The fizzy, smart linguistic fireworks, with their signature italicisms, riffs on the language and stunningly clever, off-center metaphors are certainly evident in “The Pregnant Widow.” But this may not be the Roman candle of a novel some of his followers are looking for. Perhaps his next one will do the trick.

“The revolution was a velvet revolution, but it wasn’t bloodless; some came through, some more or less came through, and some went under”; although much of The Pregnant Widow feels – like the period it describes – pitched uncomfortably between two stools and styles, it also shows Amis growing into a new mode, as a chronicler of loss and uncomfortable metamorphosis. If his next novels continue in this vein, then this book’s own awkward transition will have been worthwhile.