The first volume in the acclaimed Squire Quartet., available for the first time on ebook.Thomas C. Squire, popular presenter of television documentaries, one time secret agent, a hedonist whose worldly success and self-confidence overshadow the lives of his family and friends, faces a mid-life crisis which undermines the stability of his ancient house. This brilliant and sometimes violent novel moves from England to Sicily, Singapore and Jugoslavia.Brian says: ‘A complex and argumentative drama built about the axes of Thomas Squire’s attendance at an imaginary contemporary ARTS symposium in Sicily, his extramarital and marital relationships, and his past as a secret agent in Jugoslavia, a land caught between East and West. Includes several humorous portraits of national types.’First published in 1980 and unavailable for some time.
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Brian Aldiss. Life in the West
Life in the West
Brian Aldiss. Life in the West
Dedication
Contents
Epigraph
Introduction
Prelude
1. The International Congress
2. Flattery and Higher Foolishness
3. A View from the Beach
4. Conversation with ‘Drina’s’
5. She’s Only a Sex Symbol
6. Putting Our Socialist Friends to Rights
7. Land Full of Strange Gods
8. Sublimated Coin Warfare
9. How to Get to Ostrow Lomelsky
10. Slatko
11 ‘The Strong Act as They Have Power to Act’
12. Tribal Customs
13. Illegal Currency Charges
14. An Ideological Decision
Acknowledgements
THE SQUIRE QUARTET
Copyright
About the Publisher
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THE SQUIRE QUARTET
Brian Aldiss, OBE, is a fiction and science fiction writer, poet, playwright, critic, memoirist and artist. He was born in Norfolk in 1925. After leaving the army, Aldiss worked as a bookseller, which provided the setting for his first book, The Brightfount Diaries (1955). His first published science fiction work was the story ‘Criminal Record’, which appeared in Science Fantasy in 1954. Since then he has written nearly 100 books and over 300 short stories, many of which are being reissued as part of The Brian Aldiss Collection.
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The man from the tourist office rose to his feet and spoke at some length. He praised the conference, its delegates, its objectives. He welcomed everyone to Ermalpa, and hoped that, despite the brevity of their stay, they would be able to forget work for a short while and see something of the beautiful coastline and the city and provinces which were, he could assure them, stuffed with antiquities, not only from Roman times but Norman, Arab, and Gothic periods. On the Sunday, at the close of the conference, there would be an excursion for delegates, in special luxury coaches provided by the Board of Tourism. He also expected that they would have a marvellous discussion in this room where Garibaldi was known to have been, and was only dismayed that he was unable to stay to hear their words of wisdom. He thanked them for listening and sent the mayor’s regrets.
Delegates clapped. They murmured among themselves.
