It is very difficult, it is perhaps impossible, for someone who loves his mother to love the woman whom your father left her for. Martin Amis
I would never write about someone that forced me to write at a lower register than what I can write. Martin Amis
All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say. Martin Amis
Jane was my wicked stepmother: she was generous, affectionate and resourceful; she salvaged my schooling and I owe her an unknowable debt for that. One flaw: sometimes, early on, she would tell me things designed to make me think less of my mother, and I would wave her away, saying, 'Jane, this just backfires and makes me think less of you.' Martin Amis
Novelists don't age as quickly as philosophers, who often face professional senility in their late twenties. Martin Amis
Like fundamentalist Judaism and medieval Christianity, Islam is totalist. That is to say, it makes a total claim on the individual. Martin Amis
If every inhabitant of a liberal democracy believes in liberal democracy, then it doesn't matter what creed or colour they are. Martin Amis
Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards. Martin Amis
Tennis: the most perfect combination of athleticism, artistry, power, style, and wit. A beautiful game, but one so remorselessly travestied by the passage of time. Martin Amis
When I go back to the core of my childhood, my cousin Lucy seems always to be in the peripheral vision of my memories. She is off to one side, always off to one side, with a book, with a scheme or a project or an enterprise. Martin Amis
Present-day Spain translates as many books into Spanish, annually, as the Arab world has translated into Arabic in the past 1,100 years. Martin Amis
Novelists are stamina merchants, grinders, nine-to-fivers, and their career curves follow the usual arc of human endeavour. Martin Amis
My literary career kicked off in 1956 when, as a resident of Swansea, South Wales, I published my first novel, 'Lucky Jim.' Martin Amis
Every writer hopes or boldly assumes that his life is in some sense exemplary, that the particular will turn out to be universal. Martin Amis
All novelists write in a different way, but I always write in longhand and then do two versions of typescript on a computer. Martin Amis
In America, the policeman is a working-class hero. In England, the policeman is a working-class traitor. Martin Amis