A coming of age novel with a protagonist (Charles Highway) who is totally full of himself and uses big words. Not a very likeable character at first but he does grow on you. A well written novel and my only gripe is that the rest of the characters in the book lack flesh on their bones. Martin Amis wrote this book when he was only 24 himself. It was his first novel and an impressive debut. I wonder though how many 19 year olds use the language that Martin Amis puts in the mouth of his protagonist, but then again; he used it himself.