As Near as I Can Get Author:Paul Ableman First published in 1962, "As Near as I Can Get" was Paul Ableman's follow up to his critically acclaimed debut "I Hear Voices". Following Alan Peebles, a young man struggling to become a poet, "As Near as I Can" depicts a mid-twentieth century London of offices, pubs and lodgings. Fuelled by drink through these desperate years, the narrator char... more »ts his encounters with women and fellow artists, as he seeks to glimpse a wonder in life barely discernible beneath the routine of every day. The novel was reviewed by Anthony Burgess, a greatly admirer of Ableman's work for its inventive language, bawdy high spirits and originality of form.« less