Govt 490 Durra Elmaki
Book Review Money by Martin Amis August 1, 2011
“If you have to go out, go out in style” is the quintessential theme of John Self’s life. Novelist Martin Amis lays out the fiasco that is John Self’s life, a controversial, delusion, self-medicated individual who’s primary delusion is the overwhelming addiction to the shady life-style choices he makes which are only facilitated through money. Self’s story seems fated for a huge crash but his insistence on living it up till the last possible moment ensures that despite the inevitable self-destruction he is headed for, he will only live spectacularly. For him, that means living a life of gluttony, where he indulges in sex, alcohol, and even junk food with no regard for the consequences, and in fact thrives for more.
The central theme revolving around Money is John Self’s self-destructive nature that struggles, almost naively with his good and evil side. Rather than developing compassion for others, as is a natural outcome for those who have suffered a great deal, Self develops a steady stream of self-pity and sorry, and at one point cries, “What is the point of me?” Obviously overwhelmed by his own mistakes and destructive nature, Self proceeds to develop an optimistic, almost artistic response to his own chaos. This is all built on the foundation of John Self’s undeniable obsession with money, where Self simplifies everything and every situation down to the dollar amount and nothing else.
One persistent source of contention lays in the blame game that Self engages himself in, trying to find justification and explanation for the chaotic life that he is leading. When he finally comes around to blaming himself for his problems, which he reluctantly does at some point, he immediately becomes confused as to why he makes such bad choices, stating, “Me, I don’t like what I want. What I want has long moved free of what I like, and I watch it slip away with grief, with helplessness.” This sense of confusion ultimately leads Self to reject self-blame and he proceeds to blame other possible targets, including the voices in his head. Of course, this is an unfair assessment and Self should be looking to blame himself for his problems and lack of desire to restrain himself from overindulging in everything. It would be an oversimplification to blame Self’s obsession on his humble upbringing but rather his money obsession is a symptom of an already self-destructive personality.
With the constant over-indulgence in all things deemed immoral, a list that ranges from alcoholism to misogyny, John Self is unrestrained in his inordinate desire to consume far more than his fair share. Rather than demonstrating some level of self-control, Self delves in the fact that in order for him to receive satisfaction in any of these things, including bad food, he has to excessively consume them. It may be that overindulging early on has lead to the dissatisfaction that Self-experiences; however, it is difficult to evaluate this because it makes less sense to not receive satisfaction from a large quantity of a good and to expect an even larger quantity to bring about any source of pleasure or contentment. Case in point, rather than enjoying a drink or two, Self indulges in a way that mirrors that drinking of an alcoholic.
Self’s refusal and vagueness to explicitly express certain things is another persistent source of contention throughout the story. There are several instances where Self conveys that either Doris or Selina had informed him about some unbelievable event yet he never discloses what the event was. This is a constant source of frustration and is similar to the frustration of Self’s selective memory where he forgets events from the night before because of his drunken state but persists in declaring that he doesn’t remember the events after someone informs him of it. In the beginning it is almost unclear whether Self is actually forgetting these events or if he finds some source of pleasure in frustrating everyone else by pretending not to remember.
A few shortcomings not withstanding, Martin Amis does an average job in telling the story of self-destructive director John Self. One of the biggest weaknesses of the story is to be found in the lack of uniqueness of the message that money corrupts. Self’s character seems common place in a world full of drug-addicted celebrities and wealthy, above the law individuals. Additionally, Self’s character lacked any form of progressive development and did not seem to make the natural progression of maturity that most adults eventually reach. The plot, or lack thereof, lacks substance and presents Self almost with the moral value of a spoiled, rich teenage boy who has enough prestige to indulge in immoral behavior, without eventually realizing the mistakes of his actions or hoping to change for a more moral character. That being said, the most enjoyable aspect of Money can be found in the humor of the story, as well as the hyperbole of the entire construct.
