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That Uncertain Feeling
In That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis, competition is stiff for the position of sub-librarian in Aberdarcy Library. For John Lewis, the situation is complicated by the attentions of daunting and desirable village socialite, Elizabeth Gruffyd-Williams, who is married to a member of the local Council. Pursuing an affair with her whilst keeping his job prospects alive is John's predicament, as he finds himself running down Welsh country lanes at midnight in a wig and dress, resisting the advances of local drunks and suffering the long speeches of a 'nut-faced' clergyman.
At times tenderly satirical and at times riotously slap-stick, Amis sends up an array of rural stereotypes in this story about a man who doesn't know what he wants.
Kingsley Amis's (1922-95) works take a humorous yet highly critical look at British society, especially in the period following the end of World War II. Born in London, Amis explored his disillusionment in novels such as That Uncertain Feeling (1955). His other works include The Green Man (1970), Stanley and the Women (1984), and The Old Devils (1986), which won the Booker Prize. Amis also wrote poetry, criticism, and short stories.
At times tenderly satirical and at times riotously slap-stick, Amis sends up an array of rural stereotypes in this story about a man who doesn't know what he wants.
Kingsley Amis's (1922-95) works take a humorous yet highly critical look at British society, especially in the period following the end of World War II. Born in London, Amis explored his disillusionment in novels such as That Uncertain Feeling (1955). His other works include The Green Man (1970), Stanley and the Women (1984), and The Old Devils (1986), which won the Booker Prize. Amis also wrote poetry, criticism, and short stories.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published December 31, 1955
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About the author
Kingsley Amis
210 books554 followersBest known novels of British writer Sir Kingsley William Amis include
Lucky Jim
(1954) and
The Old Devils
(1986).
This English poet, critic, and teacher composed more than twenty-three collections, short stories, radio and television scripts, and books of social and literary criticism. He fathered Martin Amis.
William Robert Amis, a clerk of a mustard manufacturer, fathered him. He began his education at the city of London school, and went up to college of Saint John, Oxford, in April 1941 to read English; he met Philip Larkin and formed the most important friendship of his life. After only a year, the Army called him for service in July 1942. After serving as a lieutenant in the royal corps of signals in the Second World War, Amis returned to Oxford in October 1945 to complete his degree. He worked hard and got a first in English in 1947, and then decided to devote much of his time.
Pen names: [authorRobert Markham|553548] and William Bill Tanner
This English poet, critic, and teacher composed more than twenty-three collections, short stories, radio and television scripts, and books of social and literary criticism. He fathered Martin Amis.
William Robert Amis, a clerk of a mustard manufacturer, fathered him. He began his education at the city of London school, and went up to college of Saint John, Oxford, in April 1941 to read English; he met Philip Larkin and formed the most important friendship of his life. After only a year, the Army called him for service in July 1942. After serving as a lieutenant in the royal corps of signals in the Second World War, Amis returned to Oxford in October 1945 to complete his degree. He worked hard and got a first in English in 1947, and then decided to devote much of his time.
Pen names: [authorRobert Markham|553548] and William Bill Tanner
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 2, 2020
Another spirited slightly dark comedy from Amis turning the pursuit of a married librarian by a predatory privileged woman into a continuously humorous turn of events. Spiffing, dare I say it! Amis keeps a nice balance of satire and slap-stick, playing with a number of rural stereotypes in this story about class, knowledge, gender and other divides, as well as the changing face of Britain. As ever this work is critical of modern Britain and leaves no one unscathed. 5 out of 12.
February 1, 2019
Amis's second book, following on the great success of "Lucky Jim" doesn't feel like a sophomore novel, but I somehow didn't get to it for 35 years after reading his debut.
As I mentioned in my prior review, Amis is intermittently autobiographical - hard to know what this reflects of his time teaching at (what was then called) the University College of Swansea. The protagonist, John Lewis, is a librarian rather than academic and lives in rather straitened circumstances, weathering the strain on his marriage that poverty can induce. Along comes a rather glamorous woman associated with a local theater company and her well-to-do husband with a lot of clout at the library.
They have a brief affair and she arranges for him to get a promotion. Despite the marital infidelity, Lewis suffers a kind of moral crisis over the job (for which he seems qualified) going to him rather than an older and deserving colleague on the basis of string-pulling.
Everything kind of blows up, his wife leaves him and so on, but in an odd turnaround, he completely changes his line of work (becoming a factory manager rather than being on the fringes of the intellectual world), reconciles with his wife and they are, in the short-term at least, seeming happily ever after. Whether this represents a sort of fantasy of Amis personally getting out the world of letters might be left to an actual biographer.
