The Riverside Villas Murder by Kingsley Amis
You can’t imagine a book more in contrast to Dostoevsky’s “The Adolescent” than this one; but oddly enough they both feature young men going through traumatic experiences! However, Russia in the 1870s is very, very different from the London suburbs in the 1930s; and the experiences of both young people are radically different!
Oddly, this is the first Amis novel I’ve read; I enjoyed his poetry very much in volume 2 of the Penguin Modern Poets, and I had read about “Riverside” on the excellent Tipping My Fedora blog (which I’d forgotten till I looked the book up after finishing it). The book is a slightly odd one – a mix of coming-of-age story and murder mystery, you find yourself expecting it not to work. However, I found it did and I enjoyed it very much.
The book is set in 1936, and 14 year-old Peter Furneaux is beset by puberty – not easy to deal with in 1930s England. Obsessed by the idea of sex, he spends his time torn between his boyhood pastimes of model planes and reading, and more adult interests such as jazz music on the radio or attempting to have sex with whichever girl he can persuade to consent (in this case, neighbouring Daphne Hodgson). However, the latter interest seems doomed to failure and so Peter and his friends spend a fair amount of time resorting to masturbation.
Being an only child did not mean that you were by yourself too much; on the contrary, you got the whole of your parents reserved for just you instead of divided up into three, say. Peter liked his father, but would have preferred on the whole to have him as an uncle, even one living in the same house.
Peter attends a local dance with his father, hoping to make some headway with Daphne. However, she is anything but interested and in fact Peter seems to get more response from the older (and very attractive) neighbour Mrs. Trevelyan, with whom he shares a close dance. However, the evening does not go well, as a local journalist, Chris Inman, starts making drunken insinuations and accusations. He’s hustled off, but it seems clear to the reader that he won’t be around for long – and indeed it’s no time at all till he staggers into the Furneaux front room with a dramatic head wound and dies in front of Peter.
Enter the local detectives: the most odd and engaging of whom is Colonel Manton, the Acting Chief Constable. Intelligent, obviously bored and not at all your typical plod, he decides to investigate himself. Detective Inspector Cox is sceptical and critical of Manton; however Barrett, Detective Constable in the local CID, has a more flexible turn of mind and is happy to go along with Manton. Watching the latter deal with his subordinates is one of the funniest parts of the book – his sarcasm is wonderful! There are several suspects, as it becomes obvious that Inman knew plenty of local secrets and may well have been a potential blackmailer. Alarmingly enough, suspicion falls on Peter’s father; meanwhile Peter himself is becoming embroiled with Mrs. Trevelyan and also spending time with Manton. The plot thickens and the reader starts to wonder which will come first; Peter’s loss of his virginity or the solution to the mystery. And what does *any* of this have to do with the theft of the local attraction, an ancient skeleton known as Boris Karloff, from the museum??
“Riverside” was actually a really fascinating and enjoyable read; despite the oddities of the subject, it actually pulled together well and I suspect Amis intended several subtexts to the book. The sexual element, although initially unusual, actually is very relevant to the story – and a little hard to discuss without spoilers. Let’s just say that one character is able to understand the mindset and motivation of another, which enables a solution to be reached. The characters are well drawn and the portrait of suburbia and its constraints spot on. In particular, the relationship between Peter and his father is sensitively shown and quite touching in parts. Peter himself is a convincing mixture of teenage bravado and youth, obviously still needing the reassurance of his parents. It’s a credit to the adults around him (and also to Amis’ skill as a writer) that he emerges from the events relatively unscathed and with his reputation intact.
As for his father, in a different book and in different hands (Patrick Hamilton? Julian McLaren-Ross?) Furneaux senior would have been a very different, perhaps darker character. As it is, his situation and his failings are only hinted at in the book; his less-than-glowing war career, his somewhat seedy and low-paying job. Class differences are important in this suburban setting, with the size of a meal served being the defining factor in one’s status in the world!
