May 20, 2023
Updated 15 minutes ago
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Martin Amis, one of the most famous British writers of his generation, has died at the age of 73.
He died of esophageal cancer at his Florida home, the New York Times reported, citing his wife, writer Isabel Fonseca.
Amis is best known for his 1984 novel Money and 1989 work London Fields.
He is the author of 14 novels and several non-fiction books and is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of his time.
He was born in Oxford in 1949, the son of the writer and poet Sir Kingsley Amis.
The younger American followed in his father’s footsteps with his first novel, The Rachel Papers.
The novel was published in 1973 while he was working for the Times Literary Supplement. It is about the romantic adventures of a teenager in London before university and won the Somerset Maugham Award.
Author of a number of notable works, Amis was a contemporary of other famous writers such as James Fenton, Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan.
His close relationship with journalist Christopher Hitchens, who died of esophageal cancer in 2011, is well documented.
They were part of a colorful array that revitalized the British literary scene and are credited with inspiring a generation of younger writers.
Paying tribute to Amis, Rushdie told the New Yorker, “He always said he wanted to leave a shelf full of books — to be able to say, ‘From here to here, it’s me.'”
“His voice is silent now. His friends will miss him terribly. But we have the shelf.”
And another contemporary, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, told the BBC: “He was a role model for my generation of novelists and an inspiration to me personally.”
“For all the bitingness of his satire, the brilliant boastfulness of his prose, there was always something tender near the surface, a longing for love and connection. His work will endure and survive the various changes in fashion and custom.”
A literary rock star
Funny, provocative, bold in language – and a celebrity in its heyday. Martin Amis has often been described as the Mick Jagger of the literary world (and Carrie Bradshaw read his novels in Sex in the City).
He was one of the main names on the first list of the best British novelists under 40, chosen by Granta in 1983, and every ten years since.
At this point, Amis was already considered the enfant terrible of English literature.
His semi-autobiographical debut novel The Rachel Papers launched him onto the literary scene in 1973. He was verbally resourceful and understood the frustrations of a certain type of smart (horny) young man.
His second novel, Dead Babies, published in 1975, chronicled a weekend of debauchery and showcased his unusual use of hurtful language.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Amis was never far away – often quoted, often photographed. A literary rock star.
His novels encapsulated eras, be it his satire on the excesses of 1980s glossy, empty Thatcherism in Money and London Fields, or his backwards exploration of the Holocaust in Time’s Arrow about the life of a German doctor at Auschwitz .
Amis had a really recognizable voice. He was a British novelist who bridged the gap between the more leisurely style of the English novel that preceded it and the expansive fiction of America.
The reaction to his death strengthens his position as one of the great British novelists of his time.
Amis’ work was often characterized by its darkly comic subject matter and satire.
He also wrote two collections of short stories, six non-fiction books, and a collection of memoirs.
He was known as a public intellectual and often controversial commentator on current affairs and politics.
Money became his best-known work and is often cited as one of the defining novels of the 1980s.
Set in New York and London, the book follows a commercial director attempting to make his first feature film and is based on Amis’s own time as a screenwriter on Saturn 3, a critically acclaimed sci-fi film starring Kirk Douglas.
Throughout his career, he returned to the subject of the Holocaust in novels such as Time’s Arrow and The Zone of Interest.
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Alongside Salman Rushdie (left) and others, Amis was part of an influential literary scene in 1980s Britain
Amis, who moved to the US from London in 2012, published his memoir, Experience, in 2000. His most recent novel, Inside Story, was published in 2020.
His friend Zachary Leader, a literary critic, said Mr Amis was “charming and very generous” but “very concerned about his success”.
“His life was a series of invitations, many of which he turned down, and not all of them he turned down with the kind of good nature he would show his friends. I don’t think he was stingy with the people he liked “did his best,” Leader told the BBC.
Michal Shavit, Amis UK Editor at Vintage Books said: “It’s hard to imagine a world without Martin Amis. He was the king – a stylist extraordinaire, super cool, a brilliantly funny, scholarly and fearless writer, and a truly wonderful man.
“He has been so important and formative for so many readers and writers over the last half century.”
In a statement, Penguin Books said: “We are devastated by the passing of our author and friend Martin Amis. Our thoughts are with all his family and loved ones, especially his children and his wife Isobel.”
“He leaves a tremendous legacy and an indelible mark on the British cultural landscape and we will miss him dearly.”
The Booker Prize Twitter account said: “We are saddened to hear that Martin Amis, one of the most celebrated and discussed novelists of the past 50 years, has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Time’s Arrow was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and his 2003 novel Yellow Dog made the long list.
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Amis at his London home in 1987: Over the course of 50 years he has authored 14 novels, one memoir and several non-fiction books