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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Amis has said, "The simple idea of the book - as I point out several times in the text - is, why should we expect death to be any less complicated than life ?...The novel is the girl's death, and her death is sort of a witty parody of her life...At the very end of the novel she starts her life again, the idea being that life and death will alternate until she gets it right".
My two previous experiences with Amis ('Money' and 'London Fields') were so enjoyable that I added 'Other People' to my small collection and it isn't out of place among such good company.
What I enjoyed most about 'Other People' is that manner in which it takes us through a series of events - variously bleak and funny, sometimes concurrently - through the eyes of Mary Lamb, an amnesiac, who at first struggles to conceptualise anything much at all and by the end is beginning to return to something like her old self.
The confidence with which Amis writes his characters is enviable, and he writes Mary's journey magnificently - it is unsettling, stilted, naive, innocent and grotesque. 'Other People' also has the unreliable narrator-character that is synonymous with Amis's work, and there are a number of pithy paragraphs giving this character's 'opinions' on subjects ranging from alcoholism to male-pattern baldness which are wonderfully unkind and irreverent.
The ending left me a little lost and confused, and the longer I leave my thoughts on it to fester; the more jilted I feel. Nonetheless, I sped through this with ease, Amis has the power to render complex characters and situations with ease and his style remains accessible throughout.
What I enjoyed most about 'Other People' is that manner in which it takes us through a series of events - variously bleak and funny, sometimes concurrently - through the eyes of Mary Lamb, an amnesiac, who at first struggles to conceptualise anything much at all and by the end is beginning to return to something like her old self.
The confidence with which Amis writes his characters is enviable, and he writes Mary's journey magnificently - it is unsettling, stilted, naive, innocent and grotesque. 'Other People' also has the unreliable narrator-character that is synonymous with Amis's work, and there are a number of pithy paragraphs giving this character's 'opinions' on subjects ranging from alcoholism to male-pattern baldness which are wonderfully unkind and irreverent.
The ending left me a little lost and confused, and the longer I leave my thoughts on it to fester; the more jilted I feel. Nonetheless, I sped through this with ease, Amis has the power to render complex characters and situations with ease and his style remains accessible throughout.
Martin Amis always includes mind-blowingly poetic sentences throughout, and 'Other People' is no exception. I enjoyed the mystery and the reveal never crossed my mind. Also includes a huge helping of Martin Amis' awesome humor.
As I often find when Martin Amis's fiction.. I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It is at times deeply, DEEPLY disturbing. The actions of many of the characters are really pretty abhorrant.. and I often felt like I needed a wash after putting this down. And yet I couldn't stop reading it! The mystery at the heart of this novel pulled me in and I wanted to know what had happened to this woman.. unfortunately you don't exactly get ALL the answers. It probably does need another read to pick up more clues but I don't think I can quite cope with that just yet.
Still, any book that provokes such strong feelings is one worth reading. Might not be for those not yet initated into the dark, seedy world of Martin Amis. Be warned.
Still, any book that provokes such strong feelings is one worth reading. Might not be for those not yet initated into the dark, seedy world of Martin Amis. Be warned.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So a lady wakes up in what you assume is a hospital with no memory. I guess it's a story about her discovering the world and trying to find out the past. It was a fairly easy read that had me wondering what would happen next, but it tried to be too mysterious and none of the questions were answered in the end for me.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing was beautiful; some sentences made me want to pull out my journal to remember the insights forever. The ending ruined it.