Inside Story (novel)
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 | |
| Author | Martin Amis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 24 September 2020 |
| ISBN | 978-0-593-31829-4 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
Inside Story is an autobiographical novel by the English author Martin Amis, published in 2020. It was Amis' final novel to be published before his death in 2023.[1]
The book revolves around a fictionalized account of Amis' relationship with three central figures who have died: Philip Larkin, Saul Bellow and Christopher Hitchens. Another central figure, Phoebe Phelps, is entirely fictional, and characterized by a mixture of hyper-sexuality and vulnerability reminiscent of previous female characters written by Amis (e.g. Nicola Six in London Fields, Gloria Prettyman in The Pregnant Widow).[2] The novel begins with Amis welcoming the reader into his home. It is interspersed with sections in which Amis addresses the reader directly and discusses the art of writing. The final part of the novel describes the death of each of the three principal figures (Larkin, Bellow, Hitchens), followed by Amis himself bidding farewell to the reader.
Development
Amis first attempted to write a second memoir (his first being Experience) during his stay in Uruguay, between 2003 and 2006.[3] It was provisionally called Life. In 2005, having written about 100,000 words, he read the manuscript and decided it was "dead".[4] He eventually developed a 30-page section of it which he did like into The Pregnant Widow, and abandoned the project for several years. He was moved to try it again following the death of Christopher Hitchens: "when Christopher died I thought, 'Christ, they're all dead now'. I mean, Saul, Christopher and Philip Larkin, who is the other dominant figure. And I thought 'Well, that gives me a bit more freedom'".[3] The addition of Pheobe Phelps, a completely made-up character, afforded more space for the imagination.[5]