Take a photo of a barcode or cover
140 reviews for:
The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and at Last
Edward St. Aubyn
4.0 AVERAGE
140 reviews for:
The Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and at Last
Edward St. Aubyn
4.0 AVERAGE
God, these books are so amazing. I know they are decently well known but they deserve to be more popular. What really shines here is the prose and dialogue. These books are so funny and cutting! And so sad! I love his sentences. Reading these books is great. I expect to buy them and re-read them at some point
Edward St. Aubyn is a beautiful writer, his stories so tragically woven. Reading the Patrick Melrose Novels was confronting. A story of a lonely man going about his lonely life and all the horrible people he meets along the way. Patrick Melrose tells a firsthand account of upper class superiority, addiction, fatherhood, friendship, and rivalry. Turning a story of sadness and loss into something humorous and triumphant. The complete Patrick Melrose novels made me laugh, whilst simultaneously making me feel guilty for doing so. Perhaps my favourite thing about the Melrose novels was the simplicity of their ending. Without expelling too much of the novels events, the Patrick Melrose series was perhaps the first novel I read where the main character finds no happy ending. For Patrick, there is no gold palace, no reconciliation, no apologies or long winded love letters. The Melrose novels end as they should. Simply. 'He was going to change his mind, after all that's what Thomas said it was for'
Leaning toward 4.5 stars.
This was a bit difficult to get through at first, not so much because of the subject matter (which was horrifying and traumatic, but tempered with that amazing dry British humor), but because of the language. It was beautifully written, but... man, it's not something you breeze through easily. It was clearly written by and about the British upper class, and I'd often forget it took place in the twentieth and twenty-first century, because the vocabulary and tone was so similar to classic British novels from hundreds of years ago.
St. Aubyn's prose reminds me of Ian McEwan, in that he delves into the very depths of his protagonist's mind (as well of the minds of other characters in other sections of the book). Understandable, since this is heavily based on the author's own life, but the level of insight is still incredible. The streams of consciousness were often dreamlike, flowing easily from one subject to the next, with slight interjections of opinions and observations. You learn how each character thinks. It's amazing.
I was extremely attached to Patrick, despite all his bad behavior. He is the central character of each book, and you just want him to be happy and healthy. We see him grow from an abused, helpless little boy to a lost young man self-destructing with drugs, to a lost adult (temporarily) sober and adrift, to a(n unfaithful) husband and father terrified of repeating the mistakes of his family's past, all the while craving the love of his parents while simultaneously resenting them for their abuse and neglect.
I also found myself laughing at odd moments in the book, which I believe is a coping mechanism the author uses for himself and for the audience because of the dark subject matter. How do you laugh at a story that's based on the worst kind of childhood abuse? But St. Aubyn makes it possible, without the reader feeling awful for doing so.
I stayed up late last night to finish the book, and I was so relieved to feel the catharsis of the ending, right along with Patrick. It's definitely a bleak series, but the ending is hopeful. For all the terrible things that happen throughout the books, and for all the demons Patrick fights, I considered this ending to be happy, and when I finally closed the book after finishing, I fell asleep relieved and lighter.
I highly recommend this book, but warn against the subject matter. It is beautifully, poetically written as it deals with childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse, parental alcoholism and neglect, suicide, and heavy drug usage.
With a dash of dry British humor to soften the blow.
This was a bit difficult to get through at first, not so much because of the subject matter (which was horrifying and traumatic, but tempered with that amazing dry British humor), but because of the language. It was beautifully written, but... man, it's not something you breeze through easily. It was clearly written by and about the British upper class, and I'd often forget it took place in the twentieth and twenty-first century, because the vocabulary and tone was so similar to classic British novels from hundreds of years ago.
St. Aubyn's prose reminds me of Ian McEwan, in that he delves into the very depths of his protagonist's mind (as well of the minds of other characters in other sections of the book). Understandable, since this is heavily based on the author's own life, but the level of insight is still incredible. The streams of consciousness were often dreamlike, flowing easily from one subject to the next, with slight interjections of opinions and observations. You learn how each character thinks. It's amazing.
I was extremely attached to Patrick, despite all his bad behavior. He is the central character of each book, and you just want him to be happy and healthy. We see him grow from an abused, helpless little boy to a lost young man self-destructing with drugs, to a lost adult (temporarily) sober and adrift, to a(n unfaithful) husband and father terrified of repeating the mistakes of his family's past, all the while craving the love of his parents while simultaneously resenting them for their abuse and neglect.
I also found myself laughing at odd moments in the book, which I believe is a coping mechanism the author uses for himself and for the audience because of the dark subject matter. How do you laugh at a story that's based on the worst kind of childhood abuse? But St. Aubyn makes it possible, without the reader feeling awful for doing so.
I stayed up late last night to finish the book, and I was so relieved to feel the catharsis of the ending, right along with Patrick. It's definitely a bleak series, but the ending is hopeful. For all the terrible things that happen throughout the books, and for all the demons Patrick fights, I considered this ending to be happy, and when I finally closed the book after finishing, I fell asleep relieved and lighter.
I highly recommend this book, but warn against the subject matter. It is beautifully, poetically written as it deals with childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse, parental alcoholism and neglect, suicide, and heavy drug usage.
With a dash of dry British humor to soften the blow.
The first book is unbearable to read, but you have to, because it explains the other books. Just be forewarned, as I was blindsided and had to text the friend who had recommended it and go "WHAT THE EFF" and she was like "oops yeah sorry but once you get through that it's off to the races." It's not exactly off to the races, but I can see why she loves it - she is a psychiatrist and this is an absolute study, in roman-a-clef form, of how psychology and psychiatry can help provide an end to generational trauma.
So that makes it sound really dull, but it's not. It's true that I got super tired of hearing about the tribulations of the uber-wealthy, but slowly, ever so slowly, the cycle of stories grinds the most obnoxious characters to dust and provides redemption for characters who work for it. The author makes his best effort to be cynical, but in the end he provides such heartfelt comic relief and moments of sweetness that betray tremendous charm and make it all worth it.
Also worth it? Startling moments of beautiful description. Not on every page, but once in a while I would have to stop and roll back to hear a particularly lovely turn of phrase. So okay, he might be forgiven for all the making fun of New York and American accents.
So that makes it sound really dull, but it's not. It's true that I got super tired of hearing about the tribulations of the uber-wealthy, but slowly, ever so slowly, the cycle of stories grinds the most obnoxious characters to dust and provides redemption for characters who work for it. The author makes his best effort to be cynical, but in the end he provides such heartfelt comic relief and moments of sweetness that betray tremendous charm and make it all worth it.
Also worth it? Startling moments of beautiful description. Not on every page, but once in a while I would have to stop and roll back to hear a particularly lovely turn of phrase. So okay, he might be forgiven for all the making fun of New York and American accents.
This took me a whole summer to read. My copy is full of sand and stained with seawater. Drugs seem like a bad choice.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amazing prose, but almost no one to care about. If it's a feat to make someone who is dealt one of the most horrific childhood traumas imaginable essentially unsympathetic, well, bravo.
Waugh meets James meets Proust meets Hollinghurst meets Hornsby meets Trainspotting.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced