I tried to read a few of Martin Amis’s novels but always found them ugly and unappealing. Imagine my surprise, to use a cliché, when I picked up a copy of The War Against Cliché and discovered that Amis’s non-fiction writing is full of charm, humor, and brilliance.
The War Against Cliché is a collection of essays and reviews that Amis published between 1971 and 2000. Amis is amazingly insightful when writing about a book he loves, hilariously damning when reviewing a dog, and extraordinarily intelligent when discussing anything at all.
Read just one of Amis's essays or reviews, and you’ll understand why the book is titled, The War Against Cliché: it’s because Amis's remarkably precise and original writing reflects his refusal to settle for ready-made thought and expression.
Here are a few of the books that Amis praises in The War Against Cliché:
Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Riding the Rap by Elmore Leonard
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Counterlife by Philip Roth
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Submitted by DK.