34 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

Martin Amis And Charlie Higson Discuss James Bond On BBC Radio

'Amis, Amis And Bond' on Tuesday, 17 July

'Amis, Amis And Bond'
BBC Radio Programme Online

Charlie Higson and Martin Amis discuss Kingsley Amis' Bond connections

[Sbott]

This looks a really interesting show. Hopefully those of us outside the UK will be able to catch it online.

[zencat]

Nice find, Qwerty!

[spynovelfan]

I see that the press release says Martin Amis will be in discussion with 'fellow Bond enthusiast' Higson - that's the first I've heard that Amis Jr is a Bond fan. Am I the only one thinking this ups Martin Amis' likelihood of being the 2008 author considerably?

[Scrambled Eggs]

I see that the press release says Martin Amis will be in discussion with 'fellow Bond enthusiast' Higson - that's the first I've heard that Amis Jr is a Bond fan. Am I the only one thinking this ups Martin Amis' likelihood of being the 2008 author considerably?

Probably.

Are you playing devil's advocate or do you really think he's a possibility?

[spynovelfan]

I have no idea. It just strikes me as strange that Martin Amis is now revealing himself to be a Bond fan. I'd always thought he was a very unlikely choice partly because he's never, to my knowledge anyway, shown any interest in James Bond. A discussion like this with the guy who is currently writing the continuation series...? It has to be a possibility, surely?

[Qwerty]

Am I the only one thinking this ups Martin Amis' likelihood of being the 2008 author considerably?

Thought of that as well (although the list of possibilities for the job is seemingly endless lately ).

[clinkeroo]

I see that the press release says Martin Amis will be in discussion with 'fellow Bond enthusiast' Higson - that's the first I've heard that Amis Jr is a Bond fan. Am I the only one thinking this ups Martin Amis' likelihood of being the 2008 author considerably?

That would be...amazing. Of all the names we've bandied about, this would be my favorite, along with Follett.

[Trident]

I'm baffled by the title. 'Amis, Amis and Bond'. Strange it's not 'Amis, Higson and Bond'.

Any suggestions as where to start with Amis'?

[Jackanaples]

It's probably a reference to the fact that Martin Amis's father Kingsley wrote the first post-Fleming Bond novel COLONEL SUN under the pseudonym Robert Markham, as well as championing Fleming's writing when few other members of the literati did.

Oh, and KA also wrote that book about Bond under the William 'Bill' Tanner pseudonym.

[OmarB]

Sounds cool. If anyone can record and post an mp3 of it that would be great.

[Qwerty]

I'm baffled by the title. 'Amis, Amis and Bond'. Strange it's not 'Amis, Higson and Bond'.

Any suggestions as where to start with Amis'?

Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis, and Bond.

[Scrambled Eggs]

I have no idea. It just strikes me as strange that Martin Amis is now revealing himself to be a Bond fan. I'd always thought he was a very unlikely choice partly because he's never, to my knowledge anyway, shown any interest in James Bond. A discussion like this with the guy who is currently writing the continuation series...? It has to be a possibility, surely?

Amis isn't necessarily revealing himself to be a Bond fan. It might simply be a poorly worded press release and his interest begins and ends with his father's involvement.

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't we know that Lee Child was approached to write the centenary novel? If so, surely this is a clear sign that they're only considering thriller writers? Martin Amis is very unlikely to get the gig even if he wants it.

Furthermore, I'd hate the centenary novel to be some sort of post modern ironic take on Bond... which is the sort of thing Amis might come up with.

Edit: Googling "Martin Amis ian Fleming" I found this peculiar review of "Yellow Dog":

You know how these things work: the writer takes a bit from his own life, twists it into something else, and voila! Here we have an alcohol problem camouflaged as a blow to the head, turning the main character into a caveman who wants to corpulate with his own young daughters. No wonder every single sentence is deliberately made as unclear and ambiguous as possible, with so many local references to central London and its lingo that you need a native of the area to guide you along. Very Victorian, too - I'm sure today's readers can cope with the real names of a man's genitals and don't need to have them referred to as 'his collateral heart', and so on, and on, and on. Two characters in the novel enjoy a good game of Scrabble, which is significant, because that's really what we are witnessing - Martin Amis having a jolly good old game of Scrabble with himself. Still, you have to admit he is very good at it. Like his father and Anthony Burgess he has understood what Ian Fleming was really all about, a surrealist utilising the frameworks of trivial literature, and there is a lot of Fleming features utilised in this novel. Which is basically why it's not that bad a read after all.

Edited by Scrambled Eggs, 10 July 2007 - 12:25 AM.

[doublenoughtspy]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't we know that Lee Child was approached to write the centenary novel? If so, surely this is a clear sign that they're only considering thriller writers? Martin Amis is very unlikely to get the gig even if he wants it.

How does a single candidate "prove" that they are only considering thriller writers?

Taking Higson as an example - I think they are prepared to make unorthodox choices.

[Mister Asterix]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't we know that Lee Child was approached to write the centenary novel? If so, surely this is a clear sign that they're only considering thriller writers? Martin Amis is very unlikely to get the gig even if he wants it.

