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Money
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Time Magazine included the book in its list of the 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The story of John Self and his insatiable appetite for money, alcohol, fast food, drugs, pornography, and more, Money is ceaselessly inventive and thrillingly savage; a tale of life lived without restraint, of money and the disasters it can precipitate.
Paperback, 394 pages
Published
April 7th 2005
by Vintage
(first published January 1984)
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Barron
This answer contains spoilers…
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Charles Bewlay
Set in 1982, published first in 1985.
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Start your review of Money
Here to Stay
The 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 ge ...more
The 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 ge ...more
Jun 01, 2014
Rakhi Dalal
rated it
it was amazing
Recommended to Rakhi by:
Jon Quinton
Shelves:
powerful-stuff,
must-read
Yes, you are right. Money is about ‘Money’. But not the everyday money one needs to go on with the daily business of living. It is ‘The Money’. The sort people go bonkers to attain to overcome their fears. To suppress the ‘thinking monster’ who is ready to rear its head at a moment’s notice, when the guards are low, those fleeting moments when lust or power hang on to relax, freeing the mind from their rein temporarily. But that freedom is ephemeral, for there is no escape from Money.
John Self ...more
This was really an essential text for me. I first read it shortly after it came out in the U.S. (1985) and it was like nothing I had ever come across before. A hydrogen-bomb of a novel. The sheer speed of the narrative, the word play, the telling detail. In short Money possesses the masterful technique that causes a narrative to jump from the page. Though "originality" we now know is something of a misnomer--every artist has his or her models and Amis has always been frank about his--nevertheles
...more
Money features one of the most lovable dingbats I’ve yet encountered in literature, a buoyantly ridiculous, somehow charmingly silly scumbag of an antihero. When you add to that the book’s pervasively outlandish, exuberant energy, its wealth of genuinely hilarious black humor (I must have belly-laughed/giggled/snorted uncontrollably at least 20 times), and its wildly inventive word choices, which are flung at the reader with a blatantly waggish, manic enthusiasm, this thing is truly a fun, enter
...more
Thank You, Dear Gentle Reader
It's 5 pm on a Saturday in New York. The Reader walks into a bar where he works as a barman. In his bag is a copy of the novel "Money", which he has been reading on the subway on the journey to and from work. He hasn't checked the pages, but he's almost finished. Soon after setting up, he is joined by his first customer, a dishevelled, but interesting looking, character he doesn't think he's seen before. The customer is holding a folded piece of paper in his left han ...more
It's 5 pm on a Saturday in New York. The Reader walks into a bar where he works as a barman. In his bag is a copy of the novel "Money", which he has been reading on the subway on the journey to and from work. He hasn't checked the pages, but he's almost finished. Soon after setting up, he is joined by his first customer, a dishevelled, but interesting looking, character he doesn't think he's seen before. The customer is holding a folded piece of paper in his left han ...more
UPDATE: Did I really not give this five stars? What the fuck was I thinking? I rate all other books on Goodreads in terms of as-good-as-MONEY, not-as-good-as-MONEY, and possibly-better-than-MONEY-in-some-ways-but-then-again-not-really.
I don't know what book I thought I was going to find out there, that was going to be an entire star better than Martin Amis' MONEY, but I haven't found it yet.
(If I ever do encounter such a mindbusting blockbender of a book -- I hear TWILIGHT is good -- then I may ...more
I don't know what book I thought I was going to find out there, that was going to be an entire star better than Martin Amis' MONEY, but I haven't found it yet.
(If I ever do encounter such a mindbusting blockbender of a book -- I hear TWILIGHT is good -- then I may ...more
Not for the fainthearted or easily shocked - but if you don't fall into one of those categories, an absolutely first-rate comic novel. Impossible to forget John Self, surely one of the most unattractive anti-heroes ever. ...more
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? He’s 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 ping- ...more
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 ping- ...more
A sleazy masterpiece of rhythm and voice, Money is Martin Amis at his most decadent and vitriolic. Taking no prisoners, this novel moves at a jetlagged frenzy, hopping back and forth between London and New York City as our narrator, the bloated and repulsive John Self, wheels and deals with perverse moneymen and insecure actors as he tries his damnedest to make his pet project of a movie, Good Money (or Bad Money, depending on which has more appeal with test audiences), a money-spewing success.