As I mentioned in my prior review, Amis is intermittently autobiographical - hard to know what this reflects of his time teaching at (what was then called) the University College of Swansea. The protagonist, John Lewis, is a librarian rather than academic and lives in rather straitened circumstances, weathering the strain on his marriage that poverty can induce. Along comes a rather glamorous woman associated with a local theater company and her well-to-do husband with a lot of clout at the library.
They have a brief affair and she arranges for him to get a promotion. Despite the marital infidelity, Lewis suffers a kind of moral crisis over the job (for which he seems qualified) going to him rather than an older and deserving colleague on the basis of string-pulling.
Everything kind of blows up, his wife leaves him and so on, but in an odd turnaround, he completely changes his line of work (becoming a factory manager rather than being on the fringes of the intellectual world), reconciles with his wife and they are, in the short-term at least, seeming happily ever after. Whether this represents a sort of fantasy of Amis personally getting out the world of letters might be left to an actual biographer.
August 10, 2024
eponymous-ey sentence:
p9: Trying to look preoccupied and earnest, and wishing the chief could see me looking it, I couldn't help feeling a glow of triumph at having got rid of Mrs. Edwards.
ocr:
p87: As well as the private wash-day, tomorrow was inevitably going to be the time for holding a little private levee for guilt and anxiety and .the rest of the old bunch.
I fervently hope Bond #15 is not going to be like this.
p9: Trying to look preoccupied and earnest, and wishing the chief could see me looking it, I couldn't help feeling a glow of triumph at having got rid of Mrs. Edwards.
ocr:
p87: As well as the private wash-day, tomorrow was inevitably going to be the time for holding a little private levee for guilt and anxiety and .the rest of the old bunch.
I fervently hope Bond #15 is not going to be like this.
September 20, 2022
Mediocre librarian, John Lewis, hopes for a promotion, but after meeting an attractive local socialite, finds life increasingly complicated.
A moderately amusing social comedy.
A moderately amusing social comedy.
April 20, 2021
2.5? I liked this better than Lucky Jim but don't really need another if they're all this line. Envisioned a more young Rowan Atkinson this time, but really not very interesting.
July 3, 2024
As I was reading this book, it felt very familiar to me. Once I completed it and did a bit of research, I realized that I had seen the Peter Sellers movie that this was based upon (Two Can Play) only a few months ago. Come to think of it, Peter Sellers was the perfect actor to portray the protagonist, John Lewis, with his smug humor. John Lewis is a young struggling librarian with a wife and two small children and they are living upstairs from a nagging and nosy neighbor who comments on all they do. They want out and when a promotion is posted at the library, John wants to go for it. Anything to get more money to move to a better place. In the process, he meets a wealthy woman who shows an interest in him and his career. She says that her husband can secure the job for him, so she uses that as an excuse to see him socially.
It was readily apparent that Elizabeth Gryffyd- Williams had more on her mind than the job. They embark upon a tepid affair with no sex until the end. Both are bored with their lives, but you don't get the sense that either of them is truly enamored of the other. I liked how John tried to examine his feelings. He realized that he was either bored or depressed, but in a way that made him restless. He just needed anything to spice up his life, even if it did irreparable damage to his marriage. This was written and took place in 1955 and I noticed a much more cavalier mentality to infidelity. It seemed almost inevitable that spouses would cheat, but that did to necessarily mean that they wanted to bust up their marriages.
This sounds morose, but it was not. The novel had many turns of humor and absurdity weaved throughout the story. I did enjoy this, but I had some difficulties with the British/Welsh slang of the 1950s!
It was readily apparent that Elizabeth Gryffyd- Williams had more on her mind than the job. They embark upon a tepid affair with no sex until the end. Both are bored with their lives, but you don't get the sense that either of them is truly enamored of the other. I liked how John tried to examine his feelings. He realized that he was either bored or depressed, but in a way that made him restless. He just needed anything to spice up his life, even if it did irreparable damage to his marriage. This was written and took place in 1955 and I noticed a much more cavalier mentality to infidelity. It seemed almost inevitable that spouses would cheat, but that did to necessarily mean that they wanted to bust up their marriages.
This sounds morose, but it was not. The novel had many turns of humor and absurdity weaved throughout the story. I did enjoy this, but I had some difficulties with the British/Welsh slang of the 1950s!
