British author Martin Amis has died at the age of 73, according to his publishing house.
The son of novelist Kingsley Amis, who has been dubbed “the Mick Jagger of Britain’s past”, came from a privileged background. However, he is drawn to the dark side of society.
His publisher, Vintage Books, said Amis defined “what it means to be a literary prodigy”, influenced “a generation of prose stylists”, and was known for “often summing up an entire era with his books”.“.
In his most famous work, he satirized the excesses of Britain under Margaret Thatcher, money – slutty anti-hero John Self- and london fields. He discusses Lenin and Stalin’s fear of kobaand addressed the Holocaust in his 1991 novel arrow of time, about the life of a German doctor in the death camp of Auschwitz.He then returned to the theme in his 2014 novel area of interest.
“We are devastated by the loss of our author and friend,” Vintage Books said in a statement. He has been with the publisher since his debut book Rachel’s Story In 1973, at the age of 24.
Amis died of esophageal cancer at his Florida home on Friday, according to his agent, Andrew Wylie, according to the Associated Press.
Asked by FT about the writing process in 2013 arrow of timehe said: “Writing is about freedom, and freedom is indivisible. Saying that you stop at the gates of Auschwitz and you cannot go in makes no sense in philosophy, and it certainly makes no sense in literary criticism.” .”
After moving to the US from the UK, he said he missed “British wisdom”.
“The British are very tolerant and generous, but they’re also resourceful. The Americans are tolerant and generous, but they’re not — they’re a little more serious, a little bit more hard-headed,” he said.
Of the death of his close friend and fellow writer Christopher Hitchens – who also died of esophageal cancer – he said: “His zest for life was so strong that he seemed to have told his friend — and his wife — passed on an obligation to add to your life. Your own love of life. You felt you had to do it on his behalf.”
Michal Shavit, his UK editor at Vintage Books, said: “It’s hard to imagine a world without Martin Amis. He’s king – a phenomenal stylist, super cool, witty, knowledgeable and a fearless writer.”
His former UK editor, Dan Franklin, called Amis “the coolest, funniest, most quoted and most beautiful writer in British literature”.
Additional report from the Associated Press