Then of course there is the sexual element; well it was fascinating too to see the differentiation the boys make: fiddling with your friends for sexual relief is fine, but anything more or involving anyone older is pervy and dodgy. In fact, the undercurrent of homosexuality is prevalent throughout the book, whether it be the hinted-at previous indiscretion of one of the neighbours or the reason that Colonel Manton is still single… Again, Amis handles this element sensitively; there is what we would now call an act of paedophilia involved, and this is used as a plot device and a weapon for good; no one is emotionally damaged and I can’t help feeling that Amis is applying common sense to a situation which has probably arisen many times over the decades.
The mystery itself is interesting though probably not the most complex one I’ve read; in fact, I did guess the solution comfortably before the end. Amis is obviously a fan of Golden Age mystery, as he has the Colonel reading classic stories and lending one to Peter. The names and titles dropped include John Dickson Carr, Anthony Berkeley, Agatha Christie, John Rhode, The Nine Taylors, The House of The Arrow – Amis really knows his classic crime fiction, and some of those authors are ones who’ve slipped out of favour but are coming back into the public eye now. Amis plays fair with the reader, offering three page numbers on which to pay particular attention if you’re trying to outwit the author, and this, with the other references to murder mysteries, adds a sense of fun to the book.
“Riverside” ends in with Peter having come through his rite of passage relatively unscathed and a little more mature. I’m finding that the more I think about this book, the cleverer it seems and the more depth there is to it; for what is ostensibly something Graham Greene would have called and “entertainment”, it certainly raises a lot of issues to mentally chew over. This was my first Amis novel, and I’m sure it’s not going to be the last.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 06:58:43
This sounds wonderful! I read Lucky Jim years ago and enjoyed it, but for some reason I’ve never picked up another Amis since – this will definitely be the next of his I read 🙂
Jul 25, 2016 @ 08:20:24
Lucky Jim is on the pile, so I’ll have to try to get onto it soon!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 07:04:43
I think I must have read this in my youth as the story rings a bell (albeit a fairly dim and distant one). It is most definitely my era in fiction as I love books set in the 1930s and ’40s. Great write-up as ever, Karen.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 08:19:53
Thanks Jacqui. I really enjoyed this one a lot so I hope I’ll go on to read more Amis.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 08:31:05
Glad you enjoyed this one Karen – I dare say LUCKY JIM and THE ANTI-DEATH LEAGUE and TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU are rightly held in higher esteem, but this is very memorable in its own way too. And yes, I did rather like the fact that he was clearly a John Dickson Carr fan!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 09:49:27
I liked it a lot – and the nods to the older mysteries were a lovely touch.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 08:31:38
I’ve read Lucky Jim (I think twice) and nothing else. This does sound clever and well-done, even though it shouldn’t work, and I love that he makes reference to older works (and more page numbers – didn’t you have some the other day, or was that someone else?).
Jul 25, 2016 @ 09:49:00
I don’t think it was me and the page numbers (but you never know with my rubbish memory!). I really must read Lucky Jim!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 08:37:23
I have never read Kingsley Amis, but this does sound really good. An unusual mix of themes and set in a period I love reading about so I shall have to look out for it.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 09:48:25
I certainly enjoyed it – the period setting was excellent and it was one of those I couldn’t put down.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 09:41:51
I read The Old Devils at some point in my twenties and hated it and haven’t read anything by him since but this will make me think again so thank you.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 09:47:52
I suspect his books will be marmite ones, and I’m not convinced I would like all of his stuff – but this one hit the spot!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 10:22:58
I read The Old Devils fairly recently and hated it. I think I would have hated it more if I’d read it in my twenties. Some of his other books look ok though.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 10:57:24
I’m quite sure I will end up hating some of his stuff – but this one I really liked!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 12:20:34
I’ve only read one Amis short story – in one of those little books Penguin issues from time to time – and though I don’t think he will ever be a favourite author I liked it much more than I thought I would. This sounds interesting, and it might be time I see what of his work my library has in stock.
