Arrows is a documentary by a genius,
John Samson, whose flame burned briefly but brightly, about another genius,
Eric Bristow, whose career followed a similar trajectory. The film reflects a twilight world of pub sports satirised by Martin Amis in his masterpiece
London Fields. Last link may cause discomfort.
[more inside]
posted by tigrefacile
on Dec 22, 2011 -
7 comments
In 1991 during the publicity tour for
Harlot's Ghost,
Martin Amis interviewed Norman Mailer (
pt. 2,
pt. 3, and
pt. 4). Topics covered include the CIA, the Democratic Party, liberalism, communism, the writing life, being Jewish, feminism, the men’s movement, homosexuality, George Bush, and the Kennedys.
posted by Jasper Friendly Bear
on Jun 19, 2011 -
7 comments
Martin Amis hates children, ok, not children but children's literature. "People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children's book," Amis said, in
a sideways excursion from a chat about John Self, the antihero of his 1984 novel Money. "I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable." Remarks about children's books made by Martin Amis on the BBC's new book programme
Faulks on Fiction, broadcast this week, have caused anger and offence among children's writers.
posted by Fizz
on Feb 11, 2011 -
111 comments
The age of horrorism. On the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11, Martin Amis analyses - and abhors - the rise of extreme Islamism. In a penetrating and wide-ranging essay he offers a trenchant critique of the grotesque creed and questions the West's faltering response to this eruption of evil.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese
on Sep 19, 2006 -
66 comments
The Art of James Bond captures the aesthetic of a character Martin Amis called "lonely, melancholic, in some way ravaged... dark and brooding in expression, of a cold or cynical veneer, and above all enigmatic, in possession of a sinister secret." Of course,
the movies are a different story.
posted by Hildago
on Oct 5, 2002 -
11 comments
Stalin, Hitler, Guilt, Finger-Pointing And Friendship: Timothy Garton-Ash reviews, a trifle superciliously but fairly, a very lively and soul-searching polemic between two consummate, consuming and irresistible writers,
Martin Amis and
Christopher Hitchens - who also happen to be old friends. Funnily enough, I'd suggest reading Hitchens's review in
the Atlantic Monthly first; then the
three [
1] extracts
from [
2] Amis's
book [
3] and,
finally, Hitchens's reply to them. All in all, it's that rare thing: a long, juicy, well-written and passionately argued polemic with plenty of insights into how generations come to terms with the honest indiscretions and oversights of their youth. Oh and there's a lot about communism, nazism, totalitarianism and the Sixties too...
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Sep 5, 2002 -
15 comments
Martin Amis writes: 'Our best destiny, as planetary cohabitants, is the development of what has been called "species consciousness" - something over and above nationalisms, blocs, religions, ethnicities.' Naively idealistic or something to hope for?
posted by normy
on Sep 18, 2001 -
12 comments
