I’m a full on Amis worshipper, but this book might be my least favorite . There are the usual language theatrics, and that’s not to diminish them; when Amis gets a head of steam there’s nobody writing in English who can run with him. Still, for the first time ever reading an Amis book I hurried through the ending just to get it over with.

The book could just as well be subtitled “Martin Does Porn” because all of the story lines are in some way about prurient interest. Three of the characters spend at least some time actively in the porn business, while the pornography of violence and internet salaciousness are all over the place. Of course there are insightful moments and great humor, the descriptions from the point of view of a recently brain injured Xan Meo are fabulous and the autobiography of English gangster Joseph Andrews is a collection of numbingly repetitive violence and imprisonment that somehow manages to be incredibly funny at the same time.

Still, the character Amis seems to inhabit the best is Clint Smoker, writer for a London based tabloid named the Morning Lark. Amis geeks will remember the Lark from London Fields, where darts obsessed Keith Talent (one of the more brilliant characters in recent literature) kept a copy tucked under his arm for most of the book. In Smoker Amis comes closest to his great characters. Smoker is sexually insecure, socially awkward, wordy, and disturbing, and Amis seems most at ease and in best form while shuttling him about. He also saves some of his most exquisite writing for Smoker; the Lark op-ed about the princess Victoria losing her virginity (it’s hinted to her father) is twisted brilliance.

Still, the various story lines never quite coalesce, and the book concludes with “family values” message that seems almost trite considering all of the blood and sex that leads to it. Yellow Dog isn’t a bad book, but Amis made the mistake of setting the bar so high for himself. From nearly any other novelist this book would be a breakthrough, but from Amis it’s quite average. Read it if you’ve already read everything else, but if you’re getting to know him try London Fields of The Information first and read Yellow Dog when it’s in paperback.