- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape; First Edition edition (1989)
- ASIN: B000VZOYSS
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
London Fields
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
London Fields is not packed with action and events, because its strengths lie in different areas. The characters are brilliantly crafted, simultaneously engaging and complete to the reader, whilst being totally unrealistic and caricatured. In Nicola Six, Amis has created both a male fantasy and a female icon, and Keith Talant is strangly likeable despite his disgraceful behaviour.
The constantly shifting narrative voice keeps the reader focused on the several interwoven plots, and generates continual questions as to who is controlling the actions and the reporting of them. London Fields is not an easy book to read, and sometimes Amis' style can get a little pretentious, but the more you read it, the more accessible it becomes.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Other reviews have given synopses, so I'll skip that...
Firstly, this book is worth reading if you live in London - Amis captures perfectly the bizarre juxtaposition of sleaze against wealth that is everywhere in the city, and the book is wonderfully atmospheric of both of these aspects of London and more.
The wider appeal of the book is surely Amis' writing rather than the plot itself; his astounding use and manipulation of the English language makes 'London Fields' a real tour de force.
Most of all though, the general obvservations of peoples' behaviours, psychologies (particularly with regard to sex), reactions to one another, and the varying viewpoints on life offered here are captivating and, I would say, remove the need for a gripping, suspenseful story; these observations are also often made in an extremely witty way.
However, I also disagree with other reviewers, who claim that "nothing happens" in 'London Fields': this is a highly misleading thing to say about this book - there are several narrative strains which meet excitingly at the end of the novel and I personally found that despite Amis' determination to make the book more about the 'journey to the climax' than the ending itself, there is real tension. I do agree, though, that the plot might not be the main focus of the book.
All in all, I would recommend this book to almost anyone who feels that they might want to read something which is something other than (or more than) just a story and experience the writing of someone with a trully masterful command of the English language.
Firstly, this book is worth reading if you live in London - Amis captures perfectly the bizarre juxtaposition of sleaze against wealth that is everywhere in the city, and the book is wonderfully atmospheric of both of these aspects of London and more.
The wider appeal of the book is surely Amis' writing rather than the plot itself; his astounding use and manipulation of the English language makes 'London Fields' a real tour de force.
Most of all though, the general obvservations of peoples' behaviours, psychologies (particularly with regard to sex), reactions to one another, and the varying viewpoints on life offered here are captivating and, I would say, remove the need for a gripping, suspenseful story; these observations are also often made in an extremely witty way.
However, I also disagree with other reviewers, who claim that "nothing happens" in 'London Fields': this is a highly misleading thing to say about this book - there are several narrative strains which meet excitingly at the end of the novel and I personally found that despite Amis' determination to make the book more about the 'journey to the climax' than the ending itself, there is real tension. I do agree, though, that the plot might not be the main focus of the book.
All in all, I would recommend this book to almost anyone who feels that they might want to read something which is something other than (or more than) just a story and experience the writing of someone with a trully masterful command of the English language.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This seems to be a novel people tend to either love or hate, and it's not hard to see why. First of all, it is awfully long-and for such a long book, not a lot happens, which is bound to upset some people. Essentially, you have the tale of a not-so-romantic triangle comprised of Nicola Six (messed up psychic sexpot), Guy Clinch (posh, married, naive, and weak-willed), and Keith Talent (underclass wide-boy, schemer, on-the-fiddle, racist, sexist, alcoholic, generally scummy pub denizen), told by a dying American writer in London. The tale is set at the end of the millennium, with some vague catastrophe threatening the world, so it's safe to believe that the trio's story has some larger meaning. The west London of this book is a pretty nasty immoral place, where carpe diem means grab what you want and screw everyone else. As the physical world of the book obliquely slides toward disaster, the moral landscape is already destroyed. The protagonists themselves are stereotypes, the two men representing the opposite ends of the social spectrum, and the most recognizable "type" of modern British male: upper-crust wimp, lower-class lout. Nicola Six exists solely to satirize, and thus subvert, their sexual fantasies with her psychosexual games. Amis appears to be painting a larger picture about British enrapturement with... well, it's not clear precisely what Nicola represents. Capitalism? America? Or just the dreams and fantasies that have led the country astray? Overarching metaphors aside, Amis can write the hell out of sentence, and there's plenty of awfully good description and dialogue here-especially when it comes to wide-boy Keith. There are large swathes of the book devoted to darts, and Amis makes it come alive. Some of this is devastatingly funny amidst the overall dark and bleak tone. My own favorite line is about scratches on Guy's face that (and this is not verbatim, but give's the gist): "made him look like a determined, but inept rapist"). Ultimately the book is too long, and the broad main characters and interjecting author get rather tedious. Still, it's a major work of modern British literature and merits a look if you're into that stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
As an introduction to Martin Amis
I read 'London Fields' as a teenager, at a time when I was consuming voraciously every book around rather than sticking to my school curriculum. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Evan DeBarra
audio version
Thought I would just like to add my wholehearted admiration for the way actor Steven Pacey read this book for Chivers audio books. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vm Postlethwaite
A picture paints a thousand words
You can label this with any pragmatic term you want, but this is a masterclass in how to exploit the english language. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Subes
London Fields by Martin Amis
London Fields (1989) is a murder mystery, in reverse. Set in London in 1999, with an undefined crisis on the horizon, the story follows the sexually savvy Nicola Six, who has a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Matthew (Bibliofreak.net)
Dull, Dullm Dull
This will be the last Martin Amis book I read, having struggled to finish "Money" I bought this book. I am currently about 3/4 way through it and it's just so boring. Read more
Published 8 months ago by PPWIFFEN
that Guernica of hoboes toes
London Fields is unquestionably one of the finest novels of the last century.
Only a work of significant social and historical value could engender so many hilarious... Read more
Only a work of significant social and historical value could engender so many hilarious... Read more
Published 15 months ago by thetruthshallsetyefree
Awful
London Fields is by far the worst book I've ever read. It is slow, boring and utterly, utterly humourless (unless you think having one main character visit an underage prostitute... Read more
Published 15 months ago by robaker
Stuffy
Accepting that this review says as much about me as it does the book, here goes...
London Fields is undoubtedly well written and just as relevant today as it was when... Read more
London Fields is undoubtedly well written and just as relevant today as it was when... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Pete
An enjoyable, fast-pased and intellectual thriller
Released between the bloated 'Money' and the engaging and critically successful 'Time's Arrow', Martin Amis' 'London Fields', a thriller set against the threating feeling London... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. D Burin
Never again
I promised myself when I finished this book that I'd never read another Martin Amis novel - and I haven't. He peaked too soon with the Rachel Papers.
Published 21 months ago by Gary B
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