Martin Amis
Paperback | Pages: 394 pages Rating: 3.71 | 22270 Users | 1010 Reviews
Define Books Concering Money
| Original Title: | Money |
| ISBN: | 0099461889 (ISBN13: 9780099461883) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | John Self, Fielding Goodney |
Chronicle As Books Money
Here to StayThe enduring legacy of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher isn’t conservatism as a political programme but narcissism as a mode of living. As the aptly named John Self says in Money, “You just gave us some money... but you hate me, don’t you. Yes you do. Because I’m the new kind, the kind who has money but can never use it for anything but ugliness. To which I say: You never let us in, not really. You might have thought you let us in, but you never did. We’re here to stay. You try getting us out ... My way is coming up in the world”
Amis got it exactly right. John Self is now the new normal. The physical embodiment of his ethos is Trump and Harvey Weinstein. John Self is their fictional prototype: coarse, uneducated, racist, misogynistic, overweight, and entirely without taste. He not only became acceptable in polite circles, he became their centre. “You know where you are with economic necessity,” Self opines, by which he means money is the only criterion of value. Therefore more is always better, even if there is no object in having it except having it.
There is only a limited amount of pornography, alcohol, drugs, and sex a human being can consume. And their consumption in excess reduces the ability to consume more (it’s impossible to have seven month long hangover without side effects). This causes an irritability which leads to the potential for violence at any moment. Self knows this and lives in constant fear of himself. This in turn makes him more irritable, and so on. “With violence, you have to keep your hand in, you have to have a repertoire.” Get your revenge in first. Never yield. Always hurt the other guy more than he hurt you. Sound familiar?
For the English Self, New York City is an enormous brothel, with fast food restaurants in close proximity. The place excites him in a curious way: “You step off the plane, look around, take a deep breath–and come to in your underpants, somewhere south of SoHo, or on a midtown traction table with a silver tray and a tasselled tab on your chest and a guy in white saying Good morning, sir. How are you today. That’ll be fifteen thousand dollars . . .” NYC demands money just to stay alive, lots of it. It makes the making of money as a goal in itself comprehensible, even worthwhile.
Lots of literary allusions are peppered through the text, including an increasing number to the author himself, the ultimate hero of the piece, who proposes the redemptive force of literature as an antidote to the Reagan/Thatcherite legacy. Right, that’ll do it. I’ll write to Trump and Weinstein to clue them in.
Good writing. But consequently a sermon heard only by the choir of readers of good writing. Not Trump; not Weinstein, therefore.
Identify Appertaining To Books Money
| Title | : | Money |
| Author | : | Martin Amis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 394 pages |
| Published | : | April 7th 2005 by Vintage (first published January 1984) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Contemporary. Novels. Thriller |
Rating Appertaining To Books Money
Ratings: 3.71 From 22270 Users | 1010 ReviewsAppraise Appertaining To Books Money
The palimpsest technique I laughed myself silly reading Martin Amiss Money. On the bus on my way to work, or in the subway on my way to University, wherever I happened to be reading, I was bursting out laughing every other page. And it was challenging to discover where the comedy came from: was it a genuine laughter fed by traditional techniques, so to speak, such as situation, language, names, characters? Or did it answer some subconscious expectations of mine with its fine parody not only ofThis book took me a LONG time to read, and the despicableness of the protagonist, John Self, had a lot to do with it. I just couldn't get past how disgusting and loathsome he was, and didn't understand why anyone would want to waste their time reading about such an unlikable character. After struggling through the first half, however, the second half gripped me and I found that I couldn't put it down. Amis is an excellent writer, using witty, refined prose to describe a fairly abhorrent
Money is an entertaining social critique of society's obsession with the power derived from money. Later authors like Bret Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk echo some of the same sentiment. It's a great read, albeit a tad long-winded. I enjoyed the journey.
How about a story where the narrator is an absolute pig who spends most of the novel blind drunk as he careens from blackout to blackout while being a completely self-absorbed and oblivious asshole who survives on a diet of fast food and pornography? Hes also the kind of guy who gets in bar brawls and occasionally smacks women around. Sound like fun?Actually, it is. John Self is a British director of crass TV commercials who is about to make his first movie with an American producer. John
Here to StayThe enduring legacy of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher isnt conservatism as a political programme but narcissism as a mode of living. As the aptly named John Self says in Money, You just gave us some money... but you hate me, dont you. Yes you do. Because Im the new kind, the kind who has money but can never use it for anything but ugliness. To which I say: You never let us in, not really. You might have thought you let us in, but you never did. Were here to stay. You try getting
I agree with you . The one who owns the information owns the world. I think that I should read more books on this topic, because in the near future I
I made an unwise choice here. I was swayed by the good reviews I read and naturally assumed the book would be excellent.I didn't like the character of John Self at all. I found him empty in "spirit", didn't go with his life style, neither was I taken with the form of the writing, as it lacked, to me, any sense of art or beauty. So the book has been despatched to the "clouds" in Kindle to enjoy eternity in the ether.Normally the reviewers are very good and I can be persuaded to follow their way
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