...more
This 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 lifestyl ...more
Amis is an excellent writer, using witty, refined prose to describe a fairly abhorrent lifestyl ...more
The palimpsest technique
I laughed myself silly reading Martin Amis’s 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 ...more
Oct 24, 2017
K.D. Absolutely
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-core
One of the books that are hard to read but once you're done, you just would like to read them again. It is just too beautiful that the fulfillment that you get from it is indescribable. My first time to read a Martin Amis book and definitely will not be the last.
Despite the many references that probably only Londoners or New Yorkers (two settings of the story) might be familiar with, the staccato narration and John Self's vicious vices (those I cannot relate with except of course good food), the ...more
Despite the many references that probably only Londoners or New Yorkers (two settings of the story) might be familiar with, the staccato narration and John Self's vicious vices (those I cannot relate with except of course good food), the ...more
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.
...more
Let me begin by saying that this novel is certainly well worth the money -- 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 disc
...more
This is a hard book to review. 'Money'. I'll probably have to let the whole thing soak. It was brilliant, nimble, sharp, hard, completely balls-out-nuts and pornographic (not really in the PORNporn way, but in the MONEYporn way--yeah, folks, listen to the book you won't understand till you listen to it).
If you put 'Money' together with Gaddis' JRand Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities and then sprinkle it all with the vibe and intensity and amorality of Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow you begin to ...more
If you put 'Money' together with Gaddis' JRand Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities and then sprinkle it all with the vibe and intensity and amorality of Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow you begin to ...more
I finished this book days ago, and I have to say that I am glad I read it. Many times Martin made me laugh outloud......I am having a very hard time deciding what kind of review to write for this....it's about Money,and how Money jades you,makes you a sinner, etc. etc. etc.
I have to say then when I got to the end of this novel that I actually liked it quite a lot....at times I found it tedious,and a good friend/reviewer of mine kept asking me if I had finished it yet,and how it seemed like it w ...more
I have to say then when I got to the end of this novel that I actually liked it quite a lot....at times I found it tedious,and a good friend/reviewer of mine kept asking me if I had finished it yet,and how it seemed like it w ...more
I’m just going to come out and say it, John Self is the best character in literature written in the twentieth century; well to me he is anyway. The voice Martin Amis gives him is one of grit, lust, and obsession, a voice that’s true, real, hilariously comical and enlightening. I want to write a full review but I have a hangover from reading “Money”, so soon! I'm noting going to write full review.
...more
I loathed this book, especially its reekingly horrid, brain-damagingly idiotic mess of an ending, which felt like watching a drug-addicted alcoholic trainwreck you've seen self-destructing for years finally have his royal rock-bottom meltdown into utter psychosis, destitution, and multiple organ failure.
"But Jess!" you might be yelling. "Wasn't that the point?"
Probably, almost definitely, but really, I gotta ask: was this point really one that needed to be made? I think not, yet close to a year ...more
"But Jess!" you might be yelling. "Wasn't that the point?"
Probably, almost definitely, but really, I gotta ask: was this point really one that needed to be made? I think not, yet close to a year ...more
Hands down the funniest thing to come out of the 1980's. The best by leagues ahead of so many other novels of the period also depicting despicable greedy sensuous drug addicted lecherous fashionable movie industry people doing disgusting and hilarious things. It was the first thing I ever read of Amis'. I tried his baby-step book 'The Rachel Papers' after this, which didn't stand out from the herd of '60s college-kid books. Then Time's Arrow punched me in the face. Tried reading London Fields, b
...more
Note: Written in 2007, when my prose style was at an all-time low.
I would like to begin this review with a statement: I am not a rich man. The highest amount of capital I have ever accrued amounts to approximately two thousand British pounds, and after reading Money: A Suicide Note from Martin Amis, I can also state in all conviction – that will do quite nicely for me.
