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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I suppose it is showing its age a little now but fabulous use of language. A tour de force, uproarious, never lets up. Have re-read it many times, if only to check out what is going on over at 'rug, gut & gum'. Probably a bit more harrowing to read now that I am a middle aged bloke myself....” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It2 of 3 members found this review helpful “I hate everything Martin Amis has ever written. I don't know why I thought this book would be any different. It took me three days to figure out what the heck he was saying in the first paragraph. You know what would be funny? Him hooking up with the insufferable Annie Proulx! HAHAHAHAHA! OMG,...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Harder to get into than the Rachel Papers, main character not as likeable- but am perservering”
Katy M wrote this review Thursday, March 22, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This tragicomic novel is certainly well worth any price that you may have to pay for it -- a masterpiece always is. I hardly know where to begin as I was so moved by this literary tour de force on fiat currency. Martin Amis is a writer's writer, a novelist's novelist, a poet's poet. The syntax is elegant, exquisite, delicious, a joy to read -- it's a book you want never to end. Amis worked hard and even fought to add value to every single word in this allegorical novel or as William H. Gass said, you will discover "a world in every word." John Self is not himself. He suffers debilitating fits of unwellness which all trace back inevitably and prolifically to money, the primary driver of his existence. He is the penultimate lout, an oaf, a drunk, a brutish womanizer, a first-rate hedonist and producer of pornographic films -- he is the penultimate anti-hero of the late 20th century and we also see his cousins who bear a strong resemblance to the protagonists who populate the novels of JP Donleavy. John Self is both the driver and victim of every shallow relationship and makes every mistake in the book but he just can't help himself -- he's only human. He is driven senseless, nearly out of his mind, by money to become an agent of his own demise, his own doom, his own destiny. John Self drives a car which model is branded a Fiasco and it is prone to capricious fits and starts, breakdowns of every variety, unreliable, expensive to repair and perpetually riding along the brink of disaster. Myriad memorable quotes haunt this epic, picaresque, existential, tragicomic allegory. "Do you want to know the meaning of life? Life is an aggregate, an aggregate of all the lives that have ever been lived on the planet Earth." Ultimately, John Self is responsible for the pain of every sin he commits which intrigue by virtue of their seemingly infinite variety -- how can one man inherit so much chaos and suffer such crisis over one midlife? If only he could end the pain and suffering which cause him to ponder his own suicide at the bloody hands of banknotes -- the ultimate suicide note. At one point the pornographic film producer, who considers himself an artist, discovers this: "But the clouds obey their natural functions and do not know or care how beautiful they are. What does know, what does care about its own beauty? Only beautiful women -- oh yeah, and artists, I suppose, real artists, not the con and other varieties that I've always had to work my way around. I am an artist -- an escape artist." Aren't we all escape artists doomed to fail one last try? One of many brilliant strokes in the story line is the repeated meeting of John Self with the author in a literal and allegorical chess match. If character is destiny, then it was bound to happen sometime. The dialogue is rich, real and idiosyncratic ripe with wit, honesty and meaning. The storyline is a labyrinth in which it is most agreeable to wander and come out right in the end, it all comes out in the wash. The odd, richly nuanced characters are credibly and honestly cast fresh off the streets of New York and London. I was genuinely thrilled finally to discover Martin Amis and really can't recommend him more highly as a post-modern master. Fish out your wallets and pay the price in hard currency because "Money" by Martin Amis is absolutely priceless. ”
David B. Lentz wrote this review Friday, February 24, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“TRHickman said: 4 stars
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Shelf wrote this review Monday, January 30, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Raw, raucous and relentless. The story of John Self careens from one painful scene to the next in a race to the bottom. How can this character be sympathetic? Read to find out.”
“my enjoyment in the novel was for two stars, the quality of the book is probably four - so it gets three from me. not my cup of tea. ”
Janko A wrote this review Tuesday, December 20, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I find for my taste, I am hit or miss with Martin Amis. I confess that I gave up on the story of John Self before it ended and "cheated" by reading the Wikipedia article. (Which I think is the same thing I did for Amis' "The Rachel Papers", yet I don't remember having done this for any other book. Hmmmm).
Laina A wrote this review Tuesday, December 20, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Yet Amis' "Time's Arrow" is one of my favorite books. Go figure.
If "Money" ever shows up in e-book format, I may try to finish it that way, but for now, it earns 3 stars for the parts I did read, and the benefit of the doubt for being written by Martin Amis.”
“Raw, raucous and relentless. The story of John Self careens from one painful scene to the next in a race to the bottom. How can this character be sympathetic? Read to find out.”
TRHickman wrote this review Saturday, November 19, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Perhaps I do not appreciate the Dark British comedy, but I did not find this book very comical. I picked it up after it was high up on the Gaurdian's all time comedy books list.
abhishek K wrote this review Sunday, November 13, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The story line is the author's wish. Random things keep happening. It is verbose and kind of a drag to read.
