A review by laurasbookcase
Experience: A Memoir by Martin Amis
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I picked this up because I am such a fan of Kingsley Amis, and knew that he would loom largely. He did, and I found Martin Amis's memories of his father, and brave reflections on his final weeks, to be incredibly emotional. In places, it's laugh-out-loud funny, but it also frequently moved me to tears. It's one of those books that you don't really want to end, and when I reached the postscript, I immediately ordered the new Martin Amis novel (billed as 'life-writing') 'Inside Story.
If you're interested in literary lives (there are lots of wonderful anecdotes about the whole Amis clan in the book, including Kingsley's second wife, Elizabeth Jane Howard, plus a starry supporting cast of Philip Larkin, Christopher Hitchens, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Saul Bellow) then this will quickly become a page-turner for you.
If you're interested in literary lives (there are lots of wonderful anecdotes about the whole Amis clan in the book, including Kingsley's second wife, Elizabeth Jane Howard, plus a starry supporting cast of Philip Larkin, Christopher Hitchens, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Saul Bellow) then this will quickly become a page-turner for you.