I picked this book up expecting a white-hot satire on the power of money to corrupt and infect the individual, and to rot societ ...more
I would like to begin this review with a statement: I am not a rich man. The highest amount of capital I have ever accrued amounts to approximately two thousand British pounds, and after reading Money: A Suicide Note from Martin Amis, I can also state in all conviction – that will do quite nicely for me.
I picked this book up expecting a white-hot satire on the power of money to corrupt and infect the individual, and to rot societ ...more
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 o ...more
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 o ...more
There is a song "The Changeling" by The Doors: "I live uptown. I live downtown. I live all around. I had money and I had none. But I've never been so broke that I couldn't leave town. I'm a changeling. See me change".
The novel Money by Martin Amis emanates the same murky aura as that song by the legendary band.
“Money doesn't mind if we say it's evil, it goes from strength to strength. It's a fiction, an addiction, and a tacit conspiracy.”
Money is evil and the only greater evil is to have none. ...more
The novel Money by Martin Amis emanates the same murky aura as that song by the legendary band.
“Money doesn't mind if we say it's evil, it goes from strength to strength. It's a fiction, an addiction, and a tacit conspiracy.”
Money is evil and the only greater evil is to have none. ...more
3 1/2 stars. I think I enjoyed all the things everyone else seems to dislike about this book.
The narrator - John Self - is literally one of the most repugnant characters you will ever meet. He's that despicable misogynistic alcoholic over there in the suit, drowning in his own excess. Alcohol, pornography, hedonism and, of course, money are his life, and he is a cringy embarrassment even to the reader.
That being said, his pitiful stumbling from one ridiculous sex and booze-fuelled scenario to an ...more
The narrator - John Self - is literally one of the most repugnant characters you will ever meet. He's that despicable misogynistic alcoholic over there in the suit, drowning in his own excess. Alcohol, pornography, hedonism and, of course, money are his life, and he is a cringy embarrassment even to the reader.
That being said, his pitiful stumbling from one ridiculous sex and booze-fuelled scenario to an ...more
I never thought anyone could make me sympathetic towards a drunk, drug addled, sex addicted porn film producer. But Martin Amis seems to have managed it. Though, a lesser person may have put it down before they got to that point.
The only thing in my favor? It was an interlibrary loan! Damned if I wasn't going to get my $2 worth!
The first half of the book? Dreadful. But once things started happening, I did start being much more interested. It took me a week to read the first half and two days to ...more
The only thing in my favor? It was an interlibrary loan! Damned if I wasn't going to get my $2 worth!
The first half of the book? Dreadful. But once things started happening, I did start being much more interested. It took me a week to read the first half and two days to ...more
#38
Working Through the Times 100 Greatest Novels.
Martin Amis and his father, Kingsley Amis (author of "Lucky Jim", the novel I'd finished previous this this), are polar opposites when it comes to their writing styles. While Kingsley is deeply ironical and academic/high-brow in prose style, Martin is downright in your face, guns blazing, all teeth and claw. And I love it.
"Money" is perhaps the most degenerative novel I've laid eyes on in my young reading "career" (ha-ha), fueled by drugs, alcohol ...more
Working Through the Times 100 Greatest Novels.
Martin Amis and his father, Kingsley Amis (author of "Lucky Jim", the novel I'd finished previous this this), are polar opposites when it comes to their writing styles. While Kingsley is deeply ironical and academic/high-brow in prose style, Martin is downright in your face, guns blazing, all teeth and claw. And I love it.
"Money" is perhaps the most degenerative novel I've laid eyes on in my young reading "career" (ha-ha), fueled by drugs, alcohol ...more
It's clear to me why Martin Amis called this book Money. The next best alternative title - The Adventures of a Misogynistic, Money-Obsessed and Self-Loathing Lush with a wee bit of a Junk Food Problem - wouldn’t have fit on the front cover. Money is a pretty intense book. John Self, the main character and narrator, is a one-man whirlwind of drinking, smoking, woman-hitting and money-squandering.
