Martin Amis' London Fields features some of the most memorable characters in English literature. The story revolves around three in particular -- Nicola Six, Keith Talent and Guy Clinch -- plus the narrator of the tale.
Nicola Six is a conniving and ruthless seductress hell-bent on a death-wish. Actually, Nicky foresees her death in recurring visions -- a car pulls up alongside her, the door opens, she sees the murder weapon and says in recognition "You. Always you." She will be murdered by someone she knows, and so she strings along and manipulates the other two main characters believing one of them will prove to be the murderer.
Nicky enlists the help of the narrator, an American writer who's exchanged residences with a London writer for a time while working on a new novel. The narrator/writer is to write Nicky's story -- and that's what London Fields is ... Nicky's story ... laced with Keith's story and Guy's...
Keith Talent is one of the men Nicky manipulates. All Keith cares about is his darts, and drinking at the pub -- the Black Cross -- with his mates. Guy Clinch is from the upper class, but has gotten bored with his routine and stumbles into the Black Cross, befriending Keith and becoming the target of Nicola's sexually manipulative nature.
Amis' writing style in London Fields is quite compelling. Parts of the novel seem to fly by. However, the book alternates between storyline and interlude where we are forced to suffer the ramblings of the narrator, which tend to drag more often than not. But, you shouldn't think you can skip over these passages -- they reveal more clues to the unfolding mystery than you might expect.
Amis paints a dire portrait of London's underbelly in this story, which is laden with social commentary (People now treated themselves like telephone boxes, ripping out the innards and throwing them away, and plastering their surfaces with sex-signs and graffiti...). There are few, if any, redeeming qualities in these characters, and perhaps that's what made the story drag on for me -- I really did not care one bit whether Nicky dies, nor who was going to be set up as the murderer. Heck, I would've killed her myself had I been a character in the story.
Guy Clinch comes closest to having the Shakespearean notion of the "tragic flaw" that is his ultimate demise. Yet, the inner turmoil we see him go through hardly redeems him, and he usually comes across as self-serving.
In the end, London Fields is definitely worth reading primarily for Amis' ballsy writing style, as long as you are not looking for an uplifting story. Additionally, the surprise conclusion of the tale is truly satisfying -- everyone seems to get their just reward.
