Ep33 S2Ep11 The Green Man (1969)

One of Amis's best novels, worth reading, and worth reading unspoiled. Maurice Allington, alcoholic and adulterer, runs a country pub near Cambridge abounding in ghosts and the presence of the supernatural entity the Green Man.  In this discussion I highlight Amis's adoption of the M R James approach to writing about ghosts, the dubious antiquity of pub names and the 'green man' sculptural motif, and whether seeing ghosts would prove the existence of the afterlife.  Amis again tries to explain the appeal of womanising, while noting that some womanisers don't seem to like women at all. Amis writes perceptively about the impacts of alcoholism and infidelity, leading me to define the Kingsley syndrome: “the ability of a novelist to understand and depict the negative consequences of a character’s behaviour without leading to the novelist altering his own behaviour”   The presence of a threesome in the plotline is perhaps surprising when two years earlier David Crobsy thought he was being young and radical in proposing one in 'Triad', confirming that every younger generation thinks they invented sex.I also look at the TV adaptation by Maclolm Bradbury (author of The History Man)  which is perhaps less worthy of your time.  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3