Birthday of British author Martin Amis

CAIRO – 25 August 2017: August 25 is the 68th birthday of British novelist Martin Amis, who is the son of author Kingsley Amis.

Amis was born in Oxford, 1949, and studied in schools all across Europe and in the U.S.. His first novel was published in 1973, winning a young Amis acclaim and the Somerset Maugham Award in 1974. This would be the start of a long, rich career covering four decades with a body of work that includes twelve novels and hundreds upon hundreds of reviews and essays. Amis had cemented a reputation as one of contemporary England's brightest new voices.

Amongst the work he's best known for is 1984's Money: A Suicide Note. The novel follows a greedy, alcoholic executive named John Self as he attempts to climb his way up to becoming a Hollywood producer and the various issues he gets tangled up in. Featuring strong, inventive narrative language, the book is an examination of how the pursuit of greed and reckless pleasure can lead to ruin.

Amis's more recent work includes 2014's the Zone of Interest. Set in Auschwitz. The book revolves around the horrors of the Holocaust and its concentration camps. It isn't the first time the author has written of Nazis, as his experimental 1991 book 'Time's Arrow' was about a Nazi doctor.

As an author, Amis is one who doesn't allow his sharp tongue and wit to be silenced by what others might deem offensive.