NOVEL
CRITIC'S CHOICE
The corrosively funny British stylist returns with his first comic novel since 1995. Yellow Dog is about men, bad men, dazed by the pornographic thrill of violence and the violent thrill of pornography. It's actually a deeply feminist book—only women can cure these bad lads—disguised with lots of dirty jokes.
The King of England tries to keep nude photos of his teenage daughter out of the tabloids, represented by porno-craving hack Clint Smoker, a "high-IQ moron" who lives in a place called Foulness and really needs a date. Meanwhile, Xan Meo—dashing writer, doting husband, adoring dad—suffers a head injury that turns him into a sex-obsessed, foul-mouthed lout.
There are so many ribald situations--Amis's best lines can't be quoted here unless we see some ID--that readers may miss the point: This is a protest against "the obscenification of everyday life." The high style Amis brings to lowlifes is why he makes other comic novelists blind with envy, even if this time his convoluted plot whimpers, rather than roars, to a close.
