The Son of Kingsley doesn’t have a U.S. publisher. To my mind, Martin Amis has made several mistakes. Here’s how he can make a comeback.
1. He needs to lose the 1970s high-collar shirts.
2. He needs to realize that a bad boy image is more applicable to Russell Crowe than a guy who’s starting to look like Keith Richards.
3. He needs to understand that an author’s hubris is deflated when the books turned out are dreadful. Talk the talk when you can walk the walk, Marty.
4. As near as I can figure it, Marty can make a last-ditch effort by playing the sympathy angle along the lines of Time’s Arrow.
5. He needs to buy someone off at the Booker Committee.
6. He needs to know that most people scorn privileged sons of great literary figures, regardless of their talent.
(First scouted at Moorish Girl, who I hope is recovering from her terrible flu.)
© 2004, DrMabuse. All rights reserved.
Maybe he needs his old teeth back?
And his old agent, perhaps?
Um, ok, maybe we could work in that he needs to write some compelling fiction? Recognizably human characters in interesting situations, not merely another download from the Amis Thesaurus.
He’s clever but empty. Always has been, to my mind, though I know others will disagree. He’s a cold fish and his fiction gains no purchase with me. (His literary criticism, on the other hand, is frequently brilliant.)
The Considerable Downside to Languorous Self-Exile
Martin Amis is up for sale, as any lit twit will tell you. Now, I’m a fairly unremitting fan, but I won’t go within a country mile of Yellow Dog. (Too many other damn good books on the desk.) Ed has helpfully compiled a list of tips for Martin if…
The Considerable Downside to Languorous Self-Exile
Martin Amis is up for sale, as any lit twit will tell you. Now, I’m a fairly unremitting fan, but I won’t go within a country mile of Yellow Dog. (Too many other damn good books on the desk.) Ed has helpfully compiled a list of tips for Martin if…