Description Hardcover edition published in 1987 through Hutchinson. In good condition. Dust jacket showing minor wear. A A Kingsley Amis Omnibus brings together three witty and perceptive novels by the celebrated British writer Kingsley Amis: Jake’s Thing, Stanley and the Women and The Old Devils. This collection showcases Amis’s mastery of comic fiction and his sharp ability to examine relationships, aging, and the anxieties of modern life through humour and incisive observation. In Jake’s Thing, Amis follows Jake Richardson, a middle-aged Oxford don who faces a deeply personal crisis: he has lost interest in sex with his wife. Determined to understand the problem, Jake consults doctors, therapists, and specialists, yet none offer a clear solution. As Jake reflects on his life, marriage, and identity, Amis blends candid humor with thoughtful exploration of masculinity, intimacy, and the bewilderments of middle age. Stanley and the Women shifts the focus to Stanley Duke, a successful advertising executive whose orderly life begins to unravel when the troubled son of his girlfriend returns home from a psychiatric hospital. Stanley finds himself surrounded by women—his ex-wife, his girlfriend, colleagues, and acquaintances—while he struggles to make sense of the emotional chaos that grows around him. Amis writes the story with biting satire, examining gender tensions, modern psychology, and the frustrations of contemporary relationships. In The Old Devils, which won the Booker Prize, Amis turns to a group of ageing friends living in Wales. The men gather regularly to drink, reminisce, and argue while confronting the realities of growing older. When a former member of their circle returns after many years abroad, old rivalries and buried emotions resurface. Amis balances comedy with poignancy as he explores friendship, regret, and the passage of time. Together, these novels reveal Amis at his most entertaining and insightful. Through lively dialogue, satirical wit, and sharply drawn characters, whilA Kingsley Amis Omnibus captures the complexities of modern life e demonstrating why Kingsley Amis remains one of Britain’s great comic novelists. You might also like:
