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  • Inside Story

  • By: Martin Amis
  • Narrated by: Alex Jennings
  • Length: 22 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (127 ratings)
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Inside Story cover art

Inside Story

By: Martin Amis
Narrated by: Alex Jennings
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

This extraordinary novel gives the listener the heart-to-heart testimony of one of our finest writers - a wonder of literary invention and a boisterous modern classic.

His most intimate and epic work to date, Inside Story is the portrait of Martin Amis' extraordinary life, as a man and a writer. This novel had its birth in a death - that of the author's closest friend, Christopher Hitchens. We also encounter the vibrant characters who have helped define Martin Amis, from his father Kingsley, to his hero Saul Bellow, from Philip Larkin to Iris Murdoch and Elizabeth Jane Howard, and to the person who captivated his 20s, the alluringly amoral Phoebe Phelps. 

What begins as a thrilling tale of romantic entanglements, family and friendship evolves into a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to grieve and how to die? In his search for answers, Amis surveys the great horrors of the 20th century and the still-unfolding impact of the 9/11 attacks on the 21st - and shares all he has learned on how to write. 

The result is one of Amis' greatest achievements: a love letter to life that is at once exuberant, meditative, heartbreaking and ebullient, to be savoured and cherished for many years to come.

©2020 Martin Amis (P)2020 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Inside Story

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A Tour de Force.

May even be a new, original genre. He maintains impressive control over his medium, shifting back and forth at will from fiction - comic and tragic - to autobiography, to essay, and also, in homage to his several father and brother surrogates, to obituary. He is unexpectedly, coolly open about his vulnerabilities, sometimes moving, often droll. Surprising and interesting is the barely acknowledged emotional pain especially of his early life. And then the inadvertent evidence of his possession in adulthood of a steel backbone. Not fiction, no. But an important literary work.

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BRILLIANT. Astoundingly Good Audiobook

Every element of this book is rewarding. The prose, the story, the themes, the gossip about literary life. But the triumph here would be wasted without the exceptional narration. My book of 2020. Strongly recommend.

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A book on death that inspires amour fou

With this Martin Amis confirms his place in the Magic Circle of great writers, tricks and slights of hand honed so fine they are invisible till the completed structure is revealed. His love of Christopher Hitchens and Saul Bellow, his sexual and romantic adventures, his intellectual curiosity and vigor, his generous literary tips and pointers all worked together to create an absorbing world. The line between fiction and real is smudged, I wish the early death of CH was an exercise in invention, and I wish there was a flesh and blood PP. I am extremely grateful to have been invited into the Hutch of the Hitch, thank you.

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Kept me entertained for days

I really enjoyed this book, having been a fan of Kingsley and a huge fan of Elizabeth Jane Howard as well as a reader of some of Martin Amis's books, I loved Money for instance but I can't read them all. I thought the narrator was perfect.

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Even if you only like Amis, you will love this

Absolutely compelling and often hilarious and moving .Martin Amis at his best .The narration by Alex Jennings was excellent and I found he made the numerous footnotes very listener friendly .His Hitchens was spot on IMO .So many other authors and their works are mentioned here that I felt I should be taking notes so I will certainly buy a hard copy .A must for fans of Hitchens ,Larkin or Bellow but especially Amis .

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Hitchens and amis

Miss this guy b h h h h I j u h h h h h loyrxjou I I I I h h I I h

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A good audiobook.

This is an emotional and rewarding listen - thoughtful, moving and very funny. I would suggest that if you are a fan of any of his other work you should give this a go. I doubt you'll regret it.

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A masterclass in writing

How beautifully this is woven, the back and forth across time, the serious themes and honest intimacy of his friendships and relationships, especially with other writers/thinkers/poets (Saul Bellow, Christopher Hitchens, Philip Larkin) and their works. The best I’ve listened to this year.

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Excellent

I never red a Martin Amis book before and I’ve this first experience an excellent story and excellent reading. I really love it!

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Brilliant book & top narrator

The best narrated book I have listen to. An actor doing most of the accents of known characters is just sublime. Extraordinary & sad insights to Martin Amis life. May he rest in peace.

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