The adventures, mainly amorous, of Roger Micheldene, soaked in sin, fat, rude, and angry, in suburban America, as he tries to persuade Helene Bangs to leave her husband for him.  Many readers mistake the target for the satire: it is Micheldene and the society that produced him that Amis is critiquing, although he does share some of his prejudices (especially about literature).  The discussion muses on the improbable social and sexual success of Micheldene despite his lack of redeeming behaviour, parallels with the author's own life, and Amis's atheism and attitude to Christianity.

Content note: quotations with the f word

Links

David Lodge review