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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
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The only reason I stuck with these stories is because a friend was so enthusiastic when he recommended them. I despised almost every character and was never invested in any of their struggles.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I normally have no issue with books about unlikeable characters, and was recommended this book because (I think) the recommender knew I love American Psycho and thought this was similar?
The first book in the collection was fine. It had some atrocious shit in it, which like I said I generally kind of like (my favorite author is Cormac McCarthy). It was relatively interesting. I didn't really see what everyone was saying about it being so witty and beautifully written, but eh. I thought maybe the next book would be better.
Damn, was I wrong. Bad News is SO BORING. Page after page about Patrick wanting drugs, looking for drugs, doing drugs. I tried to get through it, but I couldn't. I still don't know where this beautiful prose and wit are, and this is nowhere near in the same ballpark as American Psycho, which I've read twice and would read again.
DNF, but I tried.
The first book in the collection was fine. It had some atrocious shit in it, which like I said I generally kind of like (my favorite author is Cormac McCarthy). It was relatively interesting. I didn't really see what everyone was saying about it being so witty and beautifully written, but eh. I thought maybe the next book would be better.
Damn, was I wrong. Bad News is SO BORING. Page after page about Patrick wanting drugs, looking for drugs, doing drugs. I tried to get through it, but I couldn't. I still don't know where this beautiful prose and wit are, and this is nowhere near in the same ballpark as American Psycho, which I've read twice and would read again.
DNF, but I tried.
Brutally clear-eyed and relentless in their observation of Britain's upper classes, these novels, with their themes of inheritance and disinheritance, spare no one. A note of caution