Provocative and Rewarding
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THE SECOND PLANE is made up of 12 essays and two short stories, all exploring the issue of Islamism. To paraphrase Wikipedia, this is the belief that "...Islam is not only a religion but a political system. Its proponents believe that western military, economic, political, social, and cultural influences in the Muslim world are un-Islamic and should be replaced by purely Islamic influences." For Amis, Islamism has these features. But its primary characteristic is violent extremism.
The subtitle for this book, September 11: 2001-2007, explains what Amis is up to. In his own words, he is presenting a "narrative of misery, and also of desperate fascination" on the currents flowing into and out of 9/11. What was surprising to me is that his essays don't read like yesterday's news. Instead, his pieces, many appearing first in The Times or The Guardian, are built on fundamentals that, in America, are often obscured as our politicians and their hacks justify or attack policy for short-term political gain. Here's a sample of Mart's thoughts:
o "We are arriving at an axiom in long-term thinking about international terrorism: the real danger lies, not in what it inflicts, but in what it provokes. Thus by far the gravest consequence of September 11, to date, is Iraq."
o "Why, in our current delirium of faith and fear, would Bush want things to become more theological rather than less theological? The answer is clear enough in human terms: to put it crudely, it makes him feel easier about being intellectually null. He wants geopolitics to be less about the intellect, and more about gut-instincts and beliefs--because he knows he's got them."
o "We may compare radical Islam with ... Bolshevism and Nazism (to each of which Islamism is indebted). Of the many affinities that emerge, we may list, to begin, some secondary characteristics. The exaltation of a godlike leader; the demand, not just for submission to the cause, but for utter transformation in its name; a self-pitying romanticism; a hatred of liberal society, individualism, and affluent inertia; an obsession with sacrifice and martyrdom; a morbid adolescent rebelliousness combined with a childish love of destruction...But these are incidentals. Thanatism derives its real energy, its fever and its magic, from something far more radical.... I mean the rejection of reason."
As a Yank living in New York, I don't see Amis much on TV in his role of wise man and commentator. Instead, Mart, for me, largely remains a novelist. As a result, I was also happy to see Amis make a few literary asides in THE SECOND PLANE. Here's one:
o "Commentators respond, not to the novel, but to its personnel, whom they want to `care about', in whom they want to `believe'. Such remarks as `I didn't like the characters' are now thought capable of settling the hash of a work of fiction. This critical approach will eventually elicit what it fully deserves--a literature of ingratiation."
This is very high-level and interesting work and recommended.
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Ignore the reviews and buy this book
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Why do the reviewers and critics hate Martin Amis so much ? Ignore them and buy this book. The writing is breathtaking and the analysis provoking. This book and Updike's The Terrorist should be required reading for anyone interested in the post 9/11 world.
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More talked about than read
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I'm beginning to suspect that Amis's views on Islamist terrorism are more talked about than read. This is a pity since he was some genuine insights and is - I think - correct in most of his analysis. He is also an excellent writer and a joy to read. All the articles in this book are reprints from articles, book reviews and two short stories so you may have already read at least one article (it was only halfway through one of the short stories that I realised I'd already read it).
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spiritual warfare
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Amis understands and describes with a superb eye, both the ugly soul of totalitarianism and the death cult of religous fanaticsm facing the west. Along with Paul Berman, Amis helps you make the leap into the minds of those who want to kill us and shows us the dreadful emptiness of their souls. This collection of essays includes two short stories. "In the palace of the end," the story is based on a body double for the psychotic and sadistic son of the dictator and is based in a torture centre. The horror is skilfully amplified by the dullness of tone and terrifyingly, sadism and rape are reduced to bureaucratic procedures. The essays range from the wacky evilness of Ahmedinijad in Iran to spending time with Tony Blair and are rich in detail colour. Even though I would disagree with some of Amis' emphasis and conclusions, each essay stands up as a fine piece of writing. This is an excellent book. I would urge anyone who enjoys it to also read Berman's "Terror and Liberalism"
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