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Article: The Amis way of saying things Mark Sanderson follows the progress of Martin Amis, reviewer and critic
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- April 8, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The War Against Cliche: Essays and Reviews, 1971-2000
by Martin Amis
Jonathan Cape, pounds 20, 505 pp
pounds 17 (99p p&p) 0870 155 7222
STYLE HAS ALWAYS been important to Martin Amis. It is one thing
he has never lacked. Compassion and character development may be
missing from such early works of fiction as Dead Babies and Success,
but there is no denying their narrative verve. Money and London
Fields are supreme examples of a style in search of a subject. In
other words, it is not what Amis says, it is the way he says it that
counts. In these two novels, for example, self-abuse and apocalypse
are simply the springboards which enable him to show off his talent
for turning verbal somersaults.