William Boyd on his friend Martin Amis: ‘He was ferociously intelligent – and very funny’

He saw the world’s cruel absurdities through a comic lens, writes Boyd, who recalls his very first meeting with Amis – and explains why his unmistakable voice will never be forgotten• John Self on Amis: ‘He stamped his style over a generation’• Geoff Dyer on Amis: ‘Mick Jagger in literary form’The awful news of Martin Amis’s death prompts a rush of memories. I first met him in 1969, in Paris, when we both found ourselves staying in the same apartment on the Île Saint-Louis for a few days. I was 17, Martin was 20. I only realised who this Martin guy was four years later when his first novel, The Rachel Papers, appeared. In a strange but real sense, he was the first writer I had ever met. And thus began an acquaintance as an avid reader and later as a friend.The remarkable thing about that first novel was the utter confidence and distinctiveness of the narrative voice. Martin found his style at the very beginning of his career as a writer and it never changed. That voice he had defined and charged everything else he wrote – fiction, essays, journalism, memoirs. Very few writers can be instantly identified by a sentence or two of their prose – Laurence Sterne, Charles Dickens, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, Vladimir Nabokov – and Martin precociously joined that elite group and stayed there. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-22 07:00:49 UTC ]
News tagged with: #avid reader #charles dickens #james joyce #vladimir nabokov #elite group #first novel

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Carty-Williams, Azumah Nelson and Ellams to headline Spread the Word festival

Writers including Candice Carty-Williams, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Inua Ellams and Sara Jafari are to feature at Spread the Word's one-day festival, celebrating diversity and creativity in Deptford, south-east London. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-10 08:43:25 UTC ]
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What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright

Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]
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The Storybook Marriage of Alice and Martin Provensen

The Provensens lived inside a picture book as much as picture books lived inside them. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-12-30 17:14:23 UTC ]
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Carty-Williams and Halls named in Women's Prize under-35 spotlight

The Women’s Prize and Good Housekeeping have unveiled their 10 most promising female authors under 35 including Candice Carty-Williams, Stacey Halls, Abigail Dean and Chibundu Onuzo. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-30 17:01:54 UTC ]
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New Frontier lands Vogue Williams' debut picture book

New Frontier Publishing has signed Jump for the Stars, the debut picture book from TV presenter and model Vogue Williams, illustrated by Tilia Rand-Bell. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-14 22:35:02 UTC ]
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“He Wound Up Feeling Like a Close Friend.” On Drawing the Life of Leonard Cohen

Philippe Girard (Leonard Cohen: On a Wire, translated by Helge Dascher and Karen Houle) and Joe Ollmann (Fictional Father) spoke to one another as part of D+Q Live, a fall event series by the graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly. The driving force behind November’s conversation was the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-06 09:55:48 UTC ]
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“Creating Lines in Response.” An Interview with Poet Tongo Eisen-Martin

For this installment in a series of interviews with contemporary poets, contributing editor Peter Mishler corresponded with Tongo Eisen-Martin. Eisen-Martin is the Poet Laureate of San Francisco, California. He is the author of Heaven Is All Goodbyes (City Lights Books, 2017), which was... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-01 09:49:18 UTC ]
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Williams takes University of Wales Press into second century with ambitious plans

The University of Wales Press, which is gearing up to toast its centenary in 2022, has two titles celebrating the landmark and plans to launch a ‘start-up’ from within its operations. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-26 05:37:28 UTC ]
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Sarah Winman’s ‘Still Life’ feels like a Saturday night among old friends

“Still Life” is that rare, affectionate novel that makes one feel grateful to have been carried along. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Reconsidering the Jewish Pharisees: Joseph Sievers and Amy-Jill Levine

In 'The Pharisees,' two religion scholars trace modern anti-Semitism back to hatred for the Jewish Pharisees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Gary Shteyngart’s ‘Our Country Friends’ is the darkly brilliant comedy we need right now

Caustic irony mixed with poignancy and melancholy are an effective tonic for coping with pandemic fatigue. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Amy Hennig's new studio is making a game with Marvel

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[ Engadget | 2021-10-29 17:27:14 UTC ]
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‘The Days of Afrekete’ is a bitingly funny novel with echoes to ‘Mrs. Dalloway’

The centerpiece of Asali Solomon’s story is a dinner party that goes off the rails. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-28 14:04:39 UTC ]
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Holding and Burrow shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year

Michael Holding and Rob Burrow feature in the shortlist for this year's £30,000 prize for William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-27 16:44:38 UTC ]
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Home Truths review: is David Williamson a reformed 'Bad Art Friend'?

Australian dramatist David Williamson’s new book is a mash up of memoir and autobiography, which casts himself as a former ‘plunderer’ of other’s lives. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-10-20 03:57:12 UTC ]
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Elizabeth Strout’s ‘Oh William!’ is yet another dazzler

The novel investigates timely themes — loneliness, grief — in a rich, mesmerizing narrative. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-19 12:06:05 UTC ]
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William Collins lands new history on the Interregnum by Keay

William Collins has landed a new history on the Interregnum period by Anna Keay, the director of the Landmark Trust, a charity which rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-17 19:09:49 UTC ]
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'Prodigy' is a kid-friendly Star Trek show taking the right lessons from Star Wars

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[ Engadget | 2021-10-11 18:30:49 UTC ]
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Martin made BIC Green Supply Chain Committee chair

Elsevier's Rachel Martin has been appointed chair of Book Industry Communication's (BIC) recently created Green Supply Chain Committee, as it launches a new work plan to make the supply chain greener and more sustainable. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 09:51:00 UTC ]
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