Novelist, essayist and literary critic, Martin Amis has been a major voice in Anglo-American literature for more than five decades. Born in 1949, the son of British author Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis wrote for and edited The Times Literary Supplement and New Statesman before publishing his first novel The Rachel Papers in 1973. Money, subtitled ‘A Suicide Note’, is Amis’ fifth and best known. It is a savage satire of the excesses and exploitation of the 1980s, and how money seduces, corrupts and destroys.
MAKING MONEY
A tale of opportunity, betrayal, drink, drugs, pornography, sex and movies, reputedly influenced by Amis’s own experience as a screenwriter working with iconic actor Kirk Douglas, the protagonist is a degenerate thirty-five-year-old called John Self. Fresh from his success directing X-rated commercials, Self is set to make his first film and arrives in New York to meet the producer Fielding Goodney:
“He’s the reason I’m here. I’m the reason he’s here too. We’re going to make lots of money together. Making lots of money – it’s not that hard, you know. It’s overestimated. Making lots of money is a breeze. You watch.”
“Por él estoy aquí. Por mí está él aquí. Vamos a ganar juntos montañas de dinero. Ganar montañas de dinero no es tan difícil, no sé si lo saben. La gente suele sobreestimar las dificultades. Ganar montañas de dinero es fácil. Ya lo verán“.
UNCOMFORTABLE
The novel sets Self on a journey of self-discovery and self-destruction. Bigoted, foul-mouthed, racist and misogynistic, Self’s rape jokes alone are enough to make most readers uncomfortable. However, like many money men of the 1980s, he remains unapologetic:
“You know, I’ve been told that I don’t like women. I do like women. I think chicks are cool. I’ve been told that men don’t like women, period. Oh yeah? Who does, then? Because women don’t like women.”
“Saben, a veces me han dicho que a mí no me gustan las mujeres. Y la verdad es que sí me gustan. Las tías me encantan. Me han dicho que a los hombres no les gustan las mujeres, y punto. ¿Ah sí? Entonces, ¿a quién le gustan? Porque a las mujeres no les gustan las mujeres”.
MEET MARTIN AMIS
As a narrator, Self is often hilarious, though as unreliable as his flashy but decrepit car the ‘Fiasco’. In a postmodern twist, Self meets the character (also a writer) Martin Amis. As Amis sits reading a book in a London pub, a drunken Self tries to start a conversation about writing:
“‘Hey,’ I said. ‘When you, do you sort of make it up, or is it just, you know, like what happens?’
‘Neither.’
‘Autobiographical,’ I said. ‘I haven’t read any of your books. There’s, I don’t really get that much time for reading.’
‘Fancy,’ he said. He started reading again.
‘Hey,’ I said. ‘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.’”
“—Eh —le dije—. Cuando te pones digamos que te lo vas inventando, o, simplemente, cuentas lo que pasa.
—Ninguna de las dos cosas.
—¿Autobiográfico? —pregunté—. No he leído ninguno de tus libros. Apenas me queda tiempo para lecturas.
—Curioso —dijo él. Se puso a leer otra vez.
—Eh —dije—. Tu padre, ¿verdad que también es escritor? Seguro que eso te facilitó las cosas.
—Por supuesto —dijo—. Es como hacerse cargo del pub de la familia”.
CHESS21
Martin Amis described Money as “a novel of voice, not plot” but the largely aimless narrative arrives at a cleverly-concealed conclusion, with Self’s money, relationships, movie deal, his very identity all uncertain. As Self plays chess with Martin Amis for fast-doubling bets, it becomes clear that he has been outmaneuvered by the writer in more ways than one:
“We climbed to our feet, and stretched, facing each other over the square table. I offered him my hand and said,
‘A draw.’
‘No. I’m afraid you lose.’
‘Come on, there’s nothing doing.’ I gestured airily at the board. And saw that he was right. My only moves were king moves, and they were suicide. He could capture, and keep his own pawn in range.
‘Zugzwang,’ he said.
‘What the fuck does that mean?’
‘Literally, forced to move. It means that whoever has to move has to lose. If it were my turn now, you’d win. But it’s yours. And you lose.”
“Nos pusimos en pie, nos desperezamos mirándonos el uno al otro por encima de la mesa cuadrada. Le tendí la mano y le dije:
—Tablas.
—No. Lo siento, pero pierdes tú.
—Venga, hombre, sabes muy bien que no hay forma de resolver este atasco —le dije, señalando con despreocupación el tablero. Yo sólo podía mover el rey, y cualquier movimiento era un suicidio.
—Zugzwang.
—¿Cómo?
—Que estás obligado a mover. Es un Zugzwang. Es decir, que en esta posición, el que tiene que jugar, pierde. Si me correspondiese jugar a mí, ganarías tú. Pero te corresponde jugar a ti. Tú pierdes”.
TRUE TEST
Money captures the zeitgeist on both sides of the Atlantic, with the Thatcher/Reagan push towards privatisation and deregulation. Amis himself has lived in both the UK and US, and caused a literary storm in 1995 when he switched from his British agent to the American Andrew Wylie, who secured him a massive advance of £500,000 for his novel The Information. Amis’s writing and opinions remain relevant today. He once said that the only true test of literature is whether it is still being read fifty years later. It’s a safe bet that Money will be read for many years to come.