Experience - Martin Amis

People either love or loathe Martin Amis, and "Experience" is hardly likely to cause any defections from one camp to the other. Amis writes about his own life as he writes about those of his characters - dazzlingly, intellectually, and occasionally infuriatingly. "Experience" is more literary memoir than autobiography, and as much about the books of Amis's father Kingsley, and "surrogate father" Saul Bellow, as Amis's own. In fact, it's the frequent dropping of names such as Bellow, Rushdie and Larkin which is most likely to irritate; even I, a staunch Amis devotee, occasionally had to put the book down for a break from ...

It would be nice to write something pleasant about Martin Amis's "Experience". Regrettably, all I can say on that score is that his use of the English language is as good as any writer alive today. In fairness to the author, I tried very hard to persevere with this hopscotch of unconnected prose. The longer I stuck with it, the less interesting it all became. Amis seems to be fascinated by teeth (his own), death (his cousin's) and requoted witticisms (his father's). I'm sure that it cannot be easy to live with bad teeth and the death of a cousin (particularly in such a gruesome manner) but why so much angst? Maybe it wasn't intended to be ...

Whatever he writes Martin Amis always likes to work the reader hard. This can be a delight for those who like his literary trickery but it can be rather grueling for the dedicated skimmer. Not surprisingly his auto-biography is of a similar hue and its non-linear structure makes it seem like an overview of indeed; his Experience. As much as it is about himself, it is about his father Kingsley, whom despite coming across as some kind of despotic and selfish old reprobate, Martin has the deepest of affection and sense of loss for. Those without much regard for Martin or his work, may quite possibly detest this book but those that love the work of this gnomish genius ...