The Complete Enderby

"In these novels, Anthony Burgess has done more to de-mystify the creative process (and those who persue it) than any other modern writer. His protagonist, F.X. Enderby, professional English poet, is as flawed as any character ever created. From his almost constant malapropisms down to his bodily emissions, he is every person with true human frailties. He stumbles his way through everyday conversations (often both misunderstanding and misunderstood) while at the same time offending almost everyone he comes into contact with. He is incapable of handling life in the "real" world and is shamelessly exploited by those who do. In spite of his human failings, Enderby produces things of great beauty. The delicately worded, well balanced verses offer a wonderful counterpoint to Enderby's social ineptitudes and lack of common sense. There is also a fairly strong political angle in the books which readers in today's society should heed. Censorship, that demon of modern P.C. sensibility, is discussed here intelligently and honestly. Bear in mind, these books are fairly old and some of the racial and sexual comments made in them will reflect this. However, I think you will find a certain balance in their use; everyone gets it in the end. Including Enderby."--Paul Arnold, Amazon.com.