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deanjksmith's review against another edition
5.0
"Nobody can find me here, he thought. And then he thought, what if nobody can find me here?"
There isn't a single character - Patrick excluded - in this book who is redeemable. They are vapid, and unemotional, and narcissistic, and seemingly incapable of doing one nice thing without immediately sullying it afterwards.
But did I struggle to put this book down? Absolutely I did.
I'm so in love with the way that Edward St. Aubyn writes that I powered my way through this book, picking it up whenever I had a spare moment to do so. And, admittedly, I found myself staying up a little later than I probably should have done in order to read more.
I know that this book series is going to destroy me emotionally - I've seen the TV adaptation and it made me cry like a baby - and I have to admit, I'm excited to take this journey. It's been a while since a book series has gotten to me in this kind of way.
There isn't a single character - Patrick excluded - in this book who is redeemable. They are vapid, and unemotional, and narcissistic, and seemingly incapable of doing one nice thing without immediately sullying it afterwards.
But did I struggle to put this book down? Absolutely I did.
I'm so in love with the way that Edward St. Aubyn writes that I powered my way through this book, picking it up whenever I had a spare moment to do so. And, admittedly, I found myself staying up a little later than I probably should have done in order to read more.
I know that this book series is going to destroy me emotionally - I've seen the TV adaptation and it made me cry like a baby - and I have to admit, I'm excited to take this journey. It's been a while since a book series has gotten to me in this kind of way.
kamzilla's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
4.0
"'You'll find in the course of your life,' boomed Nicholas, and then, realizing that he sounded pompous, he put on his funny pompous voice, 'as I have found in the course of mine, that such people, though perhaps destructive and cruel towards those who are closest to them, often possess a vitality that makes other people seem dull by comparison.'"
The Melrose novels, I suspect, are attempts to put this judgment to the test--at least this first volume seems to attempt to do so. The conclusions so far are mixed: is it vitality that the cruel figures in the novel possess? Perhaps. But are they really so much more interesting than other, more neutral or more innocent or even more benevolent people? St. Aubyn appears to me to be trying to affirm that the answer to that question turns out to be--or ought to be--no. Making nice people interesting has long been one of the novel's great challenges, a challenge that some of its greatest novelists have undertaken. Perhaps it is the quest of these novels as well.
The Melrose novels, I suspect, are attempts to put this judgment to the test--at least this first volume seems to attempt to do so. The conclusions so far are mixed: is it vitality that the cruel figures in the novel possess? Perhaps. But are they really so much more interesting than other, more neutral or more innocent or even more benevolent people? St. Aubyn appears to me to be trying to affirm that the answer to that question turns out to be--or ought to be--no. Making nice people interesting has long been one of the novel's great challenges, a challenge that some of its greatest novelists have undertaken. Perhaps it is the quest of these novels as well.
kaaatherin3's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bloodmaarked's review against another edition
3.0
well, i definitely don't think i would've liked this as much as i did had i not already seen the sky adaptation, patrick melrose. still, this left me mostly lukewarm. i was pretty engaged at first, and i quite liked some of the characterisation throughout, but overall felt kind of dry. nevertheless i think i'll give the next book a go and see if it manages to pull me in a little more.
hellomei's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kind of annoyed that the version i have has a photo of a real person (a celebrity i care nothing about, no less) on the cover but okay. golly what a cast of truly awful people!! i loved it!!! victor and anne were weirdly cute, and the fuckedupness of everything was exactly my style. poor baby patrick ^__^ also i was surprised that the book was really all David And Pals rather than about patrick, but it was enthralling and i appreciate the look into the home he grew up in + the psyche of his parents.
there were bits that were definitely too posh for me to get but maybe that was the point.
there were bits that were definitely too posh for me to get but maybe that was the point.
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
3.0
Follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisotherbookaccount
I watched HBO’s critically acclaimed TV series, Succession, a few months ago. Even though I am now fully invested in the pitch-black drama-dy and its characters, it’s a tough show to like, let alone recommend. Its sharp, rusty edges are constantly pushing viewers away, defying their interest and daring them to root for or, god forbid, relate to any of the pompous, upper class assholes — and this book is kind of like that.
Patrick Melrose, the protagonist, the only child in this book and the character that’s based on St. Aubyn himself, is the only innocent party here. Everybody else, from his physically and emotionally abusive parents to their appalling, self-important, self-indulgent dinner guests, are unlikeable and abhorrent. Part of this is St Aubyn’s criticism of the English upper class and the pretentiousness of it all. What keeps this book going for me, though, is the unexpected humour, despite the fact that at the core of the story is a horrific event that will surely traumatise our protagonist in the years (and books) to come.
St. Aubyn is a craftsman, and no word is wasted here. Everything is precise and focused. The wit here, too, is bone dry. It does, however, feel like the first chapters of a larger story, and doesn’t stand quite well on its own. Too much attention is paid to the horrific dinner guests, which means the reader spends a lot of time with nasty, nasty people. But I am intrigued enough to give the next book in the series a go, and that’s always a good sign — even if I am here with a morbid fascination to watch the house burn.
I watched HBO’s critically acclaimed TV series, Succession, a few months ago. Even though I am now fully invested in the pitch-black drama-dy and its characters, it’s a tough show to like, let alone recommend. Its sharp, rusty edges are constantly pushing viewers away, defying their interest and daring them to root for or, god forbid, relate to any of the pompous, upper class assholes — and this book is kind of like that.
Patrick Melrose, the protagonist, the only child in this book and the character that’s based on St. Aubyn himself, is the only innocent party here. Everybody else, from his physically and emotionally abusive parents to their appalling, self-important, self-indulgent dinner guests, are unlikeable and abhorrent. Part of this is St Aubyn’s criticism of the English upper class and the pretentiousness of it all. What keeps this book going for me, though, is the unexpected humour, despite the fact that at the core of the story is a horrific event that will surely traumatise our protagonist in the years (and books) to come.
St. Aubyn is a craftsman, and no word is wasted here. Everything is precise and focused. The wit here, too, is bone dry. It does, however, feel like the first chapters of a larger story, and doesn’t stand quite well on its own. Too much attention is paid to the horrific dinner guests, which means the reader spends a lot of time with nasty, nasty people. But I am intrigued enough to give the next book in the series a go, and that’s always a good sign — even if I am here with a morbid fascination to watch the house burn.
meganpoppy26's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5