Visiting Mrs. Nabokov: And Other Excursions

Visiting Mrs. Nabokov brings together the whirlwind journalistic adventures that, alongside his seismic novels, transformed Martin Amis into England’s brightest literary star.

It was the golden age of magazine assignments: expense accounts, free-ranging cultural criticism, and eclectic mischief. In these short, hilarious pieces, Amis visits with literary heroes and rivals, follows Elton John’s soccer team to China, and reflects on everything from nuclear weapons to televised darts. With his signature caustic wit, he skewers all before him—including himself—as he revisits the dissipations of his youth and some hair-raising near misses: an emergency plane landing, a crush of bodies at a street carnival, and being stood up by Madonna. Whether from the set of RoboCop 2 or the 1988 Republican National Convention, Amis presciently traces the shape of the coming future.

As subversive now as they were then, and with a timeless linguistic flair, these dispatches entertain, provoke, and entertain again. Visiting Mrs. Nabokov is perfect for newcomers or longtime fans looking for that spark of insight that only Martin Amis can provide.