God, ghosts and sex

What is one to make of The Green Man, a novel by Kingsley Amis published in 1969? Is it a ghost story? A horror story? An adventure story? An erotic novel? A theological exploration into the possibility of life after death? A satire? A work of literary genius? Well, yes, to all of the above. But is it any good?

The title refers, at least at first, to a British country inn managed by Maurice Allington, our narrator. The inn is reputed to be haunted by a ghost from the 17th century, although there have been no sightings in recent decades — at least not until Maurice begins seeing things. He alone sees, in order, a red-headed woman, a man named Thomas Underhill (whose grave is near the inn) and a giant, violent creature whose limbs seem to be made of trees and other plants. This is the other Green Man.

Maurice drinks heavily, making his visions suspect when he shares them with others. That is until his teenage daughter begins seeing things, too, and he realizes she may be the true target of these visits from the spirit world.

As for sex, Maurice tries to organize an orgy, when he isn't busy running an inn and dealing with ghosts, but it doesn't quite go as planned. And as for theology, one of his nighttime visitors is Someone who answers his questions about life after death and promises to abide with him forever. For Maurice, this may be the scariest thing of all.

But is the novel any good? I had trouble putting it down, so I guess it must be, although as with Maurice and life after death, I have my doubts.