Amis on Fischer -- and other Attack Dogs
[an excerpt from
"The dog
bites back," by
Aidan Smith,
Scotland on Sunday, 7 September 2003]:
. . . don’t think for a
minute that the novelist of his generation is going to take lying down the
criticism of his new book, from those early whispers of overfamiliar themes to
that embargo-busting kicking. No, this is the day Amis fights back.
Exactly how hard is the upstart novelist Tibor Fischer? Well, he has declared
Amis’ Yellow Dog "terrible". He says the experience of reading it, the threat of
being spotted reading it, was akin "to your favourite uncle being caught in the
school playground, masturbating".
More and more, Amis gets this sort of stuff. His every book is a literary event
which quickly turns into a literary scuffle, down among the beer-slops and the
fag-ends. In the drawing-room of his home in London’s Primrose Hill, I approach
the issue of Fischer’s rant with caution - shrunk into his chair, he’s a shaky
presence as he fumbles with his roll-ups. But there’s no need for wariness.
"He’s a wretch," says Amis in his familiar louche drawl, at its sneery best on
such occasions, and perfect for them. "In his case I think it’s envy. As far as
my other critics are concerned, the envy seems to have corroded down to hatred.
"We’re talking here about the desire for a homogenisation of culture. Also, the
push towards egalitarianism: the most powerful force in western society right
now. They [his detractors] don’t want anyone to be too conspicuous. They’re made
uneasy by humour because they can feel it moving round to direct itself against
them. They don’t like a prose style that reminds them how thick they are every
couple of sentences, and how numb.
"I don’t think they’re pretending to hate my books while not hating them. They
do hate them, they just don’t know why. It’s a new low, wouldn’t you say?"
