London Fields

By: Martin Amis

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The murderee is Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing who is intent on orchestrating her own extinction. The murderer may be Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts; or the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch. As Nicola leads her suitors towards the precipice, London--and, indeed, the whole world--seems to shamble after them in a corrosively funny novel of complexity and morality.

©1989 Martin Amis (P)2010 AudioGo

Distrubing comedy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Of course I would recommend it, however you should listen alone or at least not in mixed company.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not what I excepted, and not very comfortable.

Which character – as performed by Steven Pacey – was your favorite?

Niccola, was great, and so was Keith, and Guy, but the writer Sam was my favorite.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many laugh out loud for many seconds, parts, and a few stop the recording and pull over to laugh moments, really too many list.

Any additional comments?

I don't usually go for novels from the English 80s but this one does nicely with the time period, and language. However it is dark and uncomfortable, I don't mind telling someone I know will not and has not read this or anything like this, but I don't know that I would want to admit to someone who was familiar with the work how much I enjoyed it, guilty indulgence or symptom of a diseased mind.

This needs to be listened to by more people

This was a fantastic book. I have been a fan of both Martin Amis and Steven Pacey in the past. They are both excellent at what they do, and to have them come together for this title made this one excellent work to listen to. This book kept me enthralled for its entirety. I don't know if it is marked as a thriller, but I was still wondering what was going to happen until the last 10 minutes.

Martin Amis' characters are all terrible people. Accept and enjoy that and you will love this book. Other than that, they are funny, and flawed, and excellent characters. Sure, they may ride the lines of being stereotypes, but they're portrayed in an interesting way.

Then there is Steven Pacey. I am not afraid to acknowledge that Pacey is the best narrator I've listened to and I have over 100 audiobooks completed and he is in fine form here. His characters all sound great and easily distinguishable. He really added a lot and almost tips the scale to make listening to this book the superior choice.

Loved it

Incredible book and incredible performance. Long but we’ll worth your time. I especially loved the ending.

RIP Martin Amis. classic blistering satire.

the rilliant performance reading, sizzles with energy, humor and a quite nasty social critique. very entertaining, and has aged surprisingly well. Even if you come away hating yourself for finding it as good as it is.

Brilliant, Funny, Dark

My favorite Amis novel. I was skeptical about the audio book as there is a meta narrative component but I was surprised how smoothly it flows. The narrator's performance is top notch and the character's accents are spot on. Thoroughly enjoyable if you are not easily offended, and can distinguish between what a fictional character says/ does vs. what the author says/does.

Brilliant

Have you listened to any of Steven Pacey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The book is not only very clever (I'm sure lots when clear over my head), but the narrator is absolutely fabulous. He made the experience of listening to this masterpiece like true theater, never stepping out of character, no matter which character he was playing at the time

Stunning

There will never be anyone like Martin Amis. These characters are so awful, and yet the novel is hysterically funny and intensely heartbreaking. Well done, Martin. Well done.

Masterfully dome

the voice portrayals, especially of the lout Keith,make me feel sorry for anyone who reads this in print. it feels a bit long. lots of stories to tie up. but so vivid and entertaining. feminists cannot possibly believe that Amis shares his Characters' attitudes about women. see this main female character, for instance.

Brilliant book, brilliantly narrated!

This is an astonising novel in which the modern English idiom is used with extreme hyperbole at once to amuse, to titilate, to shock to sadden and to horrify. It is a sweeping, lyrical and philosophical story with its characters persisting in one's memory like long absent dear friends. It is laugh-out-loud funny, highly literate and, at the end, a tear-jerker. If there is a Hell down there, I'm sure old Kingsley Amis' suffererings are compounded by the degree his considerable literary talent is surpassed by his own son (DNA check?).
Steven Pacey is the best narrator I have so far heard on Audible. I assume he is English, but he recites in a faultless and lively Mid-Western drawl, and masters several other voices and accents perfectly. He is such a pleasure to listen to that I would advise people NOT to read the book but to listen to it on Audible. It is a far richer experience.

Brilliant writing and performance.

I can't praise this book and it's masterful performance enough. A dark book but the writing is constantly surprising, funny and original. It deals with all the essential themes- time, existence and death. So original and nothing like I have ever read. This is a top performance. The reader is genius with character.