The Old Devils - The Complete Series BBC [DVD]

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I appreciate I am edging round the question of whether I actually thought The Old Devils was any good. Let’s put it this way – I have my doubts. Without question the praise I have referenced earlier in the post is over the top. This is not a classic or a masterpiece or anything like it. Most of the time I managed a wry smile, at best, and much of the time I was bored. The characters are hard to like – Amis goes out of his way to make them unattractive and unappealing, and they are poorly delineated, particularly the women who Amis struggles to distinguish between other than by their physical features.

All sorts of stuff, for instance what had been taking place a little earlier, seemed much as before, or at any rate not different enough to start making a song and dance about. This state of affairs might well not last for ever, but for the moment, certainly, the less it changed the more it was the same thing, and the most noticeable characteristic of thepast, as seen by him, at least, was that there was so much more if it now than formerly, with bits that were longer ago than had once seemed possible. I apologize to any fans of Sir Kingsley (I know there are many) but this one did not do it for me at all. It turns out Alun has relationships (largely bedroom based) to rekindle with most of the primary male characters’ wives, and most of the primary male characters have past history with Alun’s wife Rhiannon. Mild shenanigans ensue, largely involving copious quantities of alcohol, before Alun drops suddenly dead and the mildly incestuous circle of life continues as Peter’s clever son marries Rhiannon’s posh daughter. Ultimately you can choose to read this as a gentle meditation on aging, or the cliche-ridden (song and dance, state of affairs) muttering of someone growing old disgracefully.

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Kingsley Amis’s success at the 1986 Booker prize seems like the natural culmination of a long and distinguished writing career. One of the finest comic writers of his generation – century even – had done the natural thing and written a bloody brilliant book” The show was adapted for television by Emmy-winning writer Andrew Davies ( House Of Cards) and directed by the BAFTA-nominated director Tristam Powell ( Screen Two: East Of Ipswich). My principal source of irritation with this novel is its dishonesty. Amis had at this point in his career developed a reputation as a declining writer focused on personal themes – his serial adultery, his alcoholism, his declining health. He has sketched out a series of characters with these qualities or attributes, then ventriloquized through them on his tired personal and political hobby-horses – homosexuality, the ridiculousness of compulsory Welsh/English language public signage, faux-Welshness, trade-unionists and so on. Of course one must always be careful to distinguish between the personal views of an author and their characters, but there is a strong case for concluding that Amis shares many of the prejudices his characters articulate – he repeats these views consistently in a series of later novels, he attempts to make the characters articulating these views sympathetic and invariably shows only the reasons why they are justified in these views – opposing views are ignored. Reviewers seem relieved that this is not the openly misogynistic rant of Stanley and the Women or Jake’s Thing, but that doesn’t make it Lucy Jimeither. This was Amis’ third nomination, having lost out previously in 1974 (Middleton/Gordimer) and 1978 (Murdoch.)

I found it incredibly difficult to care about anyone or anything in this novel. I tried, I swear I tried. I love a funny miserable old bastard as much as the next person (I’ve been one most of my life, I think) - but these characters felt under-developed and hard to engage with. Alun Weaver ( John Stride) has found success as a celebrated London-based writer. After returning home to Wales with his alluring wife Rhiannon ( Sheila Allen) he reunites with university friends who chose to remain in the valleys. Long dormant romances are rekindled and rivalries are resurrected, posing a threat to marriages and friendships. Even more surprising for me is how strong this looks as a shortlist - clearly some brilliant authors in there. I haven’t read all that many, though. Were any of them genuinely less interesting than this?Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives. Well, where to start? Equip yourself with a full liquor cabinet because you’re in for a busy one here. Every alcohol under the sun is an option, but you’ll probably be having a whisky and water if you’re a chap or a bottle or two of Soave if you’re of the female persuasion.