Culture

In conversation with Martin Amis- Part 3: Obama, and Ian McEwan

May 15, 2009
Placeholder image!

In the third extract from Toby Muse's interview with Martin Amis, Toby Muse discusses Obama's election, and the implications for America's relationship with rest of the world. (If you missed it, Part 1 and Part 2 are here.) Since 9/11, Amis has been seen as an increasingly conservative voice on world politics, particularly controversial with former friends on the left. As Tom Chatfield notes in his short article to accompany this interview, he has even appeared "nervously out of kilter with his times". But in today's extract we see a different Amis; one surprisingly optimistic, even idealistic about the future. It is a revealing moment, which even he seems surprised by: "I keep on trying to contain my excitement, and dampen my hopes, but...there is no telling what he [Obama] might do". Enjoy!