Martin Amis, the bad boy of British fiction, has returned to form and his new novel, The Pregnant Widow, is reminiscent of his brilliant debut novel, The Rachel Papers, that put him on the map.
The time is the early 1970s and sexual revolution is in full bloom. Keith Nearing is a 20 year old poet and university student. His girlfriend Lily has just gotten back together with him after taking a break, so she can “act like a boy.” Lilly’s beautiful friend and former ugly ducking Scheherazade has invited them to her castle in a mountain town in Italy.
Keith is of course obsessed with Scheherazade and lost interest in his girlfriend. It’s his summer goal to sleep with her and read dreary English classic novels. The story is told by Keith from the present day, who tells us that this particular summer wrecks his life, so the book pulls you in from page one.
The story features a large cast of characters (like a 30 year old gay American and his Muslim boyfriend) including some based on Amis’ real life counter parts like Christopher Hitchens and Tina Brown. Amis is probably one of the best writers and it’s just fun to see him work.