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Jessica's Reviews > Money: A Suicide Note
Money: A Suicide Note
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by
Jessica's review
bookshelves: substance-related-disorders, here-is-new-york, leetle-boys, bad-reads, dicklits
Sep 19, 2009
bookshelves: substance-related-disorders, here-is-new-york, leetle-boys, bad-reads, dicklits
I loathed this book, especially its reekingly horrid, brain-damagingly idiotic mess of an ending, which felt like watching a drug-addicted alcoholic trainwreck you've seen self-destructing for years finally have his royal rock-bottom meltdown into utter psychosis, destitution, and multiple organ failure.
"But Jess!" you might be yelling. "Wasn't that the point?"
Probably, almost definitely, but really, I gotta ask: was this point really one that needed to be made? I think not, yet close to a year after I read it, Money is still ruthlessly imprinted on my brain. I mean, there are passages and scenes in here that I remember more clearly than I do my own actions at work this morning. So it couldn't have been all bad -- no, it was bad, it was worse, but it was memorably so.
Plus there's this paragraph in here* that still makes me laugh out loud when I think about it, which I do probably at least every three weeks.
So upon further reflection, I am upping it a star to two, not because "it was ok," but because it so totally wasn't. I hated reading this book, and when I think about having read it, I kind of want to throw up. And that's something, isn't it? That must count for something. Oh, Martin Amis. You sick idiot savant fucking bastard.
* Full disclosure: a paragraph about grannies being raped.
"But Jess!" you might be yelling. "Wasn't that the point?"
Probably, almost definitely, but really, I gotta ask: was this point really one that needed to be made? I think not, yet close to a year after I read it, Money is still ruthlessly imprinted on my brain. I mean, there are passages and scenes in here that I remember more clearly than I do my own actions at work this morning. So it couldn't have been all bad -- no, it was bad, it was worse, but it was memorably so.
Plus there's this paragraph in here* that still makes me laugh out loud when I think about it, which I do probably at least every three weeks.
So upon further reflection, I am upping it a star to two, not because "it was ok," but because it so totally wasn't. I hated reading this book, and when I think about having read it, I kind of want to throw up. And that's something, isn't it? That must count for something. Oh, Martin Amis. You sick idiot savant fucking bastard.
* Full disclosure: a paragraph about grannies being raped.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
September 19, 2009
– Shelved
September 19, 2009
– Shelved as:
substance-related-disorders
September 19, 2009
– Shelved as:
here-is-new-york
October 12, 2009
– Shelved as:
leetle-boys
October 12, 2009
– Shelved as:
bad-reads
May 11, 2011
– Shelved as:
dicklits
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Manny
(last edited Jun 17, 2010 05:40AM)
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rated it 5 stars
Jun 17, 2010 05:35AM
I see we're in complete agreement, but for some reason I gave it five stars. I can't quite explain why. Maybe because I'm male? He really does have our number.
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Wait! You write about this brain-searing paragraph, and then don't include it in the review!?Heartless...
I know this is a bit late, but I just found the quotation. The reason I didn't before was because I couldn't remember where in the book it was, and when I tried to find it I'd be overwhelmed with nausea as I scanned through this horrible book.But I just went back and harnessed the power of the Internet, with success. Maybe not as hilarious ripped from context; you decide. John Self is reading the newspaper, and has just cycled through an editorialized summary of reported events:
Another granny has been mob-raped in her sock ["sock" is slang in this book, I think, for "apartment" or "home"] by black boys and skinheads.
What is the new craze for grannies? This one's eighty-two, for Christ's sake. Getting raped at that age 鈥�
Jesus, it must be the last thing you need. Here's another piece about that chick who's dying in her teens
because, according to the L in e, she's allergic to the twentieth century. Poor kid... Well I have my problems
too, sister, but I don't have yours. I'm not allergic to the twentieth century. I am addicted to the twentieth
century.
"Getting raped at that age 鈥�
Jesus, it must be the last thing you need." If you've never read Amis and are thinking of trying, your reaction to that line is a litmus test of whether you should bother.
That is really funny. Though I think I slightly prefer the bit where he describes how Butch Beausoleil seduces him, and the far-fetched Arabian Nights-style story with the exotic underwear and the sumo wrestler. Oh, and also the way he can never get past page 8 of Animal Farm...
I guess humor's supposed to be a personal thing, but I disagree that anything else is funnier than this bit. Every time I read or think of that line -- "Jesus, it must be the last thing you need" -- I start laughing out loud, on my own, wherever I am. Please note that I'm a rabid ball-busting feminist and am especially furious these days about rape and the way it's talked about and not taken seriously enough in the media. But somehow despite (or maybe because of?) everything I believe, that line is one of the funniest things I've ever read in my life, and for me encapsulates the sheer magnificence of Amis at his best (or worst).
Hm, maybe you're right. It is kind of growing on me. There are just so many wonderful lines in this book that it didn't quite register at first.Did you like "hitting women is hard at first, but after a while it's as easy as falling off a log"? I thought that was another perfect, monstrous Selfism...
Yeah, see, I don't find that funny, just crass and obvious, which is why I didn't like most of this book. The "last thing you need" line is so hilarious because it's Self expressing empathy -- like, this is him being a nice guy, showing a little human feeling and taking a stand against granny-rape, which I just think is a higher and more hilarious level of humor.
Well, even though I feel I'm straying into dangerous territory defending it, I thought it was funny for similar reasons. Once again, he's trying to be nice - see, you probably don't hit women because you think it's difficult, but just practice and you'll find it's easier than you imagine! He isn't boasting, just doing his best to be understanding and helpful.
Yeah, I mean, I guess it's a little bit funny. Like this kind of behavior doesn't come naturally, it's something you need to work up to.
Exactly! Work up to it by easy stages, and you'll be amazed what progress you make!I quite agree with you, he's at his most fascinatingly loathsome when he's trying to be nice.
Could agree more. The good thing was I bought the book used.
Could agree more. The good thing was I bought the book used.
Yeah, 50 pages in I think I have to abandon this one. I don鈥檛 really enjoy alcoholism since a friend has it and my brother died of it last year.
You lack taste and discernment.
