Rating: 
Summary: "Degenerate Hedonism With a Twist Please!"
Review:
Close your eyes, now imagine morning rush hour in New York City, or for those of you who are the night owls of this world, an anticipated evening out in the "Big Apple", are you there yet? Ha! ... energizing isn't it! That is the tone of this read, pure energy! And Amis does a fantastic job of bringing the ambiance of the New York life style to light when his protagonist John Self takes a bite out of it. You'll walk it, eat it, breathe it, experience it as you read along, this I guarantee. Now let's board a flight and cross the pond to London. We're not going to hang in the city here, but retreat to a modest little flat, "home sweet home" aaaaah! Surrounded by friends, family, familiarities, your safe haven, and take respite here. Its comfort is like a warm duvet on a chilly damp and rainy day. Mr. Amis' brilliantly painted contrasts fill the book throughout giving you that wonderful feeling of traveling to the exotic and then returning home again. And believe me, you'll appreciate the break!
Martin Amis has not only written one of the most powerful narrative voices to be laid to page in this book, but has pulled off the most unbelievable finish to this saga! My jaw dropped, eyes widened, and I found myself calling a friend to say, " You are never gonna believe this!!!" No, no, no, I'm not going to spoil that bit for you, it's absolutely too wild! Applause Mr. Amis, thunderous applause!
His first person narrator John Self speaks directly to the reader and draws you right into this story, through which an intimate relationship begins to grow with the characters, that transposes this fictional writing into unbelievable realism. The "Verbal Energy" truly dominates the prose throughout this book, as Amis' vast knowledge of the English language continually feeds you platefuls of sonorous articulation. You'll be totally stuffed, but still craving more, one of the reasons I found it so hard to put this book down.
Now if you take a self centered, low life, yes, Mr. John Self, and throw him together with a group of sordid swindlers ... friends, family, lovers, and colleagues, you'll have the guts of Money. But it's the interaction and trickery that Amis has woven between all that makes this book, everything but a "Fiasco".
Now Self, the deplorable anti-hero of this tale, is an abusive, over weight, money loving, blackout drinker, chain smoking, sex seeking, pornography aficionado, that goes through life on the take. But believe me, you are going to find yourself sympathetic towards him as this story unfolds, and you won't know at exactly what point he gained your support. Perhaps when he's gifted the book and begins to read does he begin to see a bit of worth in himself. Hmmm ...
Interestingly enough are the characters of John Self, Martina Twain, and "Martin Amis" Yes, Martin has even written himself into this story. But more so you'll find that the "real" Mr. Amis lives and breathes in this tale to a greater degree. John "Self", is ridden with a dodgy tooth that's mentioned throughout the book, (see Experience A Memoir by Martin Amis) "Martina", well educated and cultured (well is that not Martin Amis? Drop the "a" from the characters name and what do you have?), and "Martin Amis" himself the real life author, and also, as the hired screenwriter for Self's film Bad Money (check out who wrote the screen play for Saturn Five). Not to mention the suicide note addressed to "Antonia" in this story, Amis's first wife. All of the fore mentioned are truths in the real life of Martin Amis. These are just a few of the overt. There are even more shadows lurking deeper within the characters and events, which makes this read even more intriguing!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I can, and do, recommend this book highly! What a ride!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Narrative Voice, "High Speed" Pace
Review: "Money" mesmerized me. With his character John Self, Martin Amis has created one of the most memorable narrative voices ever in literature. While the content differs radically, I would compare the power of the narrative voice to that of "David Copperfield" or "Moby Dick." You live the book as well as read it. John Self, an English director of commercials, is embarking on a career in the movies. The time is 1981. Self compulsively pursues several simple needs: the need for sex (in a number of different forms), alcohol, drugs at times, companionship, and most of all, money. In these pursuits, he ricochets back and forth from london to New York, from the uptown NYC to downtown, east side to west side and so on. This book is not about the "High Life"--rather about how a lot of money can buy you the "low life."
Through Self's inebriated or hungover eyes, you see a lot of interesting characters. All have one thing in common: money. His "girlfriend" in London, Selina, cuckolds him for a wealthier man.His "alter ego" Martin Amis will write for him but for a price. His New York friend, Martina Twain,is married to a wealthy man.
Amis wrote this in book in the early 1980's. He accomplished an amazing feat: he showed how the sexual and drug excesses of the 60's and 70's morphed into the materialistic excesses of the 1980's. And he did this at the start of the decade-not the end of it.
Oh there are a few dated moments-but they only add flavor to the book. In the midst of Self's pursuit of hedonistic pleasure, he contrasts his "evil" with the purity of the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, which took place in July, 1981. It's worth a few laughs.
I can't say enough about the power of the narrative voice. You feel drunk. You feel hungover. You feel as if you're in the apartment of the seedy movie star who tapes her sexual encounters. It's quite a tour de force.
I would recommend this book to those who like modern literature,particularly of an English provenance. One note:this book is raw and coarse. It is not for the easily offended. But if you can handle the language and situations, you're in for an amazing ride.
Rating:
Summary: Show me the Money
Review: "Money. A Suicide Note" is the incredible, destruction of a person. John Self, is the purveyor of ''controversial TV ads for smoking, drinking, junk food and nude magazines.'' He doesn't just Self-destruct, it's like an unthinkable train wreck. Self's car is a Fiasco, Amis uses his own creative names for cars. Amis illustrates with slick unmatched syntax, just what money does to a man. One theme leads the reader to believe that the rich are soiled kings. I oftentimes like Amis more for the way in which he says things, the lyrical quality of the writing . In "Money" I love his lyrics and the themes the book deals with. You find yourself amazed at how an author can so densely pack prose with lyricism and literary meaning. "Money" is not a novel for in between bus stops or subway stations. If you read it in stops and starts, you'll just get frustrated and eventually want to put it aside (in fact, Amis' father Kingsley admits to not being able to get through Martin's work!). If you want a funny, smart read then tell ...(the website) to "Show Me the Money", ... sorry couldn't resist.
Rating:
Summary: A disturbing account of 80's (or any time) excess!
Review: "I roar down the street, harnessing the power of my gleaming Fiasco!" Martin Amis is hilarious. But he is also somewhat disturbing. Never before have I read an author that has exposed the glaring underbelly of society quite so effiecently as Martin Amis does in Money. This is the story of a British film director that comes to the US to shoot his first feature. But along the way, he meets all sorts of crazies (Lorne Guyland being the funniest) and convinces them to star in his movie with the help of his sidekick Fielding Goodney. This entire process, however, becomes a harrowing experience as he drowns himself in booze, drugs, prostitutes, food, and all other excesses afforded by good money. In the end, he starts to loose the battle and sobers up to the startling fact that he may be better off without money, or as it says in the story "...he wasn't built for money..." The writing itseld is witty and full of irony. Overall a great read, but one that may potentially be disturbing to some.
Rating: 
Summary: A book that reflects your lowest experiences.
Review: "Money" is a book that reflects your lowest experiences, but it does with the hard to come by knowledge that life is not a simple, by-the-numbers exercise. Amis reconizes that everything -- experience, fun, sex, drugs -- is overrated; what really counts is honest human contact. And that is something that has escaped our present age. A wonderful, life-changing novel. Please read it, now!!! Besides all this, it is howlingly funny, and it skewers the superficial stylishness of our time like nothing yet.
Rating:
Summary: If you loved or hated the 80s...
Review: "Money" is above all a book of scintillating intelligence. I've never read anything as clever as this, sentence for sentence. I don't mean that it's "deep" or "philosophical" - though I suppose it is - just that the use of language is astonishing and the wit of the words will keep you entranced through the rather unpleasant adventures of the narrator, John Self (subtle, huh?). It has the best jokes, the best insults, the best made-up names for automobiles, and the best descriptions of alcohol and cigarretes in contemporary fiction. Best line: "Unless I explicitly tell you otherwise, I am _always_ lighting another cigarette." Even if you loathe the central character - though how you can fail to love him is beyond me - read it for the prose.
Rating:
Summary: Show me the Money
Review: "Money. A Suicide Note" is the incredible, destruction of a person. John Self, is the purveyor of ''controversial TV ads for smoking, drinking, junk food and nude magazines.'' He doesn't just Self-destruct, it's like an unthinkable train wreck. Self's car is a Fiasco, Amis uses his own creative names for cars. Amis illustrates with slick unmatched syntax, just what money does to a man. One theme leads the reader to believe that the rich are soiled kings. I oftentimes like Amis more for the way in which he says things, the lyrical quality of the writing . In "Money" I love his lyrics and the themes the book deals with. You find yourself amazed at how an author can so densely pack prose with lyricism and literary meaning. "Money" is not a novel for in between bus stops or subway stations. If you read it in stops and starts, you'll just get frustrated and eventually want to put it aside (in fact, Amis' father Kingsley admits to not being able to get through Martin's work!). If you want a funny, smart read then tell ...(the website) to "Show Me the Money", ... sorry couldn't resist.
Rating:
Summary: a wild ride through 1980s excess
Review: 'Money' is a curious and often wickedly funny tale of a British/American 35 y.o. slob who gets "his money for nothing and chicks for free" (..well, usually for free). The humour is crude, along the lines of what is found in the 'Men Behaving Badly' sitcom. And while the story gets a bit repetitive, with scenes constantly switching between London and New York, Martin Amis wraps it up with a clever and unexpected ending. My only complaint with this generally well-written novel is its sporadic lapse into rather offensive material as a guise for humour. There is one scene where the main character repeatedly attempts (and fails) to rape his girlfriend. Funny? ...er, no. But overall 'Money' is a fun read. It will probably appeal to men, more the Brits than Americans. I can imagine most women will find it offensive. And parents, don't let kids under 16 get near this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wild Romp in Decadent 80s NYC
Review: Absolutely, one of the best books I've read. Amis's The Information is a close second. Literate, street smart and oddly sexy -- its a virtual encyclopedia of excess and verbal virtuosity.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: Amis at his best, IMO. Ignore the iffy political implications
& settle in for a wild ride w/ a protag. that can't pass up
drink, drugs, or women.
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