Martin Amis, one of the most renowned British novelists of his generation, has passed away at the age of 73.
The New York Times reported, citing his wife, the writer Isabel Fonseca, that he passed away from oesophageal cancer in his Florida residence.
Amis is best known for his novels Money (1984) and London Fields (1989).
He is widely regarded as one of the most influential authors of his era, having written dozens of novels and non-fiction works.
He was born in Oxford in 1949 and was the son of novelist and poet Kingsley Amis.
With his debut novel, Rachel Papers, the younger Amis followed in the footsteps of his father.
It was published in 1973, while he was employed at the Times Literary Supplement, and chronicles the exploits of a teenage boy in London before he enters university. It was awarded the Somerset Maugham prize.
Amis was a contemporary of such renowned authors as James Fenton, Salman Rushdie, and Ian McEwan, with whom he produced a number of notable works.
His intimate relationship with journalist Christopher Hitchens, who passed away in 2011 from oesophageal cancer, was well documented.
They belonged to a colorful group credited with revitalizing the British literary scene and inspiring a generation of younger writers.
Rushdie paid tribute to Amis by telling the New Yorker, “He used to say that he wanted to leave behind a shelf of books so that he could say, ‘from here to here, it’s me.'”
“His voice is now mute. His acquaintances will greatly miss him. However, we have a shelf.”
And another contemporary, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, told the BBC, “He was a role model for my generation of novelists and a source of inspiration for me.”
“Despite the sharpness of his satire and the brilliance of his prose, there was always a tenderness just beneath the surface, a desire for love and connection. His work will endure the various swings in fashion and custom.”
The work of Amis was frequently characterized by its profoundly comic themes and satire.
In addition, he wrote two collections of short stories, six nonfiction volumes, and a memoir.
He was recognized as a public intellectual and frequently controversial political commentator.
Money became his most acclaimed work and is frequently cited as the 1980s’ defining novel.
The novel, set in New York and London, follows an ad director as he attempts to create his first feature film. It was inspired by Amis’s own experience as a scriptwriter for Saturn 3, a critically panned science fiction film starring Kirk Douglas.
Amis, who relocated from London to the United States in 2012, released his autobiography Experience in 2000. Inside Story, his most recent novel, was published in 2020.
His literary critic acquaintance Zachary Leader described Mr. Amis as “charming and very generous” but “greatly troubled by his success.”
“His existence was a series of invitations, many of which he declined, and not all of which he declined with the same grace he showed his friends. Mr. Leader told the BBC, “He wasn’t grumpy around the people he liked; I believe he did his best.”
Michal Shavit, Amis’s UK editor at Vintage Books, stated, “It’s difficult to fathom a world without Martin Amis. He was a stylist extraordinaire, a super-cool dude, a brilliantly witty, erudite, and fearless writer, and a genuinely wonderful man.
He has been so influential and formative for so many readers and authors over the past fifty years.
Penguin Books stated in a statement, “We are devastated by the passing of our author and friend, Martin Amis. His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, especially his children and wife Isobel.
“He leaves a monumental legacy and an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of Britain, and he will be sorely missed.”
The Booker Prize tweeted: “We are devastated to learn of the passing of Martin Amis, one of the most acclaimed and discussed novelists of the past 50 years. We are thinking of his family and colleagues.”
His 2003 novel Yellow Dog was on the long list for the Booker Prize, while Time’s Arrow was on the short list.
Throughout his career, he frequently revisited the Holocaust in novels such as Time’s Arrow and The Zone of Interest.
