an obvious moral and economic fiasco

"But Rabbit [Angstrom] was saying what almost all Americans say, or whisper: the more you earn the longer you deserve to live. For-profit healthcare is such an obvious moral and economic fiasco that only ideology — in the form of inherited and unexamined beliefs — could possibly explain its survival."

~~ from Inside Story: A Novel by Martin Amis

through application

"'It's strange. No one behaves worse or talks more balls than Norman [Mailer], but he's widely liked . . . The question remains. Why don't Jews drink?'

"'Well, it's the same with Jewish achievement in general,' said Saul [Bellow] (as his drink arrived). And that achievement is disproportionate. [Albert] Einstein put it pretty well. The great error is to think it's somehow innate. That way anti-Semitism lies. It isn't innate. It's to do with how you're raised. All good Jewish children know that the way to impress their elders is through application. Not sports, not physical strength or physical beauty, and not the arts. Through learning and studying.'"

~~ from Inside Story: A Novel by Martin Amis

she does drive you mad

"'You know, I've got four brothers. All younger. And not one of them'll touch her with a fucking bargepole. They won't have anything to do with her. It's true the old — she does drive you mad, there's no question. But you've got to grind it out, haven't you. And the four of them, they won't go near her. Can you credit it? They won't go near their own fucking mum. Pardon the language. Well, they haven't got my resources, admittedly. So answer me this. Where would she be without my support?'"

~~ from Inside Story: A Novel by Martin Amis

Bellow's auto-fiction

"In Saul's case, auto-fiction gave rise to weeklong bouts of sleepless anxiety about lawsuits (he made last-minute proof changes, he asked people to sign waivers) — plus family troubles (with father and eldest brother), broken or suspended friendships, the deepening rancour of ex-wives and ex-lovers, and above all the indecipherable disquiet of children. It is morally treacherous ground, and Bellow himself thought the question 'diabolically complex'. Diabolically complex, and — I would've thought — fatally self-shackling. Fiction is freedom? Well, the life-writer seems to be crying out for boundaries and impediments and restraints. Crying out for them — nevertheless inviting them in."

~~ from Inside Story: A Novel by Martin Amis