The Nudists

by Guy Bellamy

Guy Bellamy's fourth novel, 'The Nudists' appeared in hardback in 1986, and in paperback in 1987. It is a lazy summer of beach umbrellas and blistering heat. The sea is warm, the sky is blue and life is good or is it? The Venables sun-drenched honeymoon takes a new direction when bridegroom Simon meets a former Page Three girl relaxing in a Mediterranean bar. And surprises of a less pleasant nature are in store for young advertising millionaire Ben Brock when the pharmaceuticals market begins to shrink. The opening line of the novel is a golden hook: "Simon Venables, honeymooning under the scorching Mediterranean sun, has just seen the woman he should have married. She is a pneumatic blonde called Pym whose two page-three assets leave Simon sick with lust. But Pym is married to dynamic Ben Brock, a brash adman, brimming with cash from the lucrative pharmaceutical market..." Meanwhile, penniless Nick Bannerman, furiously writing a book on womans inhumanity to man, receives his due and more besides as his past catches up with him and his future begins to expand. When the three parties find themselves together on a vacation to remember, all is revealed, and their crossed destinies become further entwined, for better, for worse, both richer and poorer. In this masterful comic invention, displaying all his pungent wit and subtle venom so characteristic of his earlier novels, Guy Bellamy strips the veneer off life in the last quarter of the twentieth century and, once again, succeeds brilliantly. Reviewers once again heaped praise: "It is rare for a book to be comic, happy and readable all at once, but Guy Bellamy's "The Nudists", is just that. Daily Telegraph Hardback ISBN 0436039427 / Paperback ISBN 0140097724

Genres: Humor, Fiction

293 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Guy Bellamy (1935–2015) was an English author known for humorous novels. He wrote 14 novels, starting with The Secret Lemonade Drinker in 1977. His last, The Secret Vodka Drinker, appeared in 2012.

Bellamy was born in Bristol in 1935, but grew up in Surrey. Upon leaving school, he joined the RAF for National Service. He worked as a journalist on local newspapers in the Surrey area before going on to work on Fleet Street, becoming one of the youngest sub-editors on the Daily Express at the age of 24. He then worked at The Sun, before leaving in 1977 to focus on writing novels.

Reviews

[Baca Buku · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this book in the early nineties. I found it amusing, hilariously written and silly. Today, I still find it silly and the writing is funny, especially when it comes to the dialogue - although I also cringe at the sexism and rude language. I am still amused, but not as much as when I was younger. The references are dated, as is the hairstyle of the woman on the cover, and sunbathing nowadays?! But it's funny to read about being able to live comfortably without never having to work again on just £50,000. And I didn't know the centimetre was used as a measurement by the English then. Interesting.
These are just silly people doing silly things until they come to their senses after tragedy at the end.

[Alan Menachemson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yip!!! Bellamy is amazing. Totally unerrated

[Ted Bun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nope .... Whip-crack wit? Comedy? It failed to raise a smile here.
Street-smart prose ... Nah

The first half of the book is very tedious, concerning itself with building some rather unpleasant characters who I never developed any empathy with.

The second half is better as the pace builds and the characters lives fall apart (Hooray) before going all mushy again at the end when they all (apart from two minor characters) live happily ever after.

The title is a gratuitous misdirection ... I suppose "A Group of People Who Hang Out Nude by a Pool in Spain for a Few Days" is a bit less snappy but closer to the reality

[Big Endian · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 30 years since I first read this book - which I picked up as a dog-eared copy in a charity shop in Lincolnshire, and which I still have - I'm now reading it again. As a teenager I found it hilarious, captivating, and eminently quotable, and three decades later it still sparkles. Whilst the character development is quite thin, it's still an enjoyable pulp novel to read a few pages of before sleep, or on a plane, preferably on the way to sit around a pool and drink champagne.

Still good, verging on great. Don't expect Virginia Woolf.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A difficult book to classify. It reads like a Nigel Williams or Tom Sharpe France, but is neither as funny nor as absurd. Having said that I found this an engaging, amusing if rather insubstantial read.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was quite amusing but a bit predictable. It would be a diverting book to take on holiday, easy to read, story moves well, and a satisfactory conclusion. It is the sort of book I'll probably forget what I've read in it. Harmless fun!

[Ronnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Been a bit mean with this, should be a two and a half really probably. Very undemanding, predictable and full of male fantasy. Why on earth Bellamy is so obsessed with penis size you can only guess!

[Danya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t really know what I expected when I picked this book off of my parent’s bookshelf. It was comical, but also a little uncomfortable. I didn’t really connect with the humour.

[Gail Banavage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy is a bit too obsessed with penis size for my liking. It was a bit much at times.