I think many people would agree with you angelini, although I haven't attempted this particular book . . .and the only book I enjoyed by his father Kingsley Amis was 'Lucky Jim'. Neither of them are/were easy characters to get on with, with women especially so, and I think this carries over into their writing.

I read this a couple of years ago, and reviewed it on the RP review thread - just dug it up.

I don't know what it is about Martin Amis. The people in his books are generally pretty nasty. The events are always fairly unpleasant. And yet he has the ability to write a book you cannot put down.

Take Money. The protaganist, John Self (and there's a name!) is a fat, boozy, rich, self indulgent so-and-so - to say the least. He spends his life jetting to and from New York, getting drunk, eating fast food and indulging in pornography. (He doesn't seem interested in drugs, for some reason.) He is making a film with another rich, slightly less self-indulgent guy. About half-way through the book, I was getting rather sick of the repeated descriptions of fast food, spirits by the bottle and cheap sex. It's meant to be hilariously funny, but I didn't find it so.

And yet...as the story unfolded, and things started to unravel, I actually found myself getting quite sorry for the unloveable idiot. So yes - Martin Amis is a terrific writer. What a shame he has to write about such horrible people and subjects.

By the way - one of the people in the book is a writer called Martin Amis...and not a minor part, either...