“The Immortals” by Martin Amis
Looking into the future through a pair of unreliable eyes.
An integral part of the collection entitled “Einstein’s Monsters” (1987), “The Immortals” by Martin Amis is barely a seven-and-a-half-page short story filled with reminiscences, experiences and future predictions by an unnamed narrator. Claiming as ‘an immortal’, the narrator takes the readers on a historical ride in an imagined time machine when he narrates his experiences on the earth since the beginning of time.
Starting with Ice Age, he unravels the different periods in history — from the Middle Ages to Renaissance to the Modern Age — uttering a monologue of quirky observations and expert-like commentaries on political events, contemporary social landscape, people’s ignorance towards the environment, etc.
As a first-time reader of his works, what stands out to me in this short story is the unabashed, fearless and fierce voice of the narrator. Considering the piece to be a cross between fantasy and apocalyptic fiction, “The Immortals” speaks to me on multiple levels.
From reading how the apocalypse happened in 2045 to how the narrator had “. . . slept right through the blast, the conflagration, the whole death typhoon,” I try to see the actual person who hides behind the garb and the supposed greatness of being “an…
