One Fat Englishman

by Kingsley Amis

Roger Micheldene, the titular fat Englishman, is a publisher visiting a fictional prestigious college with the oddly-chosen name of "Budweiser" (a stand-in for Princeton). Ostensibly he's there on a business trip to acquire the rights to a novel or two, but his real aim is to eat and drink far too much, bed as many women as possible, and belittle Americans with displays of British erudition and contempt. He spends most of the novel shuttling between New York and Budweiser, leaving unsatisfied women and unimpressed undergraduates in his wake.

This is the kind of novel that isn't written much any more, a character study and satire of manners. Unlike the tremendous Lucky Jim, this novel's main character isn't the least bit sympathetic and holds no youthful idealism. He's a creep, a seducer, a drunkard who leads women on and insults them for being needy, holds grudges against small children, and so on. There's no plot, except in the sense that Roger goes through a wringer and leaves America only slightly more humble and resentful. Roger may be an exaggerated portrait of Amis himself, but knowing that doesn't change my impression of the book; watching this boorish ass weave in and out of cocktail parties putting down others, only to end up looking ridiculous, isn't as interesting as Amis seems to think it is. Yes, it's a satire of both America and Britain; what Roger never sees is that he embodies all the bad qualities he adumbrates in defining Americans; he's childish, illogical, and emotional. A game of Scrabble against a young boy exemplifies this, as he upturns the board in a fit of pique when his British spellings aren't accepted. The consequences of Roger's actions annoy him, but they never instruct him. This is meant to make him funny, but I mostly found him tedious. It was also difficult for me to sympathize with any of the other characters. Take Helene Bang, the object of his most desperate amorous attentions; since he treats her with utter contempt, why does she allow him within ten feet of her? The American college students who puncture Roger's inflated ego with silly pranks are similarly smirking and supercilious. I enjoyed the witty writing, as far as it went, but I didn't find it particularly funny, nor did I think it has anything original to say about academia or the Anglo-American chasm. In the end, this is less a satire than a character study of a man trapped by his own habits and resentments. It's clever, but unappealing, much like Roger himself. 

three stars