"The product of a ferocious yet sensitive mind . Amis's book is like hurtling down a black-diamond ski run. His aim is so unerring that he resembles a figure out of Greek myth, firing arrows through ax-heads lined up in a row."--Dwight Garner, The New York Times "A must-have anthology for Amis aficionados and a worthy best-of compilation for everyone else . provocative and thought-provoking. Again and again Amis reinforces his points with eloquence and persuasiveness . fierce intellect, mordant humor and critical eye."--Malcolm Forbes, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune " The Rub of Time is cause for celebration.

"--Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire "Readers will come for Amis's prose, which withstands even the most pedestrian subjects [as] his paragraphs bring to mind an Olympic slalomer, executing a series of tight, hard pivots, each marking a punch line, a critical insight, a dramatic turn, or a moment of horror."--Nathaniel Rich, The New York Review of Books "The book's heart [is] its literary criticism, labor that allows Amis to realize his most comfortable and integrated self: a novelist engaged in the scrupulous appreciation of others' style. Amis cherishes the most cosmopolitan virtue of all, humor, [and] approvingly quotes Clive James's observation that 'common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing.' To be without one is to be without the other, a double lack that would doom a writer [to] the inability to rub up against human nature, to strike the sparks of awareness and style that here illuminate everything, especially the books in Amis's firm grip."--Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker "[ The Rub of Time ] coupled with [Amis's] The War Against Cliché . represent the literary essay at its wittiest and most lucid."--Kurt Wenzel, The East Hampton Star "Amis writes with buoyant and cutting authority. His vocabulary, cross-pollinated by his trans-Atlantic reading and life, is pinpoint and peppery; his syntax supple and ensnaring.

The pleasure Amis takes in observation, cogitation, and composition is palpable, and he is acidly funny. Amis writes with agility, spirit, artistry, and a shrewd sense of the deepest implications."--Donna Seaman, Booklist "Amis is infallibly a lucid, linguistically precise commentator. A witty, welcome presence."-- Publishers Weekly "A sharp, witty collection. Literate, perspicacious, and thoroughly entertaining."-- Kirkus Reviews "[Amis is] a close and sensitive reader of literature and culture, his language erudite and complex. He is a savvy, biting writer who still manages an engaging, conversational tone.

Any reader seeking an introduction to the books he spends time with, or a new perspective on our sometimes chaotic culture, will enjoy this collection."-- Library Journal.