10 Famous Authors Who Show Up As Characters In Their Own Work

5. Martin Amis - Money

Written in 1984, Money is a savage observation on eighties greed, and greed in general. Martin Amis drops himself into his book in a fairly casual role, as neighbour to protagonist John Self. At one point in the novel, Self and Amis play a game of chess, gambling huge amounts of money as the match progresses, with eventually Amis coming out on top. What's great about this appearance is that Amis actually uses John Self to harshly criticize his own character, bashing his arrogance and refusal to live to his means. He specifically calls out his student lifestyle and messy home, questioning why he doesn't spend the money he's earned to remove himself from squalor.

I tell you, this Martin Amis, he lives like a student. I had inspected his flat with an adman's eye, mindful of outlay and lifestyle, of vocational expenditure. And there was nothing, no tape recorders or filing cabinets or electric typewriters or word processors. Just his pastel portable, like an ancient till. Just biros, pads, pencils. Just two dust-furred rooms off a sooty square, with no hall or passage.