London Fields

De: Martin Amis

Narrado por: Steven Pacey

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.

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.

Big chewy novel, excellent narration

This was my first exposure to Martin Amis--I'd seen a couple of references by literary types who'd cited this as one of the top 50 or 100--or whatever--novels of the late 20th century.

For the close listener, this is definitely a very satisfying, dense work of fiction by a very talented and original writer. And for all its literary merits, it's a surprisingly entertaining and engaging listen.

Written in 1989 and set in 1999, parts of the book admittedly have a somewhat dated feel. The digressions on pornography and masturbation, for instance--which at the time of publication were still viewed as quite modern and "raw"--seem almost quaint by today's standards.
Yet other things, like Keith Talent's obsession with TV and video (and even his being featured in an early version of reality TV) are oddly prescient considering their pre-internet context.

But be prepared to rewind; Amis doesn't spell anything out, and there are enough soliloquies and extended rants (after all, this is 21+ hour download) for you to drift off and miss an essential character detail or plot point.

Fortunately for such a long book, the audio narration is unbelievably good. Pacey's American accent as the New York-born narrator Samson Young is almost flawless (think a smarter/sarcastic Regis Philbin) although he does give himself away with certain pronunciations (i.e., he pronounces urinal as "yurINEnal" instead of "YURinal", or calf as "koff" instead of "kaff"). But I have yet to hear an English narrator master a totally perfect American accent, so that's a pretty small quibble...
And it's worth having an English actor reading the novel because where he really shines is in his portrayal of East-ender Keith Talent. As such, this performance alone is worth the audio download, innit?

I just learned that a 2014 movie version of this is scheduled for release this fall. I have my doubts that a film adaptation could successfully capture the scope and appeal of the novel, but who knows?

Savage satire

Yes, it is long. Yes, the characters are uniquely unpleasant. But the storytelling is compelling and his rhythms and word choices are astonishing.

cover but ultimately a bit tedious

Amis is very clever and is a virtuoso stylist. But I often feel he's a bit of a show off. And the clever cleverness, and the witty writing tend to be be laid on a bit thick. It's like watching a fireworks display which is all grand finale. After a while it gets boring. It also pretty much eliminates any emotional concern for the characters. I particularly didn't;t like the conceit of the writer interacting with the characters he's writing about. And nearly all the main characters are caricatures--ridiculously exaggerated types. No doubt this is deliberate; but it makes them less interesting. On he plus side, his word choice is consistently entertaining.

No one to like in this well-written book

Martin Amis writes well. He doesn’t like any of the characters he created for London Fields, and I don’t blame him: they are pretty marginal people. The men in his present-day pre-apocalyptic world are either weaklings wearing signs that say “Take advantage of me” or else they are drunken, thieving, violent Lotharios. The novel’s leading female character, on the other hand, is a cruel, amoral, con-person who hates men and uses sex (or the promise thereof) as brutally as the riot police might use billy clubs and tear gas.

In spite of these quirks, I enjoyed the book. The writing is graceful and the story keeps one’s attention. Steven Pacey’s performance is excellent.
I