London Fields

By: Martin Amis

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

The murderee is Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing who is intent on orchestrating her own extinction. The murderer may be Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts; or the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch. As Nicola leads her suitors towards the precipice, London--and, indeed, the whole world--seems to shamble after them in a corrosively funny novel of complexity and morality.

©1989 Martin Amis (P)2010 AudioGo

Distrubing comedy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Of course I would recommend it, however you should listen alone or at least not in mixed company.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not what I excepted, and not very comfortable.

Which character – as performed by Steven Pacey – was your favorite?

Niccola, was great, and so was Keith, and Guy, but the writer Sam was my favorite.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many laugh out loud for many seconds, parts, and a few stop the recording and pull over to laugh moments, really too many list.

Any additional comments?

I don't usually go for novels from the English 80s but this one does nicely with the time period, and language. However it is dark and uncomfortable, I don't mind telling someone I know will not and has not read this or anything like this, but I don't know that I would want to admit to someone who was familiar with the work how much I enjoyed it, guilty indulgence or symptom of a diseased mind.

cover but ultimately a bit tedious

Amis is very clever and is a virtuoso stylist. But I often feel he's a bit of a show off. And the clever cleverness, and the witty writing tend to be be laid on a bit thick. It's like watching a fireworks display which is all grand finale. After a while it gets boring. It also pretty much eliminates any emotional concern for the characters. I particularly didn't;t like the conceit of the writer interacting with the characters he's writing about. And nearly all the main characters are caricatures--ridiculously exaggerated types. No doubt this is deliberate; but it makes them less interesting. On he plus side, his word choice is consistently entertaining.

No one to like in this well-written book

Martin Amis writes well. He doesn’t like any of the characters he created for London Fields, and I don’t blame him: they are pretty marginal people. The men in his present-day pre-apocalyptic world are either weaklings wearing signs that say “Take advantage of me” or else they are drunken, thieving, violent Lotharios. The novel’s leading female character, on the other hand, is a cruel, amoral, con-person who hates men and uses sex (or the promise thereof) as brutally as the riot police might use billy clubs and tear gas.

In spite of these quirks, I enjoyed the book. The writing is graceful and the story keeps one’s attention. Steven Pacey’s performance is excellent.
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Brilliant, Funny, Dark

My favorite Amis novel. I was skeptical about the audio book as there is a meta narrative component but I was surprised how smoothly it flows. The narrator's performance is top notch and the character's accents are spot on. Thoroughly enjoyable if you are not easily offended, and can distinguish between what a fictional character says/ does vs. what the author says/does.

RIP Martin Amis. classic blistering satire.

the rilliant performance reading, sizzles with energy, humor and a quite nasty social critique. very entertaining, and has aged surprisingly well. Even if you come away hating yourself for finding it as good as it is.