Money
Ratings29
Average rating3.4
I came late to this continuum of English men that seems to run through Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, then somehow to connect with Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and into the murky depths of modern “rationalist” movements and “free thinkers.” I worry that if I'd been exposed to it at the right stage of being an angry young man, I'd be more insufferable today.
Putting all that to one side for a minute, McEwan and Amis are both very good at writing pointy stories about horrid men. Money is particularly interesting at the moment because it's hard not to read the protagonist as Trump, isn't it? This man lusts and sweats his way around New York, ugly and moving always in a patina of, if not the reality of: money. The hollow in the middle of the man. His downfall as a result of his own stupidity and the avarice of the wronguns around him. It all has echoes.
The foul, brilliant narration is impressive if exhausting. The inclusion of the author as a character gets a little bit of an eye roll from me but I don't mind it terribly. In the end, I come away wondering quite why these men of dubious intellectual circles are so good at writing these male monsters that want to make you tear your own skin off. And yes, I come away entertained.
Exploration of John Self's relationship with money and how it defines his behavior and his relationships. As promised in the description, John Self is excessive and self-destructive. It's written in the first person; Self has a sense of humor and there's a lot of dark comedy in the situations he's involved in.
Self made money in the advertising business and comes to America to direct a Hollywood film and perhaps rise even higher in money, success, and so on. He runs on the “heavy fuel” of alcohol, fast food, drugs, porn, and hookers. Money interests him for what it can buy rather than accumulating it for security. Takes place at the end of the 70s/start of the 80s when there was an energy crisis, recession, stagflation, etc.
His personal relationships are based on money. His Girlfriend Selina is a kept woman and their sex life is creepily based on financial transactions until she finds a bigger fish. He has a friend who uses him as a money loan source and a father who gives him a bill for his care and upbringing and he actually pays it. Only his college friend, Martina, doesn't need money from him. Instead, she tries to get him to be a better person. Less drinking, reading important books, better food. Her relationship with money is different as she's an heiress and perfectly comfortable. She lives quietly, not to impress anyone. He looks up to her without acknowledging that she can have that relationship when she's free of the money worries that plague the rest of us.
Once the crisis point hits, Self is not transformed. He would do it all again the same way if he had a chance. Tragic-comedy with a warning about the pitfalls of money.
