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Lionel Asbo: State of England (Vintage International) Paperback – May 7, 2013

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Martin Amis (Author)
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3.6 out of 5 stars 128 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Vintage International
  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (May 7, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307948080
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307948083
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAstonishingly Original
By L. Young VINE VOICE on July 17, 2012
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
In an outstanding novel an author creates a unique world, populates it with fascinating characters who remind us of the best and worst in ourselves, and is in total command of the language in which he tells his story. Martin Amis has achieved all three in his astonishingly original new novel, 'Lionel Asbo: State of England'.

Amis brings us into the world of modern day London, that he sardonically refers to as that 'great world city', specifically into the lower class world of Des Pepperdine and his Uncle Lionel Pepperdine who has renamed himself Asbo after England's
notorious 'Anti-Social Behavior Orders'. Uncle Lionel a thoroughly detestable, sociopathic thug is the focus of the novel which is a superb send up of class, celebrity culture and the press. Lionel's foil is his thoughtful nephew Desmond who is trying to get ahead in life through educations. Des must fight against the dysfunctional family in which has has been raised; his mother gave birth to him at 12, at the same age that Desmond's gran gave birth to Desmond's mom. After Des' mom's untimely death Des is raised by Lionel, just six years his senior. While Des fights against his mileu, Uncle Lionel has succumbed to his, a world in which crime and violence is the norm, stealing nothing more than a 'way to earn one's crust'.

What happens when Lionel wins over 100 million pounds in the Lottery is the crucible through which Amis launches his satire. At times hilarious (as when Lionel grapples with a lobster dinner in a posh restaurant) and at times horrific, Lionel is a doppelganger of Alex in Anthony Burgess' futuristic novel 'A Clockwork Orange written almost fifty years ago. Like Burgess, Amis has created a unique world and a unique vocabulary in which to explore it. As a Yank I'm sure much of the humor sailed right past me given the British lingo in which the novel is written. But for American readers my advice is persevere and experience this audacious novel.
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3.0 out of 5 starsBritish Brute
By Cheddie VINE VOICE on July 13, 2012
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Martin Amis intertwines two disparate characters in this satirical novel - Lionel Asbo, a violent brute who revels in his ignorance, proud of having gone wrong at a record early age, and his nephew Desmond ("Des"), an anomaly in Lionel's world, a bright teen who enjoys school, much to his uncle's scorn.

Lionel's birth name is Pepperdine, but he characteristically chooses to use Asbo (an acronym for his behavioral diagnosis - Anti-Social Behaviour Order). At the start, Lionel works at the "hairiest end" of debt collecting, assisted by his two "psychopathic pitbulls," presaging a later drama around "Who let the dogs in?"

Lionel's path in life is all too clear, but Des, who lives with "Uncle Li," wants more than a life of petty crime. Unfortunately, Des stumbles on his path with his grandmother.

Grace, 39, Lionel's mother, has had seven children by the time she's turned 19, including Des' mother at age 12. Her impressionable, inexperienced grandson is seduced into a sexual affair, and thus setting up the novel's two dramatic storylines, such as they are. What stupid, vicious thing will Lionel do next, and will vengeful Lionel discover that Des "gave his Mum one?"

I love language, and Amis is a very, very good writer. At first, it was great fun to read Lionel's convoluted turns of phrase, always satirically mocked by the author for their poor grammar and pronunciation. But after 250+ pages, they became almost as dreary as Lionel's outlook. And Lionel loves to talk as much as he loves his mayhem.

Much as normal people take holidays, Lionel, dumbly and sometimes deliberately, takes prison breaks. As he says, "When you in prison, you have you peace of mind. Because you not worried about getting arrested.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA tale of great murf and sorrow, like
By Scott Schiefelbein VINE VOICE on August 27, 2012
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Martin Amis turns his wicked sense of humor on England's fascination with its pop-culture roadkill (it's somewhat comforting to know that America's Kardashian mania has British roots) with "Lionel Asbo, State of England." Amis uses the titular oaf to skewer both modern Britain and the idle rich.

Asbo is the typical British low-end thug, thick of brow and accent. Amis has a great time creating the dialect of Diston, the low-life neighborhood Asbo calls home. Asbo was actually born Lionel Pepperdine, but had his name changed to Asbo in honor of his Anti-Social Behavior Order - he's a career low-life and psychopath. He plays with deep thoughts and soliloquies, but it all plays for spectacular humor as Asbo cannot master the intricacies of the "th" sound. Asbo's the kind of guy who wants his mum to accept her advanced age and just die quietly - she's 39, after all, so what does she expect?

Our window into Asbo's life is young Desmond Pepperdine, Asbo's nephew and illicit paramour of Asbo's mum. (Incest is an oft-practiced yet shameful practice in Diston.) Sensitive where Asbo is boorish, smart where Asbo is cunning, Des looks like a young man destined to make it out of Diston's misery. If only he could catch a break . . .

And, irony of ironies, he almost does as Asbo wins the national lottery of 139 million pounds. But while lesser men might use the windfall to rebuild a shattered reputation and buy the goodwill of the family (including his cousins Paul, John, George, Ringo, and Stuart . . . those names ring a bell?), Asbo delights in taunting friends and family with money, only to snatch it from their grasping hands.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Brilliant. Terrifying. Explains so much of England today. Especially poignant in light of the Brexit vote.

Published 13 days ago by Megan
3.0 out of 5 starsPlease Mr. Aims, rewrite and resubmit for full credit.

I love how it started. The lottery lout aspect was was good. But I think Aims got bored half way through the story. I know I did. When baby "Sila"? was born I got bored. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Ian Forry
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat holiday read.

Enjoyable read. I heard Martin Amis interviewed about this book and it caught my interest. It's a really easy read - finished in in about 4 hours and enjoyed it cover to cover. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Simon van Wyk
4.0 out of 5 starsA flawed, perhaps deliberately so, look at modern ...

A flawed, perhaps deliberately so, look at modern England and its "chav culture". It must be understood, at some level, as a meta-novel, a deliberate attempt to provoke... Read more

Published 17 months ago by John C Baruth II
1.0 out of 5 starsCould have been great

The concept was good, and the plot had merit, but the delivery was stilted and difficult. Some lines were fantastic, such as Des's thoughts on his grandmother sliding into dementia... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Tim McQueen
4.0 out of 5 starsAmis is s classic craftsman

An assured hand with a story, and a graceful feel for language. Amis is a modern master. Highly enjoyable in every way.

Published 18 months ago by Darren S.
5.0 out of 5 starsBought as a gift for someone else, then stole it from them...

Loved this book! The main characters are flawed, humanly so, and exasperating. But you must know what happens to them, and secretly maybe hope it's good. Highly recommended.

Published 21 months ago by Pen Name
2.0 out of 5 starsTwo Stars

My fault; I really wanted a book by his father.

Published 23 months ago by Jerry M
2.0 out of 5 starsAmis seems to be losing his powers. "Lionel Asbo" ...

Amis seems to be losing his powers."Lionel Asbo" is to "Money" what the latest Paul McCartney album is to "Band on the Run. Read more

Published on August 8, 2014 by Brandoch Daha
5.0 out of 5 starsSurprisingly sweet, scarily real

My new favorite Martin Amis novel.

Published on July 18, 2014 by Ruth

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