by Martin Amis
First published 2012
Desmond Pepperdine wants nothing more than books and a quiet life with the girl he loves. His uncle Lionel Asbo has other plans. The self-named thug has raised Des since he was orphaned, dispensing criminal wisdom and introducing him to pit bulls, internet porn, and serious lawbreaking. Des harbors a dangerous family secret while trying to escape this world of knives and violence. Then Lionel wins £140 million in the lottery while serving time in a London prison. Upon his release, he hires publicists and begins dating an ambitious topless model who writes poetry. Money transforms Lionel's circumstances but not his essential character. His newfound celebrity status creates new dangers that threaten to destroy the precarious balance Des has built between loyalty to his uncle and his own desire for a gentler existence.
Genres: literary-fiction, crime, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London
Period: 21st-century
255 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: addiction, violence