625. The Green Man

The Green Man
Kingsley Amis
1969
Around 180 pages

I used to frequent a pub in London called The Green Man, which is the beginning and end of my pleasant association with this title. They had vegetarian fish and chips. You don't see that everyday.

This Green Man is located between London and Cambridge, and owned by Maurice Allington, a man in his fifties who lives with his second wife, teenage daughter, and elderly father. His father dies, and Maurice is plagued by sleep issues and the specter of Thomas Underhill, who was the inn's 17th century owner. 

I've never really clicked with hallucinogenic novels, and this is no exception. Amis strikes me as a boorish alcoholic, who bullied his son (#TeamMartin), and for that reason, Maurice seems like a stand-in for Kingsley.  

Parts of this novel felt incredibly unnecessary, like Maurice trying to initiate a threesome between his wife and his mistress, only to be shunted out during the orgy. I guess it was supposed to be funny, but to me, his humor feels mean-spirited.

You'd think a story with ghosts and extramarital affairs would be more compelling, but I was just waiting for this to end. At least it was short.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Adapted by BBC in 1990, starring Albert Finney.

UP NEXT: The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles