Martin Amis - London Fields

A peculiar book that concentrates on three 'bathetic' characters that are watched by a novelist who documents their twisted lives and a 'preordained' conclusion to their relationship. The writer is in fact the fourth 'bathetic' character and the novel within a novel approach is well crafted by Amis. And the surprise ending is quite effective.

The themes of the nasty pointless lives of the lower class metropolitan London class, the 'world crisis', and class differences is played well against the plight of the writer in the story. All the major characters are well crafted and rather unique in the dimensions they fill.

I wanted to read a 'British' novel with some dry humour for a change of pace and I got some very dark, cynical humour indeed. Apparently some of Amis's favourite themes are babies, physics, and perhaps the mundanity of man's darkest desires. I particularly enjoyed the British darts theme, as opposed to the typical football sub-text found in British novels. Amis portrayed the London criminal class and the multi-ethnicity of that world quite well.