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[books] Last Rites, Last Orders — extract from Zadie Smith’s new book The Autograph Man [UK | US] …

‘Whose idea was it to drink alphabetically? Alex did not come to Bubbles with that intention. He merely came to have a drink, maybe drinks, maybe drinkseses. After five swift whiskies, though, the idea just sort of presented itself. And Roy, who was the barman, and must take some of the blame, Roy did no frowning, no reluctant shrugging. Oh, no.

Roy said: “Go for it, my son.”

And Tommy, a pregnant Irishman, whose idea it may have been, said: “Twenty says you don’t get beyond Haich.”

Which was a dare. And drunk men take dares like they take breaths.

Absinthe, then, set it off with a bang.’

New Zadie

This entry was posted on Monday, September 9th, 2002 at 4:06 pm and is filed under Books.

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1 Comment

Skip the first three quarters, which are depressing, but the end is sheer unmitigated mirth. Wodehouse and Kingsley Amis come to mind.

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