Half the World Away was originally approached about using an Oasis song for a series about a working-class family in Manchester, he suggested "Married with Children" and was confused when "Half the World Away" was chosen. On tour in America when "The Royle Family" was first screened, he claims the penny did not drop until he returned to the United Kingdom to find the series a huge success and viewed it, feeling the song was perfect for the series. He now claims not to think of "Half the World Away" as an Oasis song, but rather as the theme tune to "The Royle Family".
The Oasis (novel) Saul Bellow found Rahv's portrayal to be a “stupid caricature,” with Rahv himself threatening to sue McCarthy for libel. "The Oasis" has experienced something of a resurgence in recent years. Melville House reissued the book in 2013 as part of its Neversink Library series, which “champions books from around the world that have been overlooked, under appreciated, looked askance at, or foolishly ignored.” Additionally, the book has experienced an upswing in scholarly interest over the past thirty years. In her preface to the 2013 edition of "The Oasis", Vivian Gornick wrote:“many American critics… pronounced ["The Oasis"] brilliant but heartless. They