As I wind down number 55, Money by Martin Amis, I thought I should comment on something this book had, which I believe to be very unique. I'm sure I haven't seen this before, and doubtful I'll see it again, at least not from this list.
Several of my previous reads from the list have mentioned other books on the list, and Money joins those ranks after the protagonist reads both Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as mentioning The Catcher in the Rye. And other books have mentioned authors of books from the list, be they mere mentions or actual characters like Theodore Dreiser was in Ragtime. Money joins that group as well, when the protagonist meets an author who lives in his neighborhood, a certain Martin Amis.
I'm not sure what I think about having the author of the book as a character in the book. And it isn't as if Amis is a once off, mentioned only in passing. Quite the contrary, Amis becomes a rather important character in the book. There isn't anything wrong with this, and the character is entirely believable and fits the book, it's just such an interesting technique. Since starting this list two years ago, I've always, for whatever reason, gotten a kick out of these mentions and I think Money has now taken the cake.
One could argue, I guess, that Kurt Vonnegut makes an appearance in Slaughterhouse-Five, as 'Kilgore Trout,' but I don't think an appearance by what could at best be described as an alter-ego, is the same as the Amis cameo in Money. Not only is the character named Martin Amis, he's also a writer and son of a famous writer. Of course I really can't speak to whether or not the character is anything like the author when it comes to personality, as I don't really know Martin Amis very well; especially not 1984 Martin Amis. But in the end, it does not really matter as the book is fiction.
For the record, this is the 11th book I've read so far that mentions another book or author.
Several of my previous reads from the list have mentioned other books on the list, and Money joins those ranks after the protagonist reads both Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, as well as mentioning The Catcher in the Rye. And other books have mentioned authors of books from the list, be they mere mentions or actual characters like Theodore Dreiser was in Ragtime. Money joins that group as well, when the protagonist meets an author who lives in his neighborhood, a certain Martin Amis.
I'm not sure what I think about having the author of the book as a character in the book. And it isn't as if Amis is a once off, mentioned only in passing. Quite the contrary, Amis becomes a rather important character in the book. There isn't anything wrong with this, and the character is entirely believable and fits the book, it's just such an interesting technique. Since starting this list two years ago, I've always, for whatever reason, gotten a kick out of these mentions and I think Money has now taken the cake.
One could argue, I guess, that Kurt Vonnegut makes an appearance in Slaughterhouse-Five, as 'Kilgore Trout,' but I don't think an appearance by what could at best be described as an alter-ego, is the same as the Amis cameo in Money. Not only is the character named Martin Amis, he's also a writer and son of a famous writer. Of course I really can't speak to whether or not the character is anything like the author when it comes to personality, as I don't really know Martin Amis very well; especially not 1984 Martin Amis. But in the end, it does not really matter as the book is fiction.
For the record, this is the 11th book I've read so far that mentions another book or author.