August 17, 2025
【That Uncertain Feeling / Kingsley Amis / 1955, 1985 Penguin】
--I put out my tongue at a painting of a former mayor, a tiny little wizened fiend of an auctioneer, which hung in the entrance-hall. (P11, One)
--On my recommending his immediate departure, he (a brown dog) gave an abrupt, crashing bark, like a rifle-shot on the soundtrack of a film about British India, and, with the demeanour of one making a lightning change of plans, ran off with all his strength after an invalid-car that was just popping its way round a distant corner. (P59, Five)
This book would also decolonise your shelf, for its subtle focus on Welsh culture being stealthily colonised in a restrained tone.
Colonialism - or interfering attitudes similar to it, but in a milder form - is just everywhere in this book. Mrs. Davies calls out the protagonist, John Lewis, for letting the his daughter crying alone (P108 Eight) - which was just her crying for a bedtime story after the sleeping time. He's also often demanded to familiarise himself with Welsh culture, but can't speak Welsh in spite of having lived all his life in Wales (P131, Ten). He also shares the worldview of the British Empire, just like 'It would take a Central or South American President (of a Republic, I mean, not a British Legion branch) to object to that (note: his workplace, a public life, exists for the fulfillment of lives of the citizens. P181, Fourteen).
This serious question of colonialism is, in this novel, layered with the lighter, often comical, nonetheless solemn problem of control and romance, like a forced affair in which both the protagonist and his mistress, Elizabeth, endure a slight unsettlement and discontent (P204, Fifteen). A forgotten novel, but with dexterity and moralistic integrity.
--I put out my tongue at a painting of a former mayor, a tiny little wizened fiend of an auctioneer, which hung in the entrance-hall. (P11, One)
--On my recommending his immediate departure, he (a brown dog) gave an abrupt, crashing bark, like a rifle-shot on the soundtrack of a film about British India, and, with the demeanour of one making a lightning change of plans, ran off with all his strength after an invalid-car that was just popping its way round a distant corner. (P59, Five)
This book would also decolonise your shelf, for its subtle focus on Welsh culture being stealthily colonised in a restrained tone.
Colonialism - or interfering attitudes similar to it, but in a milder form - is just everywhere in this book. Mrs. Davies calls out the protagonist, John Lewis, for letting the his daughter crying alone (P108 Eight) - which was just her crying for a bedtime story after the sleeping time. He's also often demanded to familiarise himself with Welsh culture, but can't speak Welsh in spite of having lived all his life in Wales (P131, Ten). He also shares the worldview of the British Empire, just like 'It would take a Central or South American President (of a Republic, I mean, not a British Legion branch) to object to that (note: his workplace, a public life, exists for the fulfillment of lives of the citizens. P181, Fourteen).
This serious question of colonialism is, in this novel, layered with the lighter, often comical, nonetheless solemn problem of control and romance, like a forced affair in which both the protagonist and his mistress, Elizabeth, endure a slight unsettlement and discontent (P204, Fifteen). A forgotten novel, but with dexterity and moralistic integrity.
September 9, 2025
That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis – my favorite author, more than twenty of his books are reviewed on my blog, along with hundreds of other magnum opera – the best thing though would be this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
10 out of 10
John Lewis is the main character of this mesmerizing novel, the second for Magister Ludi Kingsley Amis – the plan is to read the more than twenty again, but this time start chronologically – the hero is a librarian, twenty-six years old, married to Jean, they have two children and face serious financial challenges
They have to live in the same house with a peculiar woman and her family - Mrs. Davies is quite hostile, until the protagonist will have helped her son get out of a difficult situation – but that may soon change, due to the unexpected appearance of ‘one woman of thirty or thirty-five…attractive in a square-shouldered, taut-bloused way, with skin the color of the top of the milk and hair the color of tar’ and her name is Elizabeth Gruffydd-Williams
She is one o the elites, married to a rich, powerful man, who is a member – indeed, due to circumstances, he will chair – of a committee that will select the next sub-librarian (this is how I remember the title, but I could be wrong) a job that comes with advantages, and a considerably higher salary, John Lewis is a candidate
Nevertheless, another personage who wants the same position is Ieuan Jenkins, and he has a sick wife, and maybe a more valid claim to that spot, for some time, it feels like the two will compete, and Elizabeth ‘Thing-Williams’ might tip the scales in favor of the man she wants to have intimate relations with
When she comes to the library, she wants a book on Welsh costumes, because she is involved in the production of a play, when they do not find the proper material, they try and get something suitable from another place, nonetheless, this is the occasion for the married woman to try and seduce the main character
Not that he is not attracted to her, he is torn between the loyalty for his wife, and the temptation to have coitus – this makes me think of The Coolidge Effect, named after the American president of that name https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... you can google for it
The rich woman invites the Lewis couple for a party, but just as they prepare to attend, their designated baby sitter, Mrs. Jenkins, fails to materialize, and then the creative hostess sends a man to care for the children – one of her former lovers I think he was, she is quite mean to her past sexual partners, as we can see
