From: StephenP
Category: Amis
Date: 8/4/99
Time: 12:42:48 PM
Remote Name: 195.171.125.1
Gooch, you little charma. If you had done your research, you'd know that all boys from Devon are circumsized on their 14th birthday with the nine of diamonds- the so-called 'curse of Scotland', flung by a local blindfolded termagenital Annie Oakley type.
When I first put my prissy misgivings re the unsatisfactory doubling in Money to the board, I eloquently suggested that it was a result of Amis not resolving within himself the postmodern or realist instincts. He wants the humour which comes from believable characters and heavyweight themes but expects us at the same time to let him get away with the old Verfremdung (spelling?) tricks and essay the novel of ideas. Not that I got a word of thanks from you for the extraordinary perspicacity of this insight.
In Money, I find Self's internal monologue completely believable with his lower instincts. I, for example, would like to think that I am an eloquent, mild-mannered and polite individual, but you should see me on a business trip to Antwerp. Self is a sensitive though bestial man, but still tries to chat up Doris Arthur with the line, 'Come on darling, you know you love it'. It's not the highblown stuff that's not credible, it's the depth of his demotic.
Amis basically admitted that he got this wrong when he stated that he underestimated the ability of the reader to sympathise/empathise with the character. We don't distance ourselves as much as he thought we would, and therefore wish to find his characters internally consistent. It's all part of him occasionally misjudging authorial distance ((c) J Diedrick).