paul_cloutier's review against another edition
4.0
A great alternate history book that presumes a very different present day in which the Protestant reformation never happened. Pretty entertaining and thought provoking.
gbaty's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lordenglishssbm's review against another edition
3.0
A smart book, but a repetitive one. Amis' ability to articulate ideas on sexuality and religion are impressive, but he runs out of anything unusual to say about halfway through the book, and it was frustrating to see that he wrote a precocious child the same way he wrote his adult characters. It has its ups and downs, but while it is ultimately a solid coming-of-age story, I can't help but think that it needed a bit more focus and structure.
nicktomjoe's review against another edition
4.0
Wicked little alternative reality sci-fi, in which a talented boy singer is caught up in the corruption of a twentieth-century England in which the Reformation never took hold. Comic, picaresque satire on religion, power and sex, with a brilliant twist (literally) towards the end, as he seeks refuge with the caring, Puritan "New Englanders." Watch out for a Yorkshire Pope and some sly appearances by Sartre and Hockney...
vivibloom's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating scenario, totally worth the read but I feel the end is not strung together particularly well and it could have gone a more interesting direction
fourtriplezed's review against another edition
4.0
Very good. Very clever use of historical figures and cultural references. Those historical and cultural nods do make it a very cynical book. This novel is an attack on organised religion, in this case the Roman Catholic Church. Science is frowned upon and even suppressed in some cases. Even the enlightened practise apartheid and are ethnocentric.
I have been thinking about this book and Pavane by Keith Roberts. Amiss gives a nod to Pavane in this book as one of the many cultural references.
The similarities is that we have a catholic theocracy ruling England. Amis book covers the treatment of one specific individual by the ruling class. It is a very good tale and has one thinking about authoritarianism as a subject.
Pavane on the other hand has 6 chapters with each covering various individuals from all classes. Each chapter is vaguely interlinked so that made me feel that Roberts was able to get to the core of the individuals and how they used their circumstances within their class to their advantage, how they rebelled, how they lived, how they died. I prefer Pavane. It has a humanity about the characters that I found compelling, I had a sympathy for their circumstances. The Alteration did not quite get to that depth of characterisation.
My review of Pavane.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1616637279?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
I have been thinking about this book and Pavane by Keith Roberts. Amiss gives a nod to Pavane in this book as one of the many cultural references.
The similarities is that we have a catholic theocracy ruling England. Amis book covers the treatment of one specific individual by the ruling class. It is a very good tale and has one thinking about authoritarianism as a subject.
Pavane on the other hand has 6 chapters with each covering various individuals from all classes. Each chapter is vaguely interlinked so that made me feel that Roberts was able to get to the core of the individuals and how they used their circumstances within their class to their advantage, how they rebelled, how they lived, how they died. I prefer Pavane. It has a humanity about the characters that I found compelling, I had a sympathy for their circumstances. The Alteration did not quite get to that depth of characterisation.
My review of Pavane.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1616637279?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
eldurjn's review
Audiobook voice was difficult to understand for me. I’m not an English native tho.
bibliomaniac2021's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
The Alteration is my first Kingsley Amis and I realised I’ve gone a little sideways into this author’s work.
Set in an alternative world where Martin Luther was reabsorbed by the Catholic Church, The Alteration’s depiction of a Catholic Britain is surprisingly similar to The Society of Time’s. Forward progress has been heavily retarded, both sociologically and technologically. While there is a high-speed train that goes from London to Rome on seven hours, pure science is banned and scientist is literally a dirty word.
Amis has a lot of fun with this world, imagining what artists and thinkers may have done in this world - though it doesn’t always make sense. Shakespeare is an unknown figure, despite the fact he was probably a secret Catholic in our world. The book plunges us in the notion by describing a cathedral with ceilings by Blake and Turner, stained glass by Reynolds and a new Hockney Ecce Homo. Another aspect of the world is how socially and commercially, the country is still in an early-modern era, with individual shopkeepers but no large businesses or corporations. The Church is the only mega-corporation is the only one allowed to exist. Even the population is at lower, earlier levels.
What about the story though? Hubert is an eleven year old boy with a beautiful voice and the church wishes to ‘alter’ him by removing his testicles to keep his voice unbroken. He is understandably unsure about the whole idea. Not only is he interested in the idea of sex and family but he lives in a patriarchal society into which he will never actually grow into a fully realised man.
There are people who wish him to escape this fate, especially a diplomat from New-England - what we may call America. Interestingly, the hints of this place as a land of freedom are undercut by the definite suggestion that New England is a racial dystopia just as bad as the Catholic world.
The end of the book comes somewhere between cop-out and tragic irony and every character ends up in their allotted, God-given place.
This was an enjoyable book set in a really interesting other world, not quite a full-strangling dystopia but a dark and intriguing work.
Set in an alternative world where Martin Luther was reabsorbed by the Catholic Church, The Alteration’s depiction of a Catholic Britain is surprisingly similar to The Society of Time’s. Forward progress has been heavily retarded, both sociologically and technologically. While there is a high-speed train that goes from London to Rome on seven hours, pure science is banned and scientist is literally a dirty word.
Amis has a lot of fun with this world, imagining what artists and thinkers may have done in this world - though it doesn’t always make sense. Shakespeare is an unknown figure, despite the fact he was probably a secret Catholic in our world. The book plunges us in the notion by describing a cathedral with ceilings by Blake and Turner, stained glass by Reynolds and a new Hockney Ecce Homo. Another aspect of the world is how socially and commercially, the country is still in an early-modern era, with individual shopkeepers but no large businesses or corporations. The Church is the only mega-corporation is the only one allowed to exist. Even the population is at lower, earlier levels.
What about the story though? Hubert is an eleven year old boy with a beautiful voice and the church wishes to ‘alter’ him by removing his testicles to keep his voice unbroken. He is understandably unsure about the whole idea. Not only is he interested in the idea of sex and family but he lives in a patriarchal society into which he will never actually grow into a fully realised man.
There are people who wish him to escape this fate, especially a diplomat from New-England - what we may call America. Interestingly, the hints of this place as a land of freedom are undercut by the definite suggestion that New England is a racial dystopia just as bad as the Catholic world.
The end of the book comes somewhere between cop-out and tragic irony and every character ends up in their allotted, God-given place.
This was an enjoyable book set in a really interesting other world, not quite a full-strangling dystopia but a dark and intriguing work.
schellenbergk's review against another edition
Some interesting ideas, but not wholly successful overall. Amusing.