Martin Amis - Inside Story (Jonathan Cape, 2020) ****

"Inside Story" is not really an autobiography of Martin Amis, even though the non-fiction book is about his life, but then primarily about other people than himself. The main character is his friend and soulmate Christopher Hitchens, who died of pneumonia as a consequence of his oesophageal cancer. Other people who drive the narrative are Amis's father Kingsley, and the authors Saul Bellow and Philip Larkin.

As you can imagine from Amis, the book is extremely well written, often narrated around situations - and like with Knausgaard - the dialogues and minor details are possibly invented to make for more identification with the context. Amis's natural sense of cynicism is omnipresent, but is balanced by and equally deep sense of love and compassion for the people he loves. You can only admire Amis for his incredible patience and dedication to continue to spend time with the dementing Bellow (watching "Pirates Of The Carribean" together), who no longer knew who he was, and the time invested to remain by Hitchen's side till the end. 

In between, Amis comments on life, society, and of course literature. And there are the stories of love and lots of drinks and partying. Amis balances and structures his book with the craftmanship that he uses for his novels. Despite the deep sense of loss, the narrative remains entertaining. 

I admire his candour, his authenticity and the quality of his writing. Even if you're not a fan of Amis, this book is easy to recommend.