Sad, but humorous in many places and insightful about women, who should not read this book. It should be remembered that it is written in the first person, which means that what the main character is saying and thinking is just that - the character, and not necessarily the author. Some reviewers have apparently missed that point.Stanley Duke, a middle-aged Londoner, had a son, Steven, who developed schizophrenia. This forced him, against his preference, to spend more time with his ex-wife, a woman of doubtful mental stability herself. Every conversation with her was walking on thin ice, waiting for her to raise hell about what he said, how he said it, or what he didn't say.This also required visits to a female psychiatrist who hated him so much she went out of her way to blame him for the son's illness and whose animosity caused her to lose her objectivity and endanger Steven's recovery. At the same time, Stanley had to work as advertising head at a newspaper, deal with a freeloading, cheapskate editor, and frequently encounter a former lover, now a friend. He also looked after Steven, befriended his ex-wife's new husband (who drank heavily and acted drunk when he's not to avoid confronting the ex-wife), and talked to his general practitioner and an older psychiatrist who had doubts about the female psychiatrist's technique. His new wife was helpful, but her mother and sister, who visited frequently, made no effort to conceal their disdain for him and his son.
Definitely an unusual book. I am a big fan of Amis' prose, and here he seems to be using the narrator's voice, spoken in long, loopy sentences full of ambivalence, to create a psychological profile of someone controlled by the British class system, in particular the part that structures relationships between men and women. Stanley is the pale background against which the fancy, fucked-up caricatures of Trish Collings, Lady Day, Nowell, and his sister in law are displayed. Trish Collings -- wow. But since I'm not familiar with that class system, I think much of the intended effect was lost on me. Susan's sudden transformation at the end, for example. I still found it funny and sad, and concern for Stanley's son, Steve, carried me through. Still, I think there's more social commentary going on, and if I knew more about high-class and low-class it would make more sense. The ending is unlike anything I've ever read, a real no-holds barred verbal attack, not a real indictment of a biological gender but, it seems, but of a system that pits men and women against each other. Stanley is part of that fight, and winds up a victim, but his suffering can be attributed to his acceptance of a situation where people try to find love in a jungle of sophisticated deception, insecurity, and aggression. Maybe Steve's illness is a manifestation of all that, while Stanley remains "sane", "adjusted", and ultimately clueless.
What do You think about Stanley And The Women (2004)?
Interesting. Most of the females hated it and most of the men liked it. A polarizing novel to be sure but I am siding with the women on this one. It is so blatantly misogynistic that I thought I must have misunderstood but apparently it is not a dark satirical look at "the battle of the sexes". Interesting as well, especially considering the conyent, that the novel was published a year after his divorce from Elizabeth Howard.
—Denise Wilkerson
I'm starting to think that after 'Lucky Jim' and 'Everyday Drinking,' everything else by Kingsley Amis is going to be disappointing. I felt entertained by this novel almost against my will; I enjoyed the characters, the descriptions of London and of the people in it, and I appreciated Amis' storytelling and his writing style. BUT, it's an incredibly misogynistic novel. Some would say the same about 'Lucky Jim,' but that's nothing compared to this book. It's such a theme here that I couldn't "set aside my feminism for a while" and just enjoy it like I sometimes can with other novels. Read at your own risk. Your opinion of Amis will probably be irreparably damaged.
—Katharine
For such a depressing topic there sure are plenty of very funny moments and lines. The party on the barge is quite funny. Then there's this bit, as an example, when Stanley is going to visit his son in the mental hospital, for your enjoyment:...I turned the corner to find that an ambulance had drawn up outside the entrance and the two crewmen were helping down an old fellow who going on like a madman in a Bela Lugosi movie. Shock-headed, wild-eyed, wrapped in a grey blanket, he was spreading his hands jerkily about in front of him as he shuffled forward, not actually screaming but crying out in a high wordless voice. The men told him he was fine and doing great. I was trying to look like a piece of the wall and had no idea how he saw me, but he did, and swung and swayed round...
—Dan Honeywell
