Is Martin Amis in the grip of the fame monster? “Only this week, his comments about how the British don’t show enough respect to writers made the headlines. You have only to think about how he dismissed the royal family as ‘Philistines’ or the absurd kerfuffle when he chose to spend a chunk of a large advance on having his teeth fixed. Or the discovery of a daughter from a previous relationship. Or the criticism he got for writing about his cousin who was murdered by mass murderer Fred West. Or that he has moved to New York with his wife, Isabel Fonseca, and their two daughters. Or the fact he has never been shortlisted for the Booker.”