BAD BOYS OF LITERATURE 9

Kingsley Amis

Unlike Houellebecq, there’s not too many naysayers when it comes to Amis’ literary prowess — he was lauded almost universally as one of the greatest comic novelists of the late 20th century, and won several awards, including a Booker prize and um, knighthood. After the publication of his first novel, Lucky Jim, Amis became associated with the writers known as the “Angry Young Men” — a nebulous group of working and middle-class British writers, often characterized by a disillusionment with society. Plus, like any self-respecting literary bad boy, he was a serious drinker, writing in one of his memoirs, “Now and then I become conscious of having the reputation of being one of the great drinkers, if not one of the great drunks, of our time.