Would not suggest it to anyone.”
“This is a very easily read book. Very reminiscent to the style of Palahniuk, Lipsyte and Vonnegut, this is a tale told by an I, a 34-year-old Englishman named John Self, who is employed in the pornography trade. As he delves into the USA he becomes set in old ways.
Niklas Pivic wrote this review Thursday, June 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
[blockquote]Refreshed by a brief blackout, I got to my feet and went next door. The mirror looked on, quite unimpressed, as I completed a series of rethinks in the hired glare of the windowless bathroom. I cleaned my teeth, combed my rug, clipped my nails, bathed my eyes, gargled, showered, shaved, changed — and still looked like shit. Jesus,'I'm so fat these days. I tell you, I appal myself in the tub and on the can. I sit slumped on the ox-collar seat like a clutch of plumbing, the winded boiler of a thrashed old tramp. How did it happen? It can't just be all the booze and the quick food I put away. No, I must have been pencilled in for this a long time ago. My dad isn't fat. My mother wasn't either. What's the deal? Can money fix it? I need my whole body drilled down and repaired, replaced. I need my body capped is what I need. I'm going to do it, too, the minute I hit the money.[/blockquote]
It's a bit Dashiell Hammett, too. The sleuth. But no sleuthing here, just living. Self, with his money in the pocket, trying to find Selina, seemingly the woman of his dreams. Is he sure? How can he be? Self's an alcoholic, always on the bend, never on the mend.
[blockquote]Extremity is the only element of surprise. Hit them with everything. No quarter.[/blockquote]
It feels as though Amis has given it his all to write a daily diary as though the alcoholic I is a child, a no-gooder who doesn't remember and gets told of what he's been through and deserves. At times this works, other times it feels like a dull knife, an author jaded and not driven by anything than a deadline:
[blockquote]At once I grimly instigated my miracle flu cure. You go to bed, wrap up warm, and drink a bottle of scotch. Technically it's meant to be half a bottle, but I wanted to make absolutely sure.[/blockquote]
Amis even writes himself into the book, running into the I a few times.
[blockquote]'Your dad, he's a writer too, isn't he? Bet that made it easier.'
'Oh, sure. It's just like taking over the family pub.'
'Uh?'
'Time,' said the man behind the bar. 'Time. Time.'[/blockquote]
...which is something I don't think works very well. But considering Amis' slow, rambling style without loads of sentences directly aimed to thrash the reader, it's an easy get-by. You simply wait for the next good thing.
So what is the next good thing in this book? There's no real plot. There's no magical "oh!" in it. It simply is, without much effect. It owes quite a lot to alcoholism and noir detective stories.
Other times, Amis seems to aim for yob wordplay:
[blockquote]The French, they say, live to eat. The English, on the other hand, eat to die.[/blockquote]
And at a few times, it's funny, as when Self meets his dad:
[blockquote]'I want you to meet Vron.'
'Vron?' He's doing it with robots now, I thought. He halted me with a tug of my hair.
'Yeah. Vron,' he said. 'Now you behave.'
Vron sounded bad enough when I said it. My father has trouble pronouncing his r's, owing to some palate fuck-up or gob-gimmick. Vron sounded a good deal worse when he said it.[/blockquote]
And the drunkenness goes on, which is the strength of this book, in a way:
[blockquote]Martina sighed. 'You were drunk. You know, it's quite a lot to ask, to spend a whole evening with someone who's drunk.'
... I had always known the truth of this, of course. Drunks know the truth of this. But usually people are considerate enough not to bring it up. The truth is very tactless. That's the trouble with these non-alcoholics — you never know what they're going to say next. Yes, a rum type, the sober: unpredictable, blinkered and selective. But we cope with them as best we can.[/blockquote]
His inadvertent/blind chase for Martina, a girl who actually cares for him, seems to pass his blind face by.
All in all: entertaining and worth the read, but I really would have preferred a hefty amount of editing.”
“Amis has a raw realist narrative edge in this book. Perhaps this particular Amis novel is not for everyone. Those in particular who have a low tolerance for explicit drugs, sexuality and money. But if you are a true realist and explorative sociologically well then Amis can take you for quite a ride in John Self’s Fiasco and the life it carries about. I enjoyed the ride and the thoughts it evoked, especially those which were morally corruptive.
Kata wrote this review Monday, May 16, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My favorite quote from this book: "Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money." ”
“This was such a good book. It had twists, it was lyrical, it was entertaining, the main character is your typical 'bad guy' flashing the cash, living life well and truly in the fast lane - but he's also likeable. It was great, it had everything, I'd thoroughly recommend it. ”
Amy Alice D wrote this review Wednesday, March 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
