The Pregnant Widow

by Martin Amis
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Amis on top form. An intoxicating comedy about youth, the 1970s, the sexual revolution and its aftermath.

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Synopsis

An Italian poolside, Summer, 1970. Sex is very much on everyone’s mind. The girls are acting like boys and the boys are going on acting like boys. Keith Nearing – a bookish twenty year old, in that much disputed territory between five foot six and five foot seven – is struggling to twist feminism towards his own ends. Torn between three women, his scheming doesn’t come off quite as he expects. And now in the twenty first century, as Keith reflects on that summer holiday, the aftershocks of the sexual revolution finally catch up with him. The Pregnant Widow is gloriously risqué and ferociously funny. It is Martin Amis at his fearless best.

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May 13

New Amis Novel Delayed Until 2010

by Random House Australia on 13 May 2009

New Amis Novel Delayed Until 2010 0 comments

Jonathan Cape has confirmed that publication of the new Martin Amis novel THE PREGNANT WIDOW has been delayed until February 2010. The book had previously been scheduled to appear this September. Cape publicist Laura Hassan said the postponement came after delays finishing the book. THE PREGNANT WIDOW is described as a "tragicomedy of manners" taking place during a long, hot...

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Editorial Reviews

"There is a sort of reverse bathos operating in Amis in which he slips from the empty epic to the comic sublime. At such moments, and there are plenty... no one better understands the cosmic joke that is humanity. Nor is anyone as funny telling it" - Andrew Anthony, Observer

"Amis employs his trademark derisive wit" - Marie Claire

"Sumptuous... Moving and humane, The Pregnant Widow also captivates by the accumstomed wit and elegance of its style. Amis just writes so well and so freshly... Amis is consistently bold, visual and accurate... I love this novel and it warmed when I read it a second time. It is beautifully achieved, cunningly relaxed, and reveals considerable emotional depth... The Man Booker Prize would be no more than its due" - Philip Hensher, Daily Telegraph

"This is a fine and hilarious book... Mr Amis has always been a stimulating writer, and someone who gives a distinctive colouring to certain times in our lives. 'The Pregnant Widow' is Amis at his absolute and unique best" - The Economist

"Amis writes thrillingly well... [The Pregnant Widow] delivers fantastic enjoyment... It is funny, clever and knowing" - Sam Leith, Daily Mail

"This is Amis' finest novel for a long time. It is close to a masterpiece... read it: it is hilarious, often wonderfully perceptive, uncompromisingly ambitious and written by a great master of the English language" - Justin Cartwright, Financial Times

"Amis is a powerful writer" - Doug Johnstone, Independent on Sunday

"There is something witty or striking on almost every page" - Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday

"Martin Amis's new novel shows a regathering of his artistic energies" - Christopher Taylor, Guardian

"The buzzing sense of fresh, limitless erotic licence is captured brilliantly ... he is beginning to write with Old Master assurance on the important subjects ... if Amis keeps writing like this about death, he can still prove everyone wrong'" - Aravind Adiga, The Times

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