Reviews

Last Friends by Jane Gardam

j4neh's review

A disappointment after enjoying the first two books in the series. Couldn't finish it. It was one of my reading challenge prompts too.

katom6878's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

krobart's review

4.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/11/11/review-1751-last-friends/

greybeard49's review

5.0

Second outing with this which is the third book in ‘The Old Filth’ trilogy. Truly excellent writing. Jane Gardam is a genius - so subtle and understated yet she really makes an impact.

shainapnina's review

4.0

:(

mengel923's review

funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

terrimarshall's review

4.0

I have enjoyed this trilogy. A little ways into this third one, I thought I might be getting bored with it as it focused more on 2 side characters I wasn't as interested in. But the way Jane Gardam connects all these characters together in the story is pretty fascinating, and I found that I enjoyed this third one as well. Many thanks to Ann Patchett for recommending this trilogy as I would never have found out about Jane Gardam without her recommendation.

margaret21's review

4.0

Well, I've read 'Old Filth'. I've read 'The Man in the Wooden hat'. So when I found this copy of 'Last Friends' on a charity shop shelf, I had to buy that too. This book completes the trilogy that began with the life of QC Sir Edward Feathers, then moves on to his wife Betty....and then finally, to his hated professional rival, the man who loved his wife, Terry Veneering. Alone of the trio, and unusually for a successful lawyer of the period, Veneering's origins are solidly working class, and impoverished too. This is his story, told in a series of flashbacks, visits to other characters who fill in different gaps in the story, and wryly humorous vignettes. It's in many ways charming, funny, moving, sad, and with an eye for detail that brings communities and ways of life long gone to life. A satisfying end to the story. Or, wait, perhaps.... what about Fiscal-Smith?

moirastone's review

4.0

Just as rewarding and engaging as Old Filth and Man in the Wooden Hat, though partly, I suspect, due to my deep and abiding affection for this world, these characters. A more objective reader might judge this an inferior cousin to the towering first and second installments in the trilogy; I simply reveled in it.

sweddy65's review

4.0

I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed these books, although I left a big gap between reading #2 and reading this last one.

This was my favorite line in Last Friends, when Dulcie was musing about time: "Jesus had probably never seen a clock. Were there any? She tried to imagine the Son of Man with a wrist watch..."