Amis's latest two novels to date have seen him garner more controversy, to the extent that it is now evident that baiting the literary reviewers may be part of the nature of his fiction, creating a sense of expectation, undoubtedly boosting sales, and to a certain extent affecting the way in which his fiction is understood. The Pregnant Widow offended on two counts: firstly in its portrayal of the shifting mores of sexuality in the wake of the sexual revolution; and secondly in its anticipation of a new cultural politics of ageing in terms of a ‘silver-tsunami’ and the age war. Lionel Asbo shifted the critics’ wrath to castigating what was seen to be Amis's contribution to the trend in twentyfirst century culture of demonizing the white working class in Britain.

THE PREGNANT WIDOW

Amis's 2010 novel sees him returning to the terrain of The Rachel Papers. The Pregnant Widow follows the experience of a young man trying to fathom out his sexual attraction to women within the shifting mores of the period following the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s. What is different in this novel is that you also get the long, backward view, supplied in short intervals from the perspective of the same character, now aged fifty, as he comes to terms with the effects ageing has on his appearance, body and outlook. The majority of the novel takes place in Italy in 1970 and is focalized through Keith Nearing, a 20-year-old English literature student holidaying in Italy with his girlfriend, Lily. They have been invited to stay for the summer at the family home of their friend Scheherazade, and the holiday sees them encountering a number of their other friends and acquaintances, both new and old. The action centres on Keith's growing attraction and possible affair with Scheherazade. Inevitably perhaps, the novel also details the decline of Keith's relationship with Lily. Hovering over this plotline is Amis's interest in mapping the effects on individuals of the sexual revolution and what he sees as some of the negative aspects of second-wave feminism.