God's Dice

by Martin Amis

Two sombre stories from "Einstein's Monsters". One is about a middle-aged Pole living in Ladbroke Grove whose wife is murdered in their flat while he's away for the weekend. The second is a strange tale about a puppy and a human community in a post-apocalyptic world.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Martin Amis was an English novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His works included the novels Money, London Fields and The Information.

The Guardian writes that "all his critics have noted what Kingsley Amis [his father] complained of as a 'terrible compulsive vividness in his style... that constant demonstrating of his command of English'; and it's true that the Amis-ness of Amis will be recognisable in any piece before he reaches his first full stop."

Amis's raw material is what he sees as the absurdity of the postmodern condition with its grotesque caricatures. He has thus sometimes been portrayed as the undisputed master of what the New York Times has called "the new unpleasantness."

Reviews

[Bryan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ummmm...a hard one to rate. Two short stories. Pretty different from each other in so many ways. However, the common element of course is the author's style, which is really appealing and specific. I'm keen to read more of his stuff after this dip into his writing. The writing is really interesting and at times very non-standard, imaginative (linguistically) and thought-provoking, again from a language rather than conceptual point of view.

The concepts are simple enough so the beauty is in the language and the way things are observed and described, rather than some radical new chain of thought or insight into the world, the human condition and so on.

I felt the first story rather overcooked the way he described the characteristics of the main protagonists. He clearly wanted to get over a picture of a hugely strong fellow but kept ramming the point home somewhat throughout the story, seemingly not trusting us to remember that this is a large, strong chap! Otherwise it was interesting and touching.

The second story was a bit predictable, unfortunately, but still an interesting ride. I felt that he 'drew' the imagined world well and one could immerse oneself in it while reading the story. It wasn't really 'enjoyable' per se, because of the subject matter, but it was engaging in its way.

So, yeah, I'm keen to see what this writer gets up to when he's got a whole book to write! Any recommendations as to what to read, of his, would be very welcome!

[Joanna Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! It really had me thinking and the second short story had me in tears. Highly recommended!!

[Alison Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently bought the penguin 60’s box set in a charity shop and this in no 1 . Only 59 more to go 😂😂

[John Isles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two macabre stories, confusingly told. I bought the set of Penguin 60s in the hope of sampling some new authors I might like. Based on the present selection, Martin Amis won't be one of them. I can't imagine anyone reading this for pleasure.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this much more than I had anticipated. Two stories, very different. The first was along the lines I expected, having read London Fields, but not finding it particularly special.
This story - God's Dice - is the short story of a Polish man living in West London. The story is told, in a conversational style, the narrator being a man who 'knew' Bujak, but was probably a bit unsure of him to be considered a friend. It was gritty little tale, and a good quick read.

The second story was a little sci-fi dystopian tale of genetic mutations, named - The little Puppy That Could - and it was about as far as you could get from what I had expected! Confusion plays a strong part in this story!
The natural leaders were, of course, the women with the loudest voices and the strongest personalities; and if you think Keithette is redoubtable enough, you should check out Clivonne - or Kevinia! ... They didn't hold a meeting: it was simply a matter of a few dozen exhausted and terrified husbands - all the Toms and Tims and Tams - sprinting with messages from hut to hut. ???
Or what to make of this:
The dog was eight feet long and four feet high, very lumpily put together, the rolling, snapping head loosely joined to the top-heavy shoulders. In place of a tail he sported an extra limb, bare tibia, tendon and talon - quite useless, and far from decorative. His eyes were a scurvy yellow, his saliva a loud crimson, venomous and also acidic, capable of dissolving human bones.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to say the least. 3.5 stars. The first story was relatively okay, and the second blew the first away with its strange concept and angle of narration. I continued reading because the author's writing style is, quite frankly, incredible.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

[Penguin Books] (1995). SB. 55 Pages. Purchased from The British Heart Foundation.

“God’s Dice” [0/20]
“The Little Puppy That Could” [0/20]

Both pieces are reprinted from “Einstein’s Monsters” (1987).

Boring, pretentious twaddle. Genuinely abysmal. A contender for the worst book I’ve ever read.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories one about a strong Polish guy who does not kill, one about a little puppy from puppy’s view. Does not quite work for me.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not among his best

[Caroline Topham · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for God’s Dice, 2 for The Little Puppy That Could.

[Tania]

This was a book from another era. One which kept the brain ticking over.

[Coenraad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought the full set of little books published to celebrate Penguin's sixtieth birthday in 1995, as well as the set for the seventieth birthday ten years later. Before the Penguin 80s appear in 2015 (they're probably planning them as we speak), I should read those older sets!

Martin Amis' two stories form a truly sombre opening to the festival set. The first is 'God's dice', about a Polish survivor of the Second World War who has to deal with the murder of his wife. The second, 'The little puppy that could', is an unusual tale of a dystopian world where love and caring is scarce, yet powerful. Not a natural choice for me, but interesting and evocatively written.

Twee kortverhale van Martin Amis open die reeks klein boekies wat verskyn het toe Penguin hul sestigste bestaansjaar in 1995 gevier het. Somber en ongewoon, veral die tweede, oor 'n dierbare klein hondjie wat sy plek probeer vind tussen mense iewers in 'n apokaliptiese toekoms. Nie my eerste keuse van leesstof nie, maar tog 'n interessante kennismaking met hierdie skrywer.

[Angus · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Sneakend · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the name of god's dice was that second story about, that's all I'm asking.

[Vince Sheehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

God's Dice: fascination with a local 'character'.
The Puppy who Could: the triumph of love

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent little story, but not much to it really.