Rated
Sep 04
•
1 review
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literature, humour
• moreintelligentlife.com
I don't normally like gossip but this book about Martin Amis written by ex-girlfriend Julie Kavanagh is quite humorous.
...The see-saw was about to tip. That spring Martin learnt that he had won the Somerset Maugham Award for "The Rachel Papers", a tremendous accolade given to "the best writer under 35", with Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney among past winners. Kingsley had won the same prize in 1955 for "Lucky Jim", but had been furious at its stipulation that the money be spent on foreign travel. It was a deportation order, he complained to Philip Larkin, "forced to go abroad, bloody forced, mun". Being abroad was no problem for Martin, who had decided to finish his second novel in Spain later that year--it was just getting there. Even a 40-minute flight from Paris required a numbing amount of brandy and Valium cocktails. I can still see him tipsily overbalancing as he held onto our suitcase handle on the carousel, and being carried round on the little paunch he had then, legs bicycling in the air...
