He's really weird, he picks an argument with anyone who disagrees with him, I think he suffers from psychosis.
Which one? I'm guessing you mean Martin rather than Larkin's mate. I've not read a lot to be honest. Read Times Arrow when it came out. Should give him a better go though. What would you recommend?
Hi Ernie Just a few thoughts... Times Arrow is a good novelette, but I'd certainly go for, or start with, his earlier works i.e. his stuff from the 1970s e.g. The Rachel Papers, Dead Babies and Success. The first one is fairly autobiographical. However, you can't go wrong with what is termed his London Trilogy namely, Money, London Fields and Information. His work is powerful stuff and very much captures the zeitgeist of the decade he writes in. For example, with the 'LT', you really get a sense of the Thatcher 80s. He's considered a postmodernist writer and a mark of that, is that he is very self-referential. Also, without giving too much away, there's one particular scene in London Fields and also in his earlier novel Success, which are quite stomach churning. He's managed to right royally piss off feminist critics and muslims in equal measure and I'm quite surprised he's still alive to be honest. Given my background and what I do, I shouldn't enjoy his work if you get my drift - but unfortunately I really do! Give him a go...
