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The Green Man Audiobook
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(3.04) - 625 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Maurice Allington has reached middle age and is haunted by death. As he says, “I honestly can’t see why everybody who isn’t a child, everybody who’s theoretically old enough to have understood what death means, doesn’t spend all his time thinking about it. It’s a pretty arresting thought.” He also happens to own and run a country inn that is haunted. The Green Man opens as Maurice’s father drops dead (had he seen something in the room?) and continues as friends and family convene for the funeral.
Maurice’s problems are many and increasing: How to deal with his own declining health? How to reach out to a teenage daughter who watches TV all the time? How to get his best friend’s wife in the sack? How to find another drink? (And another.) And then there is always death.
The Green Man is a ghost story that hits a live nerve, a very black comedy with an uncannily happy ending: in other words, Kingsley Amis at his best.
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"What a fun read! The pace of the book is quick, the narrator someone you can just slide into liking, despite his despicable character, and the setting feels immediately comfortable. Although this book was recommended to me because I am a horror fan, I wouldn't call it horror, although it does have elements of the supernatural. I highly recommend this book even if you don't like horror."
— Rachel (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The Green Man is an extremely funny book, filled with slapstick, parody and satire. Indeed, the success of this short novel depends very much on the balance that Amis maintains between fear and laughter.'’
— New York Times -
“Contains all the best and familiar Amis qualities—including superb sexual comedy.”
— Sunday Times -
“It is no small thing to have written a good ghost story; to have written a ghost story that is also a major novel is nothing short of miraculous.”
— Book World -
“What makes The Green Man readable and re-readable is the skill with which Amis, like Henry James before him, turns the narrative screw. It is, quite simply, a rattling good ghost story.”
— The Times (UK)
The Green Man Listener Reviews
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" Just a good solid book. Kingsley's like the third pig when it comes to building a story. Not like his schlepp of a son, who'd rather build a house of cards. "
— Chris, 2/16/2014 -
" The Green Man is an interesting little book. A horror story mixed with satire. Maurice Allington runs The Green Man Inn, a medieval building in which he begins to experience some odd events. As the novel goes on the events at The Green Man become more and more bizarre, as Dr Underhill makes contact with Maurice. This is a great book with real character and humour- a good read for any ghost story fan. "
— Katie, 2/10/2014 -
" Amis was a great writer. This novel blends mystery with ghost story. It holds your attention well and in places is a little frightening, even for gnarled old horror readers like me. "
— Tim, 2/1/2014 -
" Yet another K Amis genre novel, this time a horror novel. "
— Tim, 1/26/2014 -
" I have to say that I approve of the elder Amis over the younger. Great book: witty, smart, spooky. "
— Bill, 1/20/2014 -
" I expected to like this book so much more than I did. It came so highly recommended and it was by Kingsley Amis, whose Lucky Jim is a classic. I didn't care for the plot, the suspense wasn't suspenseful, the characters irredeemable, and there was nothing remotely humorous as promised. "
— Susan, 1/10/2014 -
" Really an enjoyable light read; the subject is reminiscent of "The Wicker Man", pagan Britain gothic, but Amis' touch is lighter, more humorous. It might be dismissed as a minor work, but Amis is such a skilled writer that even this busman's holiday has its literary tricks. "
— Alexander, 1/6/2014 -
" Never read anything by Kingsley Amis before. Really quite fun. "
— Jon, 12/28/2013 -
" Alcoholic, hypochondriac, neurotic owner of the Green Man, an inn in the English countryside, convinces his wife to have a 3-way with his mistress, meanwhile combating the ghost of Thomas Underhill and his minion of shrubbery. Through and through Amis in tone and liquor. "
— Letterswitch, 11/25/2013 -
" Weird and funny and thought-provoking. Also short, so a perfect choice for the "too busy to read" person (not speaking of myself). "
— Shawn, 9/12/2013 -
" One of the scariest books I've ever read. This, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson made me lay awake, afraid to go to sleep. I recently tried to re-read The Green Man thinking "oh, it can't be that scary." I stopped reading two chapters in. "Nuh-uh. Not going through that again!" "
— Christa, 10/24/2012 -
" Pretty good. Not much of a fan of "horror" and such, but I'll read pretty much anything Amis. The scheming toward a threesome is mildly hilarious. "
— Se84, 8/18/2012 -
" A lovely book with which I have great empathy "
— Howard, 6/18/2012 -
" One of Amis's later (mid-period?) works--labored as hell and relatively pointless. "
— Derek, 3/4/2012 -
" ostensibly a ghost story from an author who's far more interested in writing about people than ghosts. will make you want to drink whiskey but all kingsley's books do. a good book from a great storyteller. "
— Matthew, 2/4/2012 -
" Combination of sex, humor, and ghost story. "
— Chuckles, 10/2/2011 -
" I have to say that I approve of the elder Amis over the younger. Great book: witty, smart, spooky. "
— Bill, 4/25/2011 -
" Amis ventures into the supernatural. Somehow he makes it work. "
— Stan, 3/9/2011 -
" One of Amis's later (mid-period?) works--labored as hell and relatively pointless. "
— Derek, 1/22/2011 -
" Combination of sex, humor, and ghost story. "
— Chuckles, 12/4/2009 -
" ostensibly a ghost story from an author who's far more interested in writing about people than ghosts. will make you want to drink whiskey but all kingsley's books do. a good book from a great storyteller. <br/> <br/> "
— Matthew, 9/11/2008 -
" My first Kingsley Amis. Pretty good ghost story. Was a little disappointed with some elements of the story, though. Good insights into the Church of England. "
— Jeremy, 9/7/2008 -
" I think it would be fun to own an inn haunted by a creepy old man's misguided devil worshiping creation. I mean, as long as I could be a drunk and bone my wife in the bushes. "
— Marcus, 7/23/2008
About Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) was a popular and prolific British novelist, poet, satirist, and critic. Lucky Jim, his first novel, appeared in 1954 to great acclaim and won a Somerset Maugham Award. Ultimately he published twenty-four novels, including science fiction and a James Bond sequel; more than a dozen collections of poetry, short stories, and literary criticism; restaurant reviews and three books about drinking; political pamphlets and a memoir; and more. He received the Booker Prize for his novel The Old Devils in 1986 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.