Visiting Mrs. Nabokov: And Other Excursions [Paperback]

Martin Amis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 1995

To this tantalizing nonfiction collection Martin Amis brings the same megawatt wit, wickedly acute perception, and ebullient wordplay that characterize his novels. He encompasses the full range of contemporary politics and culture (high and low) while also traveling to China for soccer with Elton John and to London's darts-crazy pubs in search of the perfect throw. Throughout, he offers razor-sharp takes on such subjects as:

American politics: "If history is a nightmare from which we are trying to awake, then the Reagan era can be seen as an eight-year blackout. Numb, pale, unhealthily dreamless: eight years of Do Not Disturb."

Chess: "Nowhere in sport, perhaps in human activity, is the gap between the tryer and the expert so astronomical.... My chances of a chess brilliancy are the 'chances' of a lab chimp and a type writer producing King Lear."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From his visit with Vera Nabokov to comments on RoboCop II, the author of London Fields covers politics, literature, sports and entertainment in this collection of essays.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Above average for its genre, this assortment of essays from the best-selling English author ( Time's Arrow , LJ 8/91, among others) breaks roughly into three groups: literary (generally British, including the title piece and pieces on Graham Greene, Rushdie, Larkin, Burgess, etc.); filmic, including RoboCop II , Cannes (in a note, Amis wonders why toplessness concerned him so, which others wondered at the time), Polanski, etc.; pop culture, including John Lennon, the Rolling Stones (Jagger is a "vitamin-packed unit"), Madonna, games (Kasparov/Karpov, darts, and an odd poker game sponsored by GQ for Amis to cover, with A. Alvarez, David Mamet, and others). Other occasional pieces appear as well (e.g., regarding the 1988 Republican Convention), but Amis's keen insights and keener prose keep them from seeming stale or dated. Recommended for libraries where collected pieces find a readership.
- Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 2, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679757937
• ISBN-13: 978-0679757931
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Subway Reading, April 29, 1999

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Visiting Mrs. Nabokov: And Other Excursions (Paperback)

Moderately amusing collection of 33 articles culled from various magazines and newspapers. Many of these are interviews with authors like John Updike, Salman Rushdie, and other such literary luminaries. While these are likely of interest to the well-read, I found the more entertaining essays to be the non-interviews. In this vein are those railing on Republican politics, the darts scene, judging a short story competition, the Frankfurt Book Fair, an English soccer team's tour of China, and playing pool with a good friend. The essays are all fairly short, so it's a good book to pick up and put down constantly.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars neat, March 17, 2003

By 

I. J. Mclachlan "i_mclachlan" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Visiting Mrs. Nabokov: And Other Excursions (Paperback)

a neat rebuttal to the argument that journalism is prose that's only meant to be read once, this book demands frequent consultation. i spent a lot of it wondering how typical Amis is of his generation. by his late twenties, he's on amicable terms with sex, drugs and rock and roll, but is still mildly scandalised by naked sunbathing and 'too old' to enjoy a Rolling Stones concert (which is wittily trashed). in a postscript, we find that an older Amis isn't bothered by naked sunbathing, so something's changed there then. he's very worried about nuclear weapons and seems to spend a lot of time morbidly brooding over them. later generations barely give them a thought, i think - or maybe they are a constant presence in the subconscious mind, underpinning the pessimism of the age. he's in touch with his macho feelings - the flush of the poker victory and the snooker conquest - in touch with them enough to amusingly undermine them. for Amis, winning at sport matters, but not so much that he doesn't have time to acknowledge his own (relative) [awkwardness] at sport - check out some of those 'live at the Crucible' break totals. interviews with other writers always contain a refreshingly large concentration on the writer's work - in contrast to the spirit of the age, for Amis, it's the writer's work that matters, not his private life. overall, Amis's cool, observant voice drags journalism out of skim-reading terrain and into the realm of serious thought. anyone who enjoys intelligent, urbane, amusing conversation will enjoy this book.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talent to Spare, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Visiting Mrs. Nabokov: And Other Excursions (Paperback)

If you are a young and struggling writer and you want to learn how to be "deep" without coming as pretentious (really the only challenge offered by postmodernism), read these charming, effortless and brilliant essays. Amis redefines the word "wit" for a tired era.