Money - Martin Amis

I don't know how I have managed to get through twenty-five years of book devouring life without stumbling heavily upon Martin Amis. I?d dallied with some short stories years ago, nothing overly special, and maybe that pushed Amis down my list of authors to spend my cash on. An oversight, clearly. A reprieve was in order, however, with the arrival of a certain blokey and his deep, almost unhealthy love for the author. I withstood his nagging for a while, but eventually agreed I would read some of the work of his idol and see what all the fuss was about. I started with Yellow Dog, which left me fairly non-plussed, and careered onwards with my own bookish ...  Read the complete review

Having just finished Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day, I’ve decided to write a review about, erm, this Martin Amis novel. I studied Money about eight months ago, and I’m finding it’s just one of those books you come back to over and over again. In his book Understanding Martin Amis, James Diedrick has this to say: "Money represents a high-water mark in Amis's career, building on the strengths of his earlier novels but far exceeding them in scope, depth of characterization, and organic unity. It also stands as one of the indispensable novels of and about its decade." I can’t claim to have read all of Amis’ ...  Read the complete review

Money- my favourite book of the eight or so on my university reading list. I place it on the shelf of my favourite books. It does have an advantage over the others on the reading list as being contemporary, which gave it a head start to me. Set in 1981, during the Reagan and Thatcher times, Money is the only conceivable name for this book. The main character, John Self, is described as 'consumer extraordinaire' on the blurb, and that is exactly what he is. Money is his great obsession, his refuge and substitute for emotion. Self is not a likable character, his other passions include alcohol, pornography and drugs, all in large quantities, and favours ...  Read the complete review

I laughed so much I could not read this book in public places - Advantages: Hilarious, stylish prose, very entertaining - Disadvantages: perhaps not to everyones taste