The Old Devils
by Kingsley Amis
ISBN: 0671637045
ISBN-13: 9780671637040
Format: Hardcover
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Summary
Winner of the Booker in 1986, THE OLD DEVILS is considered by many (including Martin Amis) to be Kingsley Amis's masterpiece, a viciously funny, and surprisingly heartfelt portrait of a group of witty and besotted old men and their wives living in Wales. The plot kicks off with the return of Alun Weaver, a washed-up novelist and incorrigible womanizer, and his still-beautiful wife Rhiannon. Alun sets about trying to seduce the wives of his old friends while the husbands find they are still infatuated with Rhiannon. In a typical Amis novel, Alun's acerbic personality would dominate the story, but partway through the narrative Alun drops dead (choking on his whiskey) and the rest of the "Old Devils" are left to make sense of his life, and of theirs.
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Media Reviews
"For the non-drinker the novel is puzzling. Drinking here is not undertaken to outwit the oppressions of the state or to celebrate natural good fortune; it is undertaken for the sole purpose of getting drunk...." -- Anita Brookner
-- Spectator
"The men drink...because there is nothing else to do. Their wives drink also....This is a brilliant novel of great honesty....It is sadly comic and comically sad but, in the wonderful paradox of art, both consoling and stimulating. There is one old devil who is writing better than he ever did." -- Anthony Burgess
-- Observer (London)
"As I read and reread THE OLD DEVILS...I found myself wishing that Philip Larkin-who called Mr. Amis ''quite the funniest writer I had ever met''-could have stayed alive to read it....[It is a] book that, along with its eloquent and wonderfully comic presentation of life's awfulnesses, is very much on life's side." -- William H. Pritchard
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published date: 1987
Publisher's Notes
When Alun and Rhiannon Weaver return home to Wales after living in London for thirty years, their celebrity status and past connections begin to stir up trouble.
Other Editions
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The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
Summit Books. Used - Good. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped daily. Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books. 1987. Hardcover. Good condition, showing modest signs of wear. Dust jacket: Acceptable. ( more information) Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
Summit Books. Used - Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! ( more information) Offered by Better World Books (United States)
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The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
Summit Books. Used - Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! ( more information) Offered by Better World Books (United States)
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4)
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The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
Summit Books. Used - Good. Ex-library book. Rear end page removed. Spine slightly bent. Dust Jacket Condition: GOOD ( more information) Offered by Wonder Book (United States)
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5)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
N . Y.: Summit, 1987. X-Library with normal flaws.....The hard cover and the jacket has very light shelf wear.................We are very careful when we list our books, but sometimes something minor may get by.. 1st. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. Illus. by Cover Art. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard Back. ( more information) Offered by Add-More Books (United States)
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6)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
Summit Books, 1987. Hard Cover. Used:Good/Good. Good In Good Dust Jacket. Ex-Library. Normal Library Markings, Pocket Removed, Stamps, Pencil Markings, Text Skewed, Light Shelfwear. Dj In Mylar, Spine And Edges Faded . 2nd Printing, Sewn Binding. Paper Over Boards. Audience: General/Trade. ( more information) Offered by The Book Shelf (United States)
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7)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
New York: Summit Books, 1987 top rear corner bumped; some wear to tips, corners and edges, a 3 cm open tear, spine faded a bit. A reading copy of the 1986 Booker Prize winning novel. . First U.S.. Cloth. VG/VG. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". Hard Cover. ( more information) Offered by The Book Shed (United States)
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8)
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The Old Devils
Amis Kingsley:
London, Hutchinson, 1986. /Dust Jacket Included. 1986. Hardcover. 0671637045 Reprint, in very good condition in a very good jacket. . ( more information) Offered by Simply Read Books (United Kingdom)
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9)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
N . Y.: Summit Books, 1987. X-Library with normal flaws....The hard cover and the jacket has very light shelf wear........We are very careful when we list our books, but sometimes something minor may get by... 1st. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. Illus. by Cover Art. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard Back. ( more information) Offered by Add-More Books (United States)
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10)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
NY: Summit Books, 1986. Advance uncorrected proof, in yellow wraps, mylar protected. A trace of wear to corners, else fine. Winner of the Booker Prize. . First US Edition. ( more information) Offered by Bruce Davidson Books (United States)
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11)
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The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
Summit Books, 1987-03. Hardcover. Very Good. 1987 4th Printing Summit Books/Simon & Schuster (Publisher; NY) HARDBACK; text clean/UNMARKED; color cover few minor surface scratches (mostly on back)/edge wear w/no tears or nicks; price unclipped; spine strong; NOT x-library; publisher stamp remainder mark on bottom; Not book club; 294 pages + 8 preliminary pgs; 10 parts/28 chapters; author biography (inside) w/full-page b+w photograph (back cover); wrap-around color jacket design by Paul Bacon; Winner of 1986 Booker Prize! gift quality collectible copy of 21-year-old out-of-print hardback. ( more information) Offered by HappyHippy7 (United States)
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12)
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The Old Devils
FREE SHIPPING
Amis, Kingsley
Summit, 1987. Quarter Cloth. Fine/NFine. 4th Printing. Price Intact Remainder. 8vo - over 8" Tall. ISBN: 0-671-63704-5. 294pp..This #1 bestseller in England is the best Amis novel since "Lucky Jim" and is a fun read for Americans as well. It concerns a couple who left Wales for London soon after their marriage and are now returning in triumph..the husband now famous and his wife still has her fabled beauty. Their return reawakens a storm of memories and more. Immaculate. ( more information) Offered by abccbooks.com (United States)
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13)
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THE OLD DEVILS
AMIS, Kingsley
New York: Summit Books, 1986. Advance uncorrected proof. Octavo, light blue non-pictorial card covers. Spine lightly sunned, VG clean copy. Winner of the 1986 Booker Prize.. First US printing. Softcover. ( more information) Offered by Steven Temple Books (ABAC / ILAB) (Canada)
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14)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
Summit Books, 1987-03. 1st US Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. New York: Simon and Schuster (Summit Books), 1987. First Edition/ first print. Fine with fine dust jacket. Tight, clean, unmarked. 1986 Booker Prize winner. Between the loose endpaper and half title page the hinge side has gap but pages are intact and tight. ( more information) Offered by The Parnassus BookShop (United States)
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15)
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The Old Devils
Amis, Kingsley
New York: Summit Books, 1987 Purple cloth quarter bound, on grey paper covered boards, pristine. Dustjacket slightly frayed, bright with some sunfade to spine, brodart protected. Book clean and firm in its binding.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Excellent/Excellent. ( more information) Offered by KULTURAs books (United States)
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16)
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THE OLD DEVILS [ 1st ]
AMIS, Kingsley
New York: Summit Books, 1987. Near Fine in a Very Good or better dust jacket.. First Edition First Printing. ( more information) Offered by Rare Book Cellar (United States)
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