The Amateurs

by John Niven

Overview

“Brilliant.”
—GQ

"Hilarious.”
— The Times (London)

“A novel about golf that is not only hilarious, but gripping, sexy, violent, and outrageous. . . . Niven combines his increasingly bizarre plots, and some shocking behavior, with considerable skill and, of course, large helpings of humor.”
— The Mirror

From Kill Your Friends author John Niven, The Amateurs is a side-splitting and whip-smart examination of golf, infidelity, and how little white balls make some men insane.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061875892
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/20/2010
Series:	P.S. Series
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Niven was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. He has written for The Times (London), The Independent, Word, and FHM, among others. He is the author of the novella Music from Big Pink and the novel Kill Your Friends.

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review.

To enjoy Niven's third book (after Kill Your Friends) you don't have to shank balls at St. Andrews or even watch golf on the telly. You needn't suffer a roiling case of Tourette's, as the book's 33-year-old hero, Gary Irvine, does. You don't need to share his more embarrassing affliction, Kluver-Bucy syndrome, which drives him into onanistic convulsions at inopportune moments. To appreciate this romp through the bunkers and rough of family life in Ardgirvan, Scotland, one need only appreciate the Scottish sensibility that links together sport, family, gangland violence, and amazing strings of profanity. Lovers of lad lit will especially relish Gary's struggle to smooth a swing that has "more moving parts than Terms of Endearment," though there's more at stake than a scratch handicap: Gary's ne'er-do-well brother, Lee, sinks deeper into debt with thug Ranta Campbell while Gary's bootylicious wife, Pauline (with an arse "Ye could sit yer pint oan"), wanders away from the fairway in search of a life bigger than her husband can provide. By the close, more than one person's fate is decided at the end of a gold club.
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Publishers Weekly

The Amateurs is a comedic piece of lad-lit filled with golf and gangsters . . . the author of Kill Your Friends proves that one’s second novel can be just as humorous as the first.

Scottish Review of Books

Believe it or not, this novel makes golf look interesting. Trust me. This is a writer who could wring laughs out of pretty well anything. . . . Hilarious.

The Times (London)

Brilliantly funny....That it is hugely entertaining is not a surprise but the fact that I lost hours reading about golf courses, and actually cared, is this month’s most winning pleasure.

Word magazine

You don’t have to love golf to thoroughly enjoy this rollicking and at times howlingly funny novel about the game.....[Niven] also sneaks in some bona fide insights about family, and gratifying plotlines of revenge, romance, and friendship.

Penthouse

This tale of Gary Irvine, a hopeless golfer who, after an accident, becomes a phenomenal player, is peppered with brilliant moments.

GQ

The Amateurs shouldn’t work yet Niven is a master storyteller who switches between humour and violence with disconcerting ease.

Shortlist

A novel about golf that is not only hilarious, but gripping, sexy, violent, and outrageous. . . . Niven combines his increasingly bizarre plots, and some shocking behaviour, with considerable skill and, of course, large helpings of humor.

The Mirror

A raucous, filthy novel of golf.

Waterstone's Books Quarterly

"Brilliantly funny....That it is hugely entertaining is not a surprise but the fact that I lost hours reading about golf courses, and actually cared, is this month’s most winning pleasure."

Word Magazine