House of Meetings

Infobox Book |
name = House of Meetings
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Martin Amis
illustrator = Peter Mendelsund and Chip Kidd (USA edition)
cover_artist =
country = Great Britain
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Random House Group Ltd
release_date = 2006
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 242pp (USA edition)
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"House of Meetings", by Martin Amis, is a 2006 novel about two brothers who share a common love interest while living in a Soviet gulag during the last decade of Stalin's rule.

Plot summary

The novel centers around the modern-day (2004) recollections of the unnamed narrator/protagonist of his time spent in an Arctic gulag and the years that followed. The recollections are presented in the form of a memoir sent to the narrator's American step-daughter, Venus. One of the primary plot elements is the complex relationship between the protagonist and his younger half-brother, Lev, who later joins him in the camp. Through many difficult revelations and trials, they eventually survive the harsh conditions of the camp and then must face a further challenge: re–acclimatizing to everyday life.

Literary significance and criticism

The novel's release was greeted with generally positive reviews; see, e.g., "The Economist"'s October review. [cite web |url=http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8023355 |title=Comeback man |accessdate=2007-08-12 |format= |work=economist.com ]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25339-2377673,00.html "Breath was just another weapon"] : a review in the [http://www.the-tls.co.uk TLS] by Bharat Tandon, September 2006.
* [http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?search_term=chatfield&id=7924 Tom Chatfield writes] on Amis's "House of Meetings" for "Prospect Magazine"