But Mr. Amis, the author of ''Money,'' ''Success'' and other novels, takes another view. When I told him that I was writing about nuclear weapons, he said, with a lilt, 'Ah. Until that uncertain time, Mr. Amis takes a look at what it's like to live the way we do. Bujak and the Strong Force,'' except that Bujak, a very strong fellow, decides against revenge when his mother, daughter and granddaughter are raped and bent like pretzels. He vacations with an uncle, his wife and baby.
Some deaths have to occur here, and they do.
You do not have to wear a three-piece suit to write about the nuclear world, Mr. Amis suggests, nor must you carry a sign to protest it. Just put your brain into gear and pay attention. By doing that, Mr. Amis has created stories that please at least as much as they horrify.