building toward something, but nothing really happens. The language is beautiful and meticulously constructed, but ultimately is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
As a music professor, I truly appreciated the realism of the classical musicians in this novel. Believe it or not, we all really do talk like that. And as everyone says, it’s impossible to not see Leonard Bernstein in Sir Roy Vandervane. All in all, however, I was left with a big fat ambivalent “meh” as I finished the last page. Too bad.