Four dysfunctional literary families who sabotaged each other

Jeff Somers is the author of the Avery Cates series, The Ustari Cycle, Lifers, and Chum (among many other books) and numerous short stories.

At the B&N Reads blog he tagged four literary families who sabotaged each other’s careers, including:

Martin and Kingsley Amis

Every Father’s Day we take a moment to celebrate the strong, supportive father figures who have taught us life skills, loaned us the family car, and imparted hard-won wisdom. And then there’s Kingsley Amis, a celebrated author who regularly insulted his equally famous son’s literary talent, denouncing his work for “breaking the rules, buggering about with the reader, drawing attention to [it]self.” The relationship between father and son was complicated, and Martin Amis seems to have adopted the position that his father was simply offering honest, tough-love opinions about his work. Still, it’s remarkable to think that a father who had achieved all manner of literary success would publicly dismiss his own son’s achievements instead of simply holding his tongue.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue