Martin Amis’s literary voice was “instantly recognizable,” Salman Rushdie writes. “Only Martin sounded like Martin Amis, and it was unwise to try to imitate him.”
Martin Amis was the son of three fathers—one actual parent and two literary forebears—Kingsley Amis, Vladimir Nabokov, and Saul Bellow.From Nabokov, he learned a kind of high intellectualism, and would explain, Nabokov-fashion, that it was less important for readers to see themselves in characters than for them to identify with the author as he struggled to create his art.
And from Bellow he gained a reverence for style—beginning with the sentence, which, for Bellow as for Amis, is the level at which literature is born—and also for the riff. Moses Herzog’s tirades are reborn in Martin’s brilliant paragraph-long, sometimes page-long, rants. The commingling of these elements created a literary voice that was at once unique and instantly recognizable. Only Martin sounded like Martin Amis, and it was unwise to try to imitate him.
He used to say that what he wanted to do was leave behind a shelf of books—to be able to say, “From here to here, it’s me.”
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Martin Amis’s Comic MusicThe great British novelist Martin Amis, who has died at 73, had a true literary vitality that was high-spirited and farcical.
Read more »
Martin Amis Is Dead at 73Martin Amis, acclaimed British author and “Mick Jagger of the book world,” has died.
Read more »
Money Author Martin Amis Dies at 73Amis co-helmed a controversial literary scene with Christopher Hitchens.
Read more »
British novelist Martin Amis has died, according to his agent. Amis was 73.British novelist Martin Amis, who brought a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to his stories and lifestyle, has died. He was 73. His death, from cancer of the esophagus, was confirmed by his agent, Andrew Wylie, who said Amis died at his home in Florida. Amis was the son of another British writer, Kingsley Amis. Martin Amis was a leading voice among a generation of writers that included his good friend, the late Christopher Hitchens, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie. Among his best-known works were “Money,” a satire about consumerism in London, “The Information” and “London Fields,” along with his 2000 memoir, “Experience.”
Read more »
'Only Murders in the Building' Season 3 Sets Supersized PremiereMartin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez are back on the case this summer.
Read more »