Inside Story

By: Martin Amis

Narrated by: Alex Jennings

Length: 22 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

This extraordinary novel gives the listener the heart-to-heart testimony of one of our finest writers - a wonder of literary invention and a boisterous modern classic.

His most intimate and epic work to date, Inside Story is the portrait of Martin Amis' extraordinary life, as a man and a writer. This novel had its birth in a death - that of the author's closest friend, Christopher Hitchens. We also encounter the vibrant characters who have helped define Martin Amis, from his father Kingsley, to his hero Saul Bellow, from Philip Larkin to Iris Murdoch and Elizabeth Jane Howard, and to the person who captivated his 20s, the alluringly amoral Phoebe Phelps. 

What begins as a thrilling tale of romantic entanglements, family and friendship evolves into a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to grieve and how to die? In his search for answers, Amis surveys the great horrors of the 20th century and the still-unfolding impact of the 9/11 attacks on the 21st - and shares all he has learned on how to write. 

The result is one of Amis' greatest achievements: a love letter to life that is at once exuberant, meditative, heartbreaking and ebullient, to be savoured and cherished for many years to come.

©2020 Martin Amis (P)2020 Penguin Audio

suburbly faithful narration

About as Amis as it is possible to be, as "big fan" I found it delightful, inside story indeed which takes you to the bar (and later, the hospital bed) with Christopher Hitches, into the sitting room with Phillip Larkin, and to Israel with Saul Bellow. If you enjoyed Amis's "Experience" or Hitchen's "Hitch 22" then this is a solid next installment. the narrator pulled it off with style.

A Tour de Force.

May even be a new, original genre. He maintains impressive control over his medium, shifting back and forth at will from fiction - comic and tragic - to autobiography, to essay, and also, in homage to his several father and brother surrogates, to obituary. He is unexpectedly, coolly open about his vulnerabilities, sometimes moving, often droll. Surprising and interesting is the barely acknowledged emotional pain especially of his early life. And then the inadvertent evidence of his possession in adulthood of a steel backbone. Not fiction, no. But an important literary work.

BRILLIANT. Astoundingly Good Audiobook

Every element of this book is rewarding. The prose, the story, the themes, the gossip about literary life. But the triumph here would be wasted without the exceptional narration. My book of 2020. Strongly recommend.

A book on death that inspires amour fou

With this Martin Amis confirms his place in the Magic Circle of great writers, tricks and slights of hand honed so fine they are invisible till the completed structure is revealed. His love of Christopher Hitchens and Saul Bellow, his sexual and romantic adventures, his intellectual curiosity and vigor, his generous literary tips and pointers all worked together to create an absorbing world. The line between fiction and real is smudged, I wish the early death of CH was an exercise in invention, and I wish there was a flesh and blood PP. I am extremely grateful to have been invited into the Hutch of the Hitch, thank you.

Kept me entertained for days

I really enjoyed this book, having been a fan of Kingsley and a huge fan of Elizabeth Jane Howard as well as a reader of some of Martin Amis's books, I loved Money for instance but I can't read them all. I thought the narrator was perfect.

Even if you only like Amis, you will love this

Absolutely compelling and often hilarious and moving .Martin Amis at his best .The narration by Alex Jennings was excellent and I found he made the numerous footnotes very listener friendly .His Hitchens was spot on IMO .So many other authors and their works are mentioned here that I felt I should be taking notes so I will certainly buy a hard copy .A must for fans of Hitchens ,Larkin or Bellow but especially Amis .

Brilliant book & top narrator

The best narrated book I have listen to. An actor doing most of the accents of known characters is just sublime. Extraordinary & sad insights to Martin Amis life. May he rest in peace.

So good I’m going to listen to it again, now.

Amis is brilliantly voiced by Jennings, and I feel somehow enhanced and better for listening to it, privileged by Amis’s experiences. Thank you.

I’ll miss him

I enjoyed listening to this book. His honest appraisal of his life, his art his friends, his loves, feel always fresh and moving. He also talks a lot about death which I am glad about: The loss it’s inevitability its physicality. Always generous I think that was his greatest gift. An honest generous unflinching soul. I’m so glad he shared his thoughts with us.

Fantastic

So very well written, hugely engaging and unclichéd, unlike my pathetic attempts here to write a positive comment

Beautiful

Splendid reading of some of Amis’s most intimate and tender offerings. A generous goodbye to a life well read.