The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

An expansive and incisive collection of essays and reportage from one of England’s celebrated writers.

Martin Amis has spent decades turning his forensic intellect and inimitable prose toward the absurdities, vanities, and occasional triumphs of modern life. In The Rub of Time, a collection of his sharpest nonfiction from over twenty years, he trains his gaze on politics, literature, sports, and the spectacle of celebrity with a wit as lethal as it is precise.

Here, Amis dissects the rise of Donald Trump with mordant amusement, capturing the theatrical bluster and ominous undertones of American politics. He revisits his literary titans, Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov, parsing their genius with the awe of a disciple and the rigor of a peer. His sportswriting crackles with the same energy, whether reflecting on the fleeting prime of his own athleticism or the strange poetry of competition. From the war on terror to Brexit, from the pitfalls of fame to the pleasures of the written word, Amis blends personal reflection with razor-sharp cultural critique, always with his signature mix of erudition and dark comedy.

Brimming with linguistic fireworks and featuring new commentary from the author, The Rub of Time is Amis at his most incisive, irreverent, and unmissable.

1127148358
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

An expansive and incisive collection of essays and reportage from one of England’s celebrated writers.

Martin Amis has spent decades turning his forensic intellect and inimitable prose toward the absurdities, vanities, and occasional triumphs of modern life. In The Rub of Time, a collection of his sharpest nonfiction from over twenty years, he trains his gaze on politics, literature, sports, and the spectacle of celebrity with a wit as lethal as it is precise.

Here, Amis dissects the rise of Donald Trump with mordant amusement, capturing the theatrical bluster and ominous undertones of American politics. He revisits his literary titans, Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov, parsing their genius with the awe of a disciple and the rigor of a peer. His sportswriting crackles with the same energy, whether reflecting on the fleeting prime of his own athleticism or the strange poetry of competition. From the war on terror to Brexit, from the pitfalls of fame to the pleasures of the written word, Amis blends personal reflection with razor-sharp cultural critique, always with his signature mix of erudition and dark comedy.

Brimming with linguistic fireworks and featuring new commentary from the author, The Rub of Time is Amis at his most incisive, irreverent, and unmissable.

12.99 Pre Order
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

by Martin Amis
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1994-2017

by Martin Amis

eBook

$12.99 
Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on February 17, 2026

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

An expansive and incisive collection of essays and reportage from one of England’s celebrated writers.

Martin Amis has spent decades turning his forensic intellect and inimitable prose toward the absurdities, vanities, and occasional triumphs of modern life. In The Rub of Time, a collection of his sharpest nonfiction from over twenty years, he trains his gaze on politics, literature, sports, and the spectacle of celebrity with a wit as lethal as it is precise.

Here, Amis dissects the rise of Donald Trump with mordant amusement, capturing the theatrical bluster and ominous undertones of American politics. He revisits his literary titans, Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov, parsing their genius with the awe of a disciple and the rigor of a peer. His sportswriting crackles with the same energy, whether reflecting on the fleeting prime of his own athleticism or the strange poetry of competition. From the war on terror to Brexit, from the pitfalls of fame to the pleasures of the written word, Amis blends personal reflection with razor-sharp cultural critique, always with his signature mix of erudition and dark comedy.

Brimming with linguistic fireworks and featuring new commentary from the author, The Rub of Time is Amis at his most incisive, irreverent, and unmissable.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781250420602
Publisher: Picador
Publication date: 02/17/2026
Sold by: Macmillan
Format: eBook
Pages: 416

About the Author

About The Author
Martin Amis (1949–2023) was a British novelist and critic. His work includes fifteen novels, among them Money, London Fields, and The Information; two collections of short stories; five books of essays; and the acclaimed memoir Experience.
Martin Amis (1949-2023) was a British novelist and critic. His work includes fifteen novels, among them Money, London Fields and The Information; two collections of short stories; five books of essays; and the acclaimed memoir Experience.

Hometown:

Oxford, England

Date of Birth:

August 25, 1949

Place of Birth:

Oxford, England

Education:

B.A., Exeter College, Oxford

Table of Contents

Author’s Note and Acknowledgments

By Way of an Introduction
He’s Leaving Home

Twin Peaks
Vladimir Nabokov and the Problem from Hell
Saul Bellow, as Opposed to Henry James

Politics 1
The Republican Party in 2011: Iowa
The Republican Party in 2012: Tampa, Florida
The Republican Party in 2016: Trump

Literature 1
Philip Larkin: His Work and Life
Larkin’s Letters to Monica
Iris Murdoch: Age Will Win

The House of Windsor
Princess Diana: A Mirror, Not a Lamp
The Queen’s Speech, the Queen’s Heart

More Personal 1
You Ask the Questions 1
The Fourth Estate and the Puzzle of Heredity
On the Road: The Multicity Book Tour
The King’s English
 
Twin Peaks 2
Bellow’s Lettres
Nabokov’s Natural Selection

Americana (Stepping Westward)
Losing in Las Vegas
Travolta’s Second Act
In Pornoland: Pussies Are Bullshit

Literature 2
Don DeLillo: Laureate of Terror
J. G. Ballard: From Outer Space to Inner Space
Early Ballard: The Drowned World
The Shock of the New: A Clockwork Orange Turns Fifty

Sport
Three Stabs at Tennis
The Champions League Final, 1999
In Search of Dieguito Maradona
On the Court: My Beautiful Game

More Personal 2
Deciding to Write Time’s Arrow
Marty and Nick Jr. Sail to America
You Ask the Questions 2

Politics 2
Ivan Is Introduced to the USSR: All Together Now
Is Terrorism “About Religion”?
In Memory of Neda Soltan, 1983–2009: Iran
The Crippled Murderers of Cali, Colombia

Literature 3
Philip Roth Finds Himself
Roth the Elder: A Moralistic Investigation
John Updike’s Farewell Notes
Rabbit Angstrom Confronts Obamacare
Jane Austen and the Dream Factory  

More Personal 3
Christopher Hitchens

Politics 3
On Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition
President Trump Orates in Ohio

Twin Peaks 3
Bellow: Avoiding the Void
Véra and Vladimir: Letters to Véra
 
Index

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews