The debut novel from much-loved writer, poet and broadcaster Clive James, Brilliant Creatures is a bold, hilarious satire of the media industry.
'Clive James doesn't miss a trick' - The Times
Lancelot Windhover used to be famous, but that was a long, long time ago. And so now, when his extramarital affair is on the path to becoming a subject for the gossip columns, it is at least some consolation to know he is remembered.
A romping satire of London literary life in the Eighties, Brilliant Creatures describes an incestuous circle of writers, journalists, publishers, and consultants: a network of characters whose chatter and manoeuvres are so terribly important to one another, it is surely inevitable that someone will write a novel about it all. With critical notes from Peter C. Bartelski, the polymath don of Sydney, Sussex and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, this is that novel.
'James is up on a tightrope of style, wobbling away, relentlessly funny. James's achievement, beyond the fizz and the jokes, is to have created characters who begin to be likeable, and who make and live with a decision worth pondering' - London Review of Books
Rezensionen / Stimmen
The brilliant creatures of the title live in a world of lost innocence and vast incomes; publishers, writers, media men and consultants, they belong to a charmed circle where everyone knows everybody else's business and thinks it the most important thing in life. It's all marvellously clever; Clive James doesn't miss a trick. It's funny too. Enjoy, enjoy. * The Times * James is up on a tightrope of style, wobbling away, relentlessly funny. James's achievement, beyond the fizz and the jokes, is to have created characters who begin to be likeable, and who make and live with a decision worth pondering. * London Review of Books * I thought I was going to hate Brilliant Creatures, the first novel by Clive James. But before long I found myself greatly enjoying this romping satire of London literary life. The chief pleasure of Brilliant Creatures lies in the writing, which sizzles off the page with a rare merriment. * Illustrated London News * Foaming with ideas and afterthoughts and after-afterthoughts, Clive James's first novel is a joy to read. He is nearer to Wodehouse than to Waugh. He is not setting out merely to raise laughs. He takes vigorous swipes at most of the unacceptable faces of society, and, as with all good satirists, there is venom in the indignation. * Listener *
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Interest Age: From 18 years
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ISBN-13
978-1-4472-3525-5 (9781447235255)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Clive James was the author of more than forty books. As well as essays, he published collections of literary and television criticism, travel writing, verse and novels, plus five volumes of autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, May Week Was In June, North Face of Soho and The Blaze of Obscurity. As a television performer he appeared regularly for both the BBC and ITV, most notably as writer and presenter of the Postcard series of travel documentaries. He published several poetry collections, including the Sunday Times bestseller Sentenced to Life, and a translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy, which was also a Sunday Times bestseller. In 1992 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 he was awarded the Philip Hodgins memorial medal for literature. He held honorary doctorates from Sydney University and the University of East Anglia. In 2012 he was appointed CBE and in 2013, an Officer of the Order of Australia. He died in 2019.
