Episode 8: Kingsley Amis’s The Alteration and The Green Man

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The-AlterationThis month, we are joined by Nick During of NYRB Classics to discuss Kingsley Amis’s novels The Alteration and The Green Man.

We do apologize to you and to Nick, though, because for some reason only half of our discussion was recorded. Brian and I did get back together a few weeks later (finding time was difficult) and did what we could to cover some of what we discussed.

The-Green-Man

In the Fall of 2012, NYRB Classics began a project to release new editions of ten Kingsley Amis novels, starting with his comic debut, Lucky Jim, and his Booker Prize winning The Old Devils. Recently they released two more, venturing this time to Amis’s work with a science fiction/alternate history novel in The Alteration and a classic ghost story in The Green Man.

NYRB Classics published these editions of The Alteration and The Green Man in May of 2013, and they are the books we’ll be talking about in Episode 8 of The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast.

In Episode 9 we will be returning to the first author we discussed on this podcast and discuss John William’s magnificent Stoner. If you have any thoughts on John Williams or Stoner, we’d love to hear from you via email, via comments, or via Twitter. Perhaps we can set up a Skype call to pull some sound bites of your thoughts.

Show Notes (53:06)

  • Intro
  • A look at what NYRB Classics has in store (03:13)
  • Bio of Kingsley Amis (06:41)
  • Brief glimpse at Lucky Jim and The Old Devils (11:45)
  • Synopses of The Green Man and The Alteration (14:16)
  • Discussion of The Alteration (18:05)
  • Discussion of The Green Man (35:29)

Some Links

Episode Credits

  • Co-Host Trevor Berrett
  • Co-Host Brian Berrett
  • Guest Nick During of NYRB Classics
  • Introduction Music — “Where We Fall We’ll Lie” by Jeff Zentner, from his album The Dying Days of Summer (used with permission)
  • Outro Music — “Where I’m From” by Jeff Zentner, from his album The Dying Days of Summer (used with permission)

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