The Story Archive

Other People

Martin Amis · 1981 CE · Novel · English · Contemporary

A young woman comes to in a London hospital with no name, no history and no idea what a kettle is for, and is turned out into a city she has to learn from the ground up — squats, hostels, pubs, a job behind a counter. A policeman called Prince keeps appearing at the edges, apparently knowing who she used to be. Subtitled A Mystery Story, and the shortest and most oblique thing he wrote.

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Attributes

Genre
MysteryPsychological
Theme
Identity & SelfMemory & TimeIsolation & AlienationGuilt & Conscience
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
The DoubleShadowInnocent
Plot structure
MysteryCircularUnreliable Narrator
Quest object (Greimas)
Identity / Selfhood
Symbol / motif
The CityThe MirrorThe Mask
Conflict
vs Selfvs Person
Mode / tone
IronicNoir
Culture / tradition
English

Closest analogues