Jean will be jealous, seeing that her husband prefers this rather strange woman, he has for some time the attenuating circumstance that he may get the new job through her, because the husband has that much influence, only eventually, this will create comical and some unhappy events, such as the soiree that fails
One night, Elizabeth takes John to her house, saying the spouse will be absent for a long time, only as they kiss and seem to get close to having sex, they hear the car nearby, and the would-be lover panics, looks for the way out, ends up in the kitchen, where he claims to be the plumber, when another guest comes there
It is all so amusing, the house is large, doors that could have offered a way out take him in unexpected places, in one room, he ends up within a Welsh woman’s traditional costume, and for lack of an alternative, our hero jumps out of a window, and has to take the bus home dressed in the most astounding attire
Eventually, they would consummate this outré relationship – this might have necessitated a spoiler alert, only I never think people read this far – although we have an unexpected ending, I would have taken another path
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
10 out of 10
John Lewis is the main character of this mesmerizing novel, the second for Magister Ludi Kingsley Amis – the plan is to read the more than twenty again, but this time start chronologically – the hero is a librarian, twenty-six years old, married to Jean, they have two children and face serious financial challenges
They have to live in the same house with a peculiar woman and her family - Mrs. Davies is quite hostile, until the protagonist will have helped her son get out of a difficult situation – but that may soon change, due to the unexpected appearance of ‘one woman of thirty or thirty-five…attractive in a square-shouldered, taut-bloused way, with skin the color of the top of the milk and hair the color of tar’ and her name is Elizabeth Gruffydd-Williams
She is one o the elites, married to a rich, powerful man, who is a member – indeed, due to circumstances, he will chair – of a committee that will select the next sub-librarian (this is how I remember the title, but I could be wrong) a job that comes with advantages, and a considerably higher salary, John Lewis is a candidate
Nevertheless, another personage who wants the same position is Ieuan Jenkins, and he has a sick wife, and maybe a more valid claim to that spot, for some time, it feels like the two will compete, and Elizabeth ‘Thing-Williams’ might tip the scales in favor of the man she wants to have intimate relations with
When she comes to the library, she wants a book on Welsh costumes, because she is involved in the production of a play, when they do not find the proper material, they try and get something suitable from another place, nonetheless, this is the occasion for the married woman to try and seduce the main character
Not that he is not attracted to her, he is torn between the loyalty for his wife, and the temptation to have coitus – this makes me think of The Coolidge Effect, named after the American president of that name https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... you can google for it
The rich woman invites the Lewis couple for a party, but just as they prepare to attend, their designated baby sitter, Mrs. Jenkins, fails to materialize, and then the creative hostess sends a man to care for the children – one of her former lovers I think he was, she is quite mean to her past sexual partners, as we can see
Jean will be jealous, seeing that her husband prefers this rather strange woman, he has for some time the attenuating circumstance that he may get the new job through her, because the husband has that much influence, only eventually, this will create comical and some unhappy events, such as the soiree that fails
One night, Elizabeth takes John to her house, saying the spouse will be absent for a long time, only as they kiss and seem to get close to having sex, they hear the car nearby, and the would-be lover panics, looks for the way out, ends up in the kitchen, where he claims to be the plumber, when another guest comes there
It is all so amusing, the house is large, doors that could have offered a way out take him in unexpected places, in one room, he ends up within a Welsh woman’s traditional costume, and for lack of an alternative, our hero jumps out of a window, and has to take the bus home dressed in the most astounding attire
Eventually, they would consummate this outré relationship – this might have necessitated a spoiler alert, only I never think people read this far – although we have an unexpected ending, I would have taken another path
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
November 24, 2025
That difficult second novel is less funny that Lucky Jim, even when it tries. Amis argued that it was a moral novel, about how we can navigate between our primitive urges and our respect for others, and ends up as a love-letter to marital fidelity. Amis's contemporaries might have detected an element of hypocrisy here, since he was a notorious womaniser unconstrained by the fact he had a wife and children. The setting is dour postwar Swansea, lightly veiled as Aberdarcy, and the social world of middleclass parties with its apparent glamour. I discuss the book at length on the Amis papers podcast.
April 6, 2024
Amis can really write! The writing ability is 4*. As for content, I just hate the adultery, but at least he makes it as ugly as it is in the end. I’ve read Welsh books before, but not this modern. This one had a lot of idioms in it that were lost on me – including, and probably especially the Classic references. The book begins a bit slow I had a hard time getting into it, and much of that was the colloquial talk – not only Brit and Welsh, but 1955. It took some concentration and rereading of some sentences to make out what was going on for a while. I loved the relationship Lewis has with his daughter. That was both fun and unexpected but very believable.
September 5, 2024
"I felt I was walking in an absurdly unnatural way, like a schoolboy on the stage for the first time in his life"
Felt a bit stunted by the conclusion. Overall, interesting read. Didn't reach the heights it perhaps aimed toward. Amis' dialogue between husband and wife is supreme. Exploration of the complicated sociosexual apostasy involved in desire of upward class mobility!
Felt a bit stunted by the conclusion. Overall, interesting read. Didn't reach the heights it perhaps aimed toward. Amis' dialogue between husband and wife is supreme. Exploration of the complicated sociosexual apostasy involved in desire of upward class mobility!
March 30, 2025
Has not aged terribly well.
November 14, 2025
I loved this book. Fabulous writing, funny, sweet
February 4, 2015
"This made me laugh even more than his first book," said John Betjemen, presumably after his third Banana Blush. There is plenty to smile at, and some laugh-out-loud moments, but it's no Lucky Jim.
I found the narrator character hard to get a handle on. I suppose he's suffering from frustration and boredom, if not outright depression, but the only way to explain some of his actions is that he is far drunker than he makes himself out to be. The slapstick scenes in particular come out of nowhere (I'm in agreement with Edmund Wilson's New Yorker review about the infamously arbitrary chapter 10) and aren't funny enough to be worth it.
OK, spoilers ahead...
Those slapstick bits, along with the sudden fade-out ending followed by a "six months later" epilogue, make me think Amis wasn't taking it very seriously, which of course is a disaster if you're trying to write comedy. Or was the work simply too rushed? He had years to hone Lucky Jim, and no doubt the publishers then demanded a follow-up twelve months later. The inspiration seems lacking, in places you can sense the desperation of an author with a deadline, and the twist (unsuitable and obviously insincere man-eating married woman turns out genuinely to have fallen in love with our hero) pretty feeble.
If you have yet to read any Kingsley Amis, start with Lucky Jim or The Green Man or - best of all - with The Anti-Death League. But this one, slight as it is, is still entertaining enough to be worth a look.
* * *
An interesting insight into Amis's writing process is given here in an interview he gave to Clive James in The New Review Anthology [London, 1985]:
I found the narrator character hard to get a handle on. I suppose he's suffering from frustration and boredom, if not outright depression, but the only way to explain some of his actions is that he is far drunker than he makes himself out to be. The slapstick scenes in particular come out of nowhere (I'm in agreement with Edmund Wilson's New Yorker review about the infamously arbitrary chapter 10) and aren't funny enough to be worth it.
OK, spoilers ahead...
Those slapstick bits, along with the sudden fade-out ending followed by a "six months later" epilogue, make me think Amis wasn't taking it very seriously, which of course is a disaster if you're trying to write comedy. Or was the work simply too rushed? He had years to hone Lucky Jim, and no doubt the publishers then demanded a follow-up twelve months later. The inspiration seems lacking, in places you can sense the desperation of an author with a deadline, and the twist (unsuitable and obviously insincere man-eating married woman turns out genuinely to have fallen in love with our hero) pretty feeble.
If you have yet to read any Kingsley Amis, start with Lucky Jim or The Green Man or - best of all - with The Anti-Death League. But this one, slight as it is, is still entertaining enough to be worth a look.
* * *
An interesting insight into Amis's writing process is given here in an interview he gave to Clive James in The New Review Anthology [London, 1985]:
"On the whole [the movie] was not bad, but I was very depressed that there was no fuck. Because it's vitally important, that fuck. And not for sexual reasons alone. It terrifies you, what Lewis gets himself into as a result of it. He gets into a panic and basks fraudulently in a glow of moral principle about the job being fixed. What I didn't realize at the time of writing, so how could he, was that he was scared and wanted out. That attack of principle gets him off the hook. In the film, where the screwing is cut out, all he has is an attack of principle, which makes him look priggish."
January 31, 2011
The existence of the older, fairly boorish, misanthropic and misogynist Sir Kingsley Amis, can sometimes obscure just how charming and funny the younger K.A. actually was. ‘Lucky Jim’ is a marvel of a novel, still funny and poignant, it is for me one of the greatest British novels of the Twentieth Century. And this, his second book – while not as good – is a laugh out loud funny read, which draws a really sharp picture of a man with a dull job and a dysfunctional marriage.
