Martin Amis, the influential writer who shaped the British literary showcase of the 80s

He British writer Martin Amiswho died at the age of 73, knew how to shape like few others, with exalted novels like “Fields of London” (1989) or “Dinero” (1984), to the literary scene of the literature of this country during the 1980s.

Born in Oxford (England) in 1949To my, died of esophageal cancer at his home in Lake Worth, Florida (USA), He was part of a privileged and renowned group of writers, in which he rubbed shoulders with other greats of national literature such as Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes or Salman Rushdie.

Along with them, Amis’s work, characterized by its dark vision of English society and virtuoso style of storytelling, uniquely shaped and defined the glittering showcase of UK literature four decades ago.

his novel “Money” was included among the hundred best written in the English language by the British newspaper Guardianwhich he considered to be still one of the titles “dominant” of that decade.

During his formative years, Amis, considered one of the indisputably most influential authors of his day, He was educated in UK schools, Spain and United Statesbefore entering Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated with honors in English.

Novelist, essayist and screenwriter He always had words of gratitude for his stepmother, novelist Elizabeth Jane Howardfor having instilled in him his passion for literature.

He already stood out with the publication of his first novel, Rachel’s Book (1973), a cynical and wonderful work, for which he won the Somerset Maugham prize and only a year later, he published his second title, Dead Babies.

Throughout his successful career, he worked as literary editor for the New Statesman publication between 1977 and 1979, when his third book, Éxito, was published.

Despite himself, Amis could never avoid being frequently compared to his equally talented father, fellow writer Kingsley Amis, winner of the renowned Booker Prize in 1986 for his novel The Old Demons. Martin himself came to be among the finalists for the same award.

In relation to the constant reference to his father, Amis once commented in statements to the British radio station BBC Radio 4 that he wished he had put “a greater distance” Between both.

However, he writes precisely about him in his book of memoirs “Experience” (2000), in which he also delves deeply into theThe separation from his first wife and mother of his two children, the American academic Antonia Phillips.

This work describes, on the other hand, what happens to him when he discovers that he is the father of a 17-year-old girl, Delilah Seale, whom he had never met, and reflects on the life of his cousin, Lucy Pargington, murdered by the criminals Fred and Rosemary West.

Personally, Amis began a relationship with the Uruguayan American writer Isabel Fonseca, with whom he married in 1996 and with whom he had two daughters.

In addition to garnering praise for his novels, throughout his life Amis also starred in the occasional controversy for his bold opinions and for frequently taking a public position on current politics.

In this sense, in 2006 he was accused of Islamophobia for an interview in which he made controversial statements about the Muslim community, which he later retracted.

He also called for the establishment of “posts” of euthanasia on the streets of the country in order to deal with the problem of the aging population in the United Kingdom and parted ways with its editorial Jonathan Cape after they refused to give him an advance of half a million pounds for yesor novel The Information.

In 2020 he published what is his most recent work, Desde Dentro, what has been defined as a novel autobiography, forged over two decades, selected as a finalist for the prize of the National Book Critic’s Circle in the category of works of fiction.

Source: EFE