How does a single candidate "prove" that they are only considering thriller writers?

Taking Higson as an example - I think they are prepared to make unorthodox choices.

[mra]Was about to ask the same questions. Isn

[ACE]

The radio show sounds interesting.

I have the oddest feeling the new Bond author will not be Martin Amis. But someone equally surprising and as good. I have faith that IFP will please us.

Mind you, Martin Amis would be a good choice.

[Scrambled Eggs]

How does a single candidate "prove" that they are only considering thriller writers?

Taking Higson as an example - I think they are prepared to make unorthodox choices.

I'm sure they're willing to make unorthodox choices but I'm also sure that they have an idea of the kind of centenary novel they want to publish.

The initial choice of author surely tells us something about the kind of book they have in mind?

If they wanted an unorthodox take on Bond (which Martin Amis would certainly provide) then Lee Child would never have been approached.

edit: and i see it'll be Faulks anyway!

Edited by Scrambled Eggs, 11 July 2007 - 12:32 AM.

[zencat]

You can listen to the show now on the BBC 4 website. It's quite good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...amisamisandbond

[Jackanaples]

The program was informative and interesting. Wish it could have been longer! Also, I wish that radio in the US was as varied and stimulating as on the BBC!

I'd never heard the stories of Kingsley Amis possibly polishing TMWTGG before publication. What do others think of that? True or false?

[doublenoughtspy]

I'd never heard the stories of Kingsley Amis possibly polishing TMWTGG before publication. What do others think of that? True or false?

He was given the manuscript and he made notes about what he felt was wrong with the content (including the famous assertation that Scaramanga had a homosexual crush on Bond) but he did not polish the contents for publication.

He was paid for that, and as his biographer points out, he was paid by a newspaper to review it when it came out too.

Cheeky.

[K1Bond007]

I'd never heard the stories of Kingsley Amis possibly polishing TMWTGG before publication. What do others think of that? True or false?

False. As doublenought implies I don't think Amis would have reviewed something that he himself contributed to. That's just not right. Besides everything I've ever read (with any sort of real detail on the matter, instead of just regurgitating the same ol line) has essentially said that the manuscript went untouched except for the regular edits by William Plomer, Fleming's editor.

[[dark]]

'Amis, Amis And Bond'
BBC Radio Programme Online

Charlie Higson and Martin Amis discuss Kingsley Amis' Bond connections

[marktmurphy]

I have no idea. It just strikes me as strange that Martin Amis is now revealing himself to be a Bond fan. I'd always thought he was a very unlikely choice partly because he's never, to my knowledge anyway, shown any interest in James Bond. A discussion like this with the guy who is currently writing the continuation series...? It has to be a possibility, surely?

Apparently not- in fact Amis' last statement about having to be mentally defective before considering writing for 007 seemed to be incredibly rude; surely he knows Higson writes Bond books?

Really nice piece, though- thank you Charlie. Kingsley was an interesting man.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Yes, an Amis smackdown to Higson, but Charlie is laughing all the way to the bank, as he states.

But, would he be making that much from the Young Bonds though?

Charlie Higson sounds a lot like Tony Robinson (best known to a wider audience as Baldrick in the Blackadder TV series).

[K1Bond007]

Apparently not- in fact Amis' last statement about having to be mentally defective before considering writing for 007 seemed to be incredibly rude; surely he knows Higson writes Bond books?

Really nice piece, though- thank you Charlie. Kingsley was an interesting man.

I thought he was just poking fun. You point out Higson, but also his own father.. by that statement implying that he was mentally defective. You know... I don't think he was serious.

Martin Amis is also an established "well-known" author, while Charlie Higson prior to Young Bond wasn't. He was known for The Fast Show etc more so than his books. So you can also take it that way. I mean for an unknown author it's a good gig, but someone as well known as Kingsley Amis or Martin Amis or Sebastian Faulks to take on the task of writing a Bond novel... if not for the (possibly?) big fat paycheck they may very well be mentally defective (I am being semi-facetious here)

[marktmurphy]

Yes, an Amis smackdown to Higson, but Charlie is laughing all the way to the bank, as he states.

Somehow I think Martin Amis does alright for himself, so it's not exactly a big victory. Not much of a moral one, either. But then Charlie didn't really have to try an 'win' anything (although obviously he didn't take it too seriously- life's too short) as Martin looked a bit of an saying that.

[Attempting Re-entry]

I know this is a four year-old thread, but Martin Amis would be an absolute disaster as regards writing a Bond novel.

[The Shark]

I'd love to see Martin Amis have a crack at Bond. A pie in the sky, I know.

[Dustin]

I haven't read any Martin Amis as yet. But a Bond novel by him would fantastic just for the comparisons with his father's effort as well as for the different (if so) interpretation of the character he would offer. Doubt it will happen though.

[Peckinpah1976]

Thing is, as writers Father and Son are/were like chalk and cheese - beyond the gimicky family connection there'd be no comparison to make, interesting or otherwise.