It centres on John Aneurin Lewis, a Welsh librarian who is inching his way towards an affair. He’s a truly interesting character, as we’re supposed to empathise with him, but he’s clearly a fairly duplicitous and self-absorbed individual. And yet Amis very nearly pulls it off, making this man a worthy recipient of our sympathies. (If memory serves, young Martin’s memoirs suggest that Kingsley was no keeper of marriage vows himself, so it’s no surprise that he identifies so closely with this character). John Lewis is funny and charming and difficult in just the right amounts (and even, towards the end, proves to have a moral compass – no matter how faulty). A lot of what he does is reprehensible, but one can’t help appreciate that there are some good points as well.
Beyond that, it’s a sharp satire on the Welsh middle classes of the Fifties. Albeit that’s a fairly niche area of concern, but Amis – who lectured at Swansea University – evokes it magnificently well. Furthermore, this is a good picture of a relationship struggling from what had just been termed the seven year itch, with both parties trying to make the best of it, despite their various mistakes – even though one party might not actually be capable of learning. (Another point of interest, for this book published in 1955, is that the protagonist has small children. So it may offer a little peek into the childhood of then six year old Martin.)
But what really stands out for me with this book, is how damned funny it is. The interview scene in particular is up there with ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’. And, given what a miserable character Sir Kingsley Amis became (even if he never quite turned into a miserable writer), it’s great to see how fresh and hilarious he could be.
It centres on John Aneurin Lewis, a Welsh librarian who is inching his way towards an affair. He’s a truly interesting character, as we’re supposed to empathise with him, but he’s clearly a fairly duplicitous and self-absorbed individual. And yet Amis very nearly pulls it off, making this man a worthy recipient of our sympathies. (If memory serves, young Martin’s memoirs suggest that Kingsley was no keeper of marriage vows himself, so it’s no surprise that he identifies so closely with this character). John Lewis is funny and charming and difficult in just the right amounts (and even, towards the end, proves to have a moral compass – no matter how faulty). A lot of what he does is reprehensible, but one can’t help appreciate that there are some good points as well.
Beyond that, it’s a sharp satire on the Welsh middle classes of the Fifties. Albeit that’s a fairly niche area of concern, but Amis – who lectured at Swansea University – evokes it magnificently well. Furthermore, this is a good picture of a relationship struggling from what had just been termed the seven year itch, with both parties trying to make the best of it, despite their various mistakes – even though one party might not actually be capable of learning. (Another point of interest, for this book published in 1955, is that the protagonist has small children. So it may offer a little peek into the childhood of then six year old Martin.)
But what really stands out for me with this book, is how damned funny it is. The interview scene in particular is up there with ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’. And, given what a miserable character Sir Kingsley Amis became (even if he never quite turned into a miserable writer), it’s great to see how fresh and hilarious he could be.
May 25, 2023
In the world of British literature, Kingsley Amis holds a prestigious place as a master of wit and social critique. His novel, "That Uncertain Feeling," is a splendid example of this talent. A blend of delightful humor, sharp social commentary, and profound introspection about the human condition earns this book a well-deserved 5-star rating from me.
"That Uncertain Feeling" is a comic novel with depth. It follows the story of John Lewis, a discontented librarian in a small Welsh town, who is tempted into an affair with a sophisticated newcomer, Elizabeth. As the novel unfolds, we observe a microcosm of post-war British society, encapsulating its attitudes, values, and pretensions.
Amis excels at creating characters that are recognizable yet eccentric in their own ways, providing much of the book's humor and insight. John Lewis, the protagonist, is a perfect embodiment of the suburban man: ambitious, restless, dissatisfied with the mundanity of life, yet terrified of change. His predicament feels timeless and universal, eliciting both empathy and amusement.
Elizabeth, the woman who upends John's life, is a complex character as well. She is both the embodiment of John's fantasies about an exciting, cultured life and a symbol of the disillusionment that comes with the realization that appearances can be deceptive. Their affair is not just about lust; it's a commentary on the human yearning for something more and the often disastrous consequences of pursuing it.
The novel is a delightful read due to its sharp humor and nuanced characters, but it's also a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as ambition, disillusionment, and the quest for identity. Amis's prose is crisp and witty, his social commentary astute, and his depiction of the complexities of human relationships deeply insightful.
In "That Uncertain Feeling," Amis has crafted a satire that is as entertaining as it is enlightening, encapsulating the frustrations of post-war Britain while delivering a timeless exploration of human folly and desire. It's a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend to readers who appreciate witty and insightful fiction. This remarkable blend of humor and insight earns "That Uncertain Feeling" a solid five stars in my book.
