In a collection of nonfiction writings, the British novelist addresses his childhood, his experiences in Malaysia and Monaco, his own work and its critics, and the work of his contemporaries The late Burgess had an immense bag of tricks, and this gathering of uncollected works from the past 20 years shows them all. It's not just that there's a lot to learn: an essay called "A Clockwork Orange Resucked," for example, informs us that U.S. readers know a "Nixonian" version lacking a 21st chapter of redemption for the thuggish protagonist, while the rest of the world knows a 21-chapter "Kennedyan" book. It's also a lot of fun: an essay on Venice starts with an allusion to Nicholas Roeg and his "off-season Venice" and contrasts it with Burgess's first experiences with "touristic Venice"?"affronted by fat matronly bottoms in shorts, it shudders at the clicking Leicas, it wistfully puts money in its purse, serves bad food, and waits patiently for the advent of bad weather and a resumption of heavy drinking." Outrageousness was always part of Burgess's shtick, and here you get all that and more. Recommended for all literature collections.?Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NY Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. While this posthumous collection of essays, articles, and occasional pieces from the last two decades of Burgesss life hardly ranks with his more signal works such as Byrne, (1997), and Clockwork Orange, (1962), its erudition, deftness, and polymathic range make it an exceptionally good read. Though he was one of the last, great expatriate British writers, Burgess never quite found his audience. His reputation as a novelist has whipsawed wildly and is still far from secure (there are strong partisans on both sides of the issue), but few dispute his acuity and fine-honed judgments as a literary critic. In this collection, certainly, it is where he is at his very best. His pieces on Joyce, Waugh, Flann OBrien, and more are without exception full of fresh insights and provocative elucidations. Still, he is almost as good when he ranges farther and farther afield. From composers to architects such as Gaudi to movie stars to cultural differences, great cities, and any number of other subjects, his sheer, informed range and the breadth and play of his ideas are truly daunting. Burgess disciplined himself to write 1,000 words a day, and given that kind of productivity and the momentary nature, frankly acknowledged by Burgess, of these pieces, the occasional misfire is excusable. His pieces on his boyhood in Manchester are particularly weak. There are also a number or repetitions and recyclings, particularly his musings on the life of the novelist and the differences between the French and the English (one intellectiona second-hand one at thaton the saving stupidity of the Brits, appears at least five times). Though the whiff of Grub Street wafts across many of these pages, they are far more thought-provoking, polished, and richly readable than the usual harried, written-for-money pieces most writers crank out. We can only hope that this is not the last of Burgesss literary remains. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Burgess, whose essays on writers, composers, historical events, and his own idiosyncratic notions make up this collection, did not fancy the position of critic. He saw himself as a fiction writer who had vainly wished to be a composer, and a critic only for want of a better way to earn ready cash. But he was never a hack. The occasional pieces written, presumably, to butter daily bread display the same taste, wit, learning, and elegance of style that distinguish Burgess's novels, and make delightful reading. -- The Atlantic Monthly , Phoebe Lou Adams Used Book in Good Condition