Jul 25, 2016 @ 13:54:36
That’s exactly it, Jane – I wasn’t expecting to like Amis and so it was a surprise when I did! And I’d recommend this one – hope you can track it down!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 17:13:41
Amis’s Collected Poems have just been reprinted with an interesting introduction: http://lithub.com/clive-james-on-the-poetry-of-kingsley-amis/
Jul 25, 2016 @ 19:01:49
Oh, that’s interesting – I enjoyed Amis’s poetry and I like Clive James too. I’ll check it out – thanks for the link!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 19:38:07
I think the only Kingsley Amis I’ve read is his book on science fiction – though I’ve always wanted to read his alternate history novel. I think I’ve been put off by the persona he presented, or was presented of him.
Jul 26, 2016 @ 08:33:27
I think I’m the same – his public image is all macho etc and isn’t the kind of thing that appeals to me. But I enjoyed his poems and this one very much so it may be that he’s an author whose public image should be ignored!
Jul 25, 2016 @ 22:16:35
I love Kingsley Adams and this is a great Review. Its been too long and I will read this book by him…Thank you very much, you inspirational reader!!!
Jul 26, 2016 @ 08:31:32
Very welcome! I definitely recommend this one!
Jul 26, 2016 @ 07:23:31
Great review. Glad you really enjoyed the author. It is such a joy to read one book by an author and make a mental note to pick up more books of his
Jul 26, 2016 @ 13:30:29
As I mentioned, I don’t know that I was expecting to enjoy Amis so much! It’s certainly made me keener to read some of his other books!
Jul 26, 2016 @ 09:17:01
This is an Amis pere I’ve not read. I shall look out for a copy.
Jul 26, 2016 @ 10:26:19
It’s a good one! 🙂
Jul 26, 2016 @ 13:31:03
I think I may have seen a tv adapation of this, years ago. It seems familiar, but the only Kingsley Amis I’ve read is his (very good) book of SF criticism New Maps of Hell.
He wrote a ghost story which rather tempts me, also the subject of a tv adaptation. He seems a writer much adapted.
Jul 26, 2016 @ 16:09:57
Oooh, a ghost story sounds fun – and I think he did an alternative history title too. Time for a little investigation, I think…. 🙂
Jul 26, 2016 @ 16:29:16
He did. There’s reviews of both the ghost one and the alt history one at MookseandtheGripes. Not sure if Trevor covered any others, for some reason he focused on the oddities (possibly he’d read the more mainstream ones pre-blog and was being completist). Both sounded fun.
Jul 26, 2016 @ 16:44:45
Thanks – I’ll go and check these out!
Jul 27, 2016 @ 21:45:31
After I read Lucky Jim, I thought Kingsley Amis was wonderful. However I read several of his novels after that, and they all disappointed me. Kingsley’s career trajectory seems similar to his son Martin’s with great early successes tapering off quickly.
Jul 28, 2016 @ 07:47:16
Well, I’m going to give a couple more books of his a try – I liked this so much more than I expected that I’m willing to see what else he can produce!
Aug 02, 2016 @ 00:18:35
I was lucky enough to have met both Kingsley & Martin at book fests. Fascinating men but I never actually read any of their books. Time to change that & this book sounds like the one to read. Have his Old Devils somewhere in a box but was never motivated to actually read it.
Thanks for another motivating review!
Aug 02, 2016 @ 08:27:40
Wow! That is lucky! I read some Amis junior pre blog and some is books I liked a lot. Amis Senior is very different but I’ve liked what I’ve read so far and I personally reckon this one is not a bad place to start!
Sep 03, 2016 @ 06:17:44
Oct 16, 2016 @ 15:50:17
I loved Lucky Jim.
Thanks for the review, this one goes on my list right away.
Oct 16, 2016 @ 18:07:09
It’s a good one! I have Lucky Jim and will get to it eventually!