"That Uncertain Feeling" is a comic novel with depth. It follows the story of John Lewis, a discontented librarian in a small Welsh town, who is tempted into an affair with a sophisticated newcomer, Elizabeth. As the novel unfolds, we observe a microcosm of post-war British society, encapsulating its attitudes, values, and pretensions.
Amis excels at creating characters that are recognizable yet eccentric in their own ways, providing much of the book's humor and insight. John Lewis, the protagonist, is a perfect embodiment of the suburban man: ambitious, restless, dissatisfied with the mundanity of life, yet terrified of change. His predicament feels timeless and universal, eliciting both empathy and amusement.
Elizabeth, the woman who upends John's life, is a complex character as well. She is both the embodiment of John's fantasies about an exciting, cultured life and a symbol of the disillusionment that comes with the realization that appearances can be deceptive. Their affair is not just about lust; it's a commentary on the human yearning for something more and the often disastrous consequences of pursuing it.
The novel is a delightful read due to its sharp humor and nuanced characters, but it's also a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as ambition, disillusionment, and the quest for identity. Amis's prose is crisp and witty, his social commentary astute, and his depiction of the complexities of human relationships deeply insightful.
In "That Uncertain Feeling," Amis has crafted a satire that is as entertaining as it is enlightening, encapsulating the frustrations of post-war Britain while delivering a timeless exploration of human folly and desire. It's a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend to readers who appreciate witty and insightful fiction. This remarkable blend of humor and insight earns "That Uncertain Feeling" a solid five stars in my book.
May 10, 2013
Very readable, albeit with an implausible upbeat ending. This book reminded me a bit of the John Updike Rabbit books. From what I recall, they also featured a central character who was unsure about what he really wanted, was easily distracted and tempted, and was intrinsically lazy. John Lewis, an assistant librarian, in a small Welsh mining town, becomes involved with the flirtatious wife of a successful businessman who has influence over library job appointments. She promises him a guaranteed promotion.
To say that John Lewis doesn't know what he wants is an understatement - and on one level this novel is his journey to some kind of wisdom and self-insight. I suspect the book's themes might have had greater resonance in 1955, when the book was first published: disdain for pretension, self-effacing commentaries, the sense of being stifled by social structures, retreating into alcohol as a coping mechanism, manipulation, hypocrisy, etc.
Despite some weighty themes, in common with Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis's first novel (and the only other one I have read), this book is very well written, with credible and recognisable characters, and has some amusing moments, including one laugh out loud chapter of high farce. Kingsley Amis appears to really enjoy making fun of his characters, most of whom are flawed and faintly ludicrous. A satisfying, sporadically funny, well written book that is very much of its time.
To say that John Lewis doesn't know what he wants is an understatement - and on one level this novel is his journey to some kind of wisdom and self-insight. I suspect the book's themes might have had greater resonance in 1955, when the book was first published: disdain for pretension, self-effacing commentaries, the sense of being stifled by social structures, retreating into alcohol as a coping mechanism, manipulation, hypocrisy, etc.
Despite some weighty themes, in common with Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis's first novel (and the only other one I have read), this book is very well written, with credible and recognisable characters, and has some amusing moments, including one laugh out loud chapter of high farce. Kingsley Amis appears to really enjoy making fun of his characters, most of whom are flawed and faintly ludicrous. A satisfying, sporadically funny, well written book that is very much of its time.
February 11, 2023
I had decided to try reading books outside my favourite genres as a 2023 resolution. I'm sure I have never read anything by Kingsley Amis - strange considering his stature as an author, and yet perhaps not so much because of my youthful preference for crime and espionage, and to some extent science fiction.
This book reminds me to some extent of works by PG Wodehouse, with its elements of farce. The author certainly has a way with words, which I always appreciate. There's a good mix of rather high class English and ordinary, everyday talk. In general, the style is about what you would expect from a 1955 publication, and therefore is sometimes rather heavy going. Unfortunately, the author does not manage to extract too much humour from the ridiculous situations, although perhaps I should acknowledge that the humour is too subtle.
The protagonist is not my favourite type - married man, attractive to women, who gets drawn in to an affair with an attractive but pushy married woman. He's a working class bloke, genteel though, a librarian, who desperately needed a Jeeves, which of course is impossible. Too bad that his wife was not able to fill that role!
He seems to be blown along by the wind, but apparently he benefits from his experiences and develops some spine towards the end.
I have no comment about the length at 250 pages. There is not really much waste considering the needs of the plot. In the end, I didn't really enjoy the book all that much, although I appreciated the author's undoubted talent. My rating of 3.8 is a balancing act.