I’ve read all this before, you’re thinking, casting your mind to Bukowski - but trust me you haven’t ...more
I’ve read all this before, you’re thinking, casting your mind to Bukowski - but trust me you haven’t ...more
When he was interviewed in London on July 10, 2002 Martin Amis was asked if he has any ideal reader in mind whenever he writes. Part of his answer was:
"...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that. But I do have a sort of romantic idea of someone in their twenties, of a certain bent, and when they pick up a book by me, they think--as I have done on several occasions--'Ah, here is one for me. ...more
"...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that. But I do have a sort of romantic idea of someone in their twenties, of a certain bent, and when they pick up a book by me, they think--as I have done on several occasions--'Ah, here is one for me. ...more
The experience of reading Money was sad, pathetic, funny—though I hated to laugh—shallow and stupid, then, just as I slipped into a careless ignorance and began to judge it, wrongly, glimmers emerged of rare depth and perceptiveness of certain segments of humanity, and although those segments are not interesting unto themselves, the painting of them here was slick and masterful. I was close to despising the novel, what a waste of time, paper and ink, then, powerful prose set in and I was awed. D ...more
Mar 10, 2017
Faye
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed,
twentieth-century-classics
Read: December 2017
Any book where the author writes himself into the plot, then almost gets into a fight with his main character in a pub, is alright by me.
3/5 stars
Any book where the author writes himself into the plot, then almost gets into a fight with his main character in a pub, is alright by me.
3/5 stars
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading 1001: Money: a suicide note - Martin Amis | 1 | 6 | Dec 06, 2020 07:36AM | |
| 50 books to read ...: Money | 7 | 36 | Mar 03, 2019 07:19AM | |
| How to Make Money Through Share Market | 1 | 1 | Jul 27, 2018 03:35AM | |
| Money Making Enough of the e-mail to reply | 1 | 3 | Apr 29, 2016 11:44PM | |
| Money Making Too I be watchful | 1 | 4 | Feb 12, 2016 09:11PM | |
| Guardian Newspape...: December 2015- Money | 27 | 26 | Jan 13, 2016 07:10PM |
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Martin Amis is an English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His works include the novels Money, London Fields and The Information.
The Guardian writes that "all his critics have noted what Kingsley Amis [his father] complained of as a 'terrible compulsive vividness in his style... that constant demonstrating of his command of English'; and it's true that the Amis-ness of Amis will be reco ...more
The Guardian writes that "all his critics have noted what Kingsley Amis [his father] complained of as a 'terrible compulsive vividness in his style... that constant demonstrating of his command of English'; and it's true that the Amis-ness of Amis will be reco ...more
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“Oh Christ, the exhaustion of not knowing anything. It's so tiring and hard on the nerves. It really takes it out of you, not knowing anything. You're given comedy and miss all the jokes. Every hour you get weaker. Sometimes, as I sit alone in my flat in London and stare at the window, I think how dismal it is, how heavy, to watch the rain and not know why it falls.”
—
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“I gestured at my litre of fizzy red wine. “Want a drop of this?” I asked him.
No thanks. I try not to drink at lunchtime.”
So do I. But I never quite make it.”
I feel like shit all day if I drink at lunchtime.”
Me too. But I feel like shit all lunchtime if I don’t.”
Yes, well it all comes down to choices, doesn’t it?” he said. “It’s the same in the evenings. Do you want to feel good at night or do you want to feel good in the morning? It’s the same with life. Do you want to feel good young or do you want to feel good old? One or the other, not both.”
Isn’t it a tragedy?”
—
72 likes
More quotes…
No thanks. I try not to drink at lunchtime.”
So do I. But I never quite make it.”
I feel like shit all day if I drink at lunchtime.”
Me too. But I feel like shit all lunchtime if I don’t.”
Yes, well it all comes down to choices, doesn’t it?” he said. “It’s the same in the evenings. Do you want to feel good at night or do you want to feel good in the morning? It’s the same with life. Do you want to feel good young or do you want to feel good old? One or the other, not both.”
Isn’t it a tragedy?”
