The Information

Rating:
Summary: Well-crafted and refreshing
Review: What a discovery! This is the first book I have read of Martin Amis since I read The Rachel Papers a number of years ago. I would never have selected it, had it not been one of the few new books appearing in my local library in Tokyo. While it may be difficult to be sympathetic to the protagonist, a writer jealous of his best friendfs best-selling success, Amisfs descriptions of his observations and conversations lure and delight the reader. Perhaps it has been my own poor gliteraryh choices, but it has been a long time since Ifve found myself actually lingering over sentences and even rereading them for pure enjoyment, and not wanting to rush to finish the book to see what happens in the end. If you are bored with the run-of-the-mill mass market authors who churn out one or more books annually, using the same old tried and tested language style, try this for a refreshing change.

Rating:
Summary: With friends like these, who needs enemies
Review: _The Information_ is about two long-time friends, each in his own way, suffering from insecurity and from deep feelings of inadequacy. Gwyn Barry is a best-selling writer of trashy novels and Richard Tull, who writes about more esoteric subject matter while reviewing books on the side, considers himself lucky if he can get one of his books sold. Richard is extremely jealous of Gwyn's success and teeters on the edge of insanity in his efforts to get even with Gwyn. In return, Gwyn resorts to taking lessons in shooting pool. It seems that Richard always narrowly beats Gwyn at snooker as well as in other games. They are constantly seeking to humiliate one other, whether by bedding each others wives, or in Richard's case, by spreading false rumors about Gwyn. Ultimately Richard hires a thug (interestingly, the only person who deigns to purchase Richard's book) to harm Gwyn physically. Their trip together to America on a book-signing and speaking tour turns into a disastrously humiliating, but hilarious, experience for Richard.

On the down side, I frequently found Martin Amis's style of writing confusing and hard to follow, especially regarding his tendency to jump forward and backward in time. This was particularly apparent when Amis recounted the activities of some of Richard's lower-life acquaintances. Still, it is fun to read about Richard and Gwyn continually raising the ante of danger to themselves to to each other as pseudo-macho combatants.

Rating:
Summary: With friends like these, who needs enemies
Review: _The Information_ is about two long-time friends, each in his own way, suffering from insecurity and from deep feelings of inadequacy. Gwyn Barry is a best-selling writer of trashy novels and Richard Tull, who writes about more esoteric subject matter while reviewing books on the side, considers himself lucky if he can get one of his books sold. Richard is extremely jealous of Gwyn's success and teeters on the edge of insanity in his efforts to get even with Gwyn. In return, Gwyn resorts to taking lessons in shooting pool. It seems that Richard always narrowly beats Gwyn at snooker as well as in other games. They are constantly seeking to humiliate one other, whether by bedding each others wives, or in Richard's case, by spreading false rumors about Gwyn. Ultimately Richard hires a thug (interestingly, the only person who deigns to purchase Richard's book) to harm Gwyn physically. Their trip together to America on a book-signing and speaking tour turns into a disastrously humiliating, but hilarious, experience for Richard.

On the down side, I frequently found Martin Amis's style of writing confusing and hard to follow, especially regarding his tendency to jump forward and backward in time. This was particularly apparent when Amis recounted the activities of some of Richard's lower-life acquaintances. Still, it is fun to read about Richard and Gwyn continually raising the ante of danger to themselves to to each other as pseudo-macho combatants.