The early part of the narrator’s account is one of unremitting hardship. Before being imprisoned he fights in the second world war, and shortly after falls in love with a girl named Zoya but, despite his great physical charms, is rebuffed. He is then sent to Norlag, a freezing prison camp, for being a ‘political’ — one of many spurious crimes against an increasingly paranoid state. Not long after, Lev, his smaller, weaker half-brother, is also sent to Norlag, and on arrival announces that he has married Zoya. This creates a dynamic which lasts throughout the brothers’ eight-year incarceration, whereby the narrator feels both bitter and protective towards his half-brother. Lev is introvert and pacifist, while the narrator is willing to kick and punch his way through prison to keep himself and Lev relatively safe.

Towards the end of a brutal time in Norlag, during which Lev is rendered deaf in one ear by a punch from a psychotic guard, the atmosphere lightens, and the ‘house of meetings’ opens. This is a small chalet where, with the guards’ acquiescence, the inmates occasionally see their spouses. Lev meets Zoya one night, but something happens there which haunts the rest of his life — something he refuses to share with his half-brother.

Following the brothers’ release, the narrator makes a success of his life while Lev deteriorates. The narrator plays the system, amassing a fortune through hard work. Lev, meanwhile, seems deflated; eventually he parts from Zoya and has a son with another woman, but then dies. He leaves behind a letter explaining what happened in the house of meetings, but the narrator will not open it until he, too, is ready to die — a moment which approaches.

Amis demonstrates early on that his prose is as dazzling as ever. In the space of a few lines we have the narrator musing on swearing among the elderly:

Yes, yes, I know — the old shouldn’t swear […] it is such a transparent protest against failing powers: saying fuck is the only dirty thing we can get up to.

And then taking a moment to consider his hands:

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