This book reminds me to some extent of works by PG Wodehouse, with its elements of farce. The author certainly has a way with words, which I always appreciate. There's a good mix of rather high class English and ordinary, everyday talk. In general, the style is about what you would expect from a 1955 publication, and therefore is sometimes rather heavy going. Unfortunately, the author does not manage to extract too much humour from the ridiculous situations, although perhaps I should acknowledge that the humour is too subtle.
The protagonist is not my favourite type - married man, attractive to women, who gets drawn in to an affair with an attractive but pushy married woman. He's a working class bloke, genteel though, a librarian, who desperately needed a Jeeves, which of course is impossible. Too bad that his wife was not able to fill that role!
He seems to be blown along by the wind, but apparently he benefits from his experiences and develops some spine towards the end.
I have no comment about the length at 250 pages. There is not really much waste considering the needs of the plot. In the end, I didn't really enjoy the book all that much, although I appreciated the author's undoubted talent. My rating of 3.8 is a balancing act.
March 24, 2018
"Mid-20th Century male is dissatisfied with marriage/job/society" is probably my all-time least favorite plot for a novel. I mean, cry me a river. So it speaks well of Kingsley Amis that I found That Uncertain Feeling enjoyable. Amis is really funny and that helps a lot. The highlight of this book is a long comic set piece where the main character attempts to escape unseen from his mistress's house, a process that involves pretending to be a plumber, putting on traditional Welsh women's dress, jumping out a window, and getting hit on by a creepy old man on the bus ride home. The other thing that helps is Amis's ultimate condemnation of the whole existential crisis thing and his strong case that people have the ability to control their worst inclinations.
May 20, 2008
Being the slightly obsessive compulsive book reader that I am, after reading Amis's first and most well-known comic novel "Lucky Jim" years ago, I've decided to purchase his work in order of publication, only in hard back. I believe this is his second novel (published in 1955) and I really enjoyed it. I'm attracted as to his writing's construction as much to the story itself, which details a librarian's professional, personal and domestic conflicts in a small town outside of London. Amis's prose is clean and sharp, his observations wry, subtle and very English. I'm happy I've looked behind the curtain of "Lucky Jim" to find much more good reading. Next up is "Take A Girl Like You."
March 6, 2020
There is something Walter Mitty-ish about this novel - a small town librarian being enthusiastically pursued and seduced by a glamorous older woman. I find early Amis, with much emphasis on slapstick and embarrassing situations, less interesting than his middle period (Girl 20, the Anti-Death League, Jake's Thing, Ending Up etc), and couldn't finish this book. I daresay it was very entertaining in its day, but the comments on the way people lived in small town Wales in 1955 get rather tiresome, especially given the detail that the author goes into.
October 24, 2013
Typical mid to late 50s tale of well-educated grammar school boy mixes with the more affluent and better educated. Think 'Secenes from Provincial Life', 'Room at the Top' and 'Lucky Jim'. A good and well-written example of its type. It lacks the slapstick of he better-known 'Lucky Jim' but is perhaps slightly more coherent and a little more true to life, although as another reviewer says he upbeat ending is a little implausible. Great fifties fun from Amis.
August 14, 2010
I wish I had read this just after Lucky Jim--it has the same level of wit and fun. Instead I skipped ahead to Take A Girl Like You which felt a bit forced. This is a book I want to reread at some point to pick apart how he made it all flow so easily. If you are in the mood for a light, well written book with Amis in top form, give this a go.
January 20, 2019
Amis is so good at giving in to the reader’s high expectations, that one is a little dazzled when he flips our genre pleasures inside out; one experiences the full weight of moral failure John Lewis goes through, since it is animated by the baser pleasures the reader greedily gobbles up in the act of reading. A nice rebuke of those sentimental English novels of marital infidelity.
April 25, 2021
Well, what do you know? A satire of Welsh social strata, and the dilemmas of wanting to be good (or at least being seen to be good), while also wanting to do things that are not good (or at least not be seen doing them)… but it’s really funny? Even now? Many good quips and bon mots throughout.
December 11, 2022
Weirdly, this reads more like a first novel than his actual first novel (Lucky Jim, which read as fully formed and assured). Funny at times, contrived at others. The prose is strong at times and…contrived at others.
March 14, 2023
Pretty funny and I enjoyed reading it. Classic Amis vibes of a pathetic sensitive nerd who manages to have loads of women wanting to have sex with him. I felt sorry for Jean and those bits were the most genuine there.
April 30, 2008
Excellent book! Kingsley Amis really knows how to turn a phrase. I'm on the search for more Amis!
January 2, 2012
I think this is one of his best. I flew through it right to the good ending.
April 5, 2013
Intensely funny at times. Preoccupied with adultery, which probably isn't a good thing, but seemingly inevitable with Amis.
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