Any lingering doubts as to the spectacular linguistic abilities of Amis the Younger are defiantly crushed by this hilarious, virtuoso and vivid odyssey through the halls of greed. First published in 1984, it is difficult to believe that Money could possibly hail from such a distant past, such is its freshness. Narrator John Self is the definitive lost soul caught in a culture warp having spent some of his childhood in the US, the remainder in London. A Yank at home and an Englishman in New York, he is the victim of multiple excess; fast food, alcohol, pornographic cravings, his appalling girlfriend, his car, dodgy heart, weight and above all his multiple insecurities and fears. A film-maker of sorts - he makes commercials - he is now involved in a doomed movie deal featuring a cast of no hope egomaniacs. Brilliantly paced, it demonstrates Amis at his best, creating fluent, high speed street satire. Crazed comic set-pieces abound, the dialogue is faultless and the characterisation punchy. If it has a weakness it is at times too intelligent, too introspective and the use of the Amis figure is a self-conscious indulgence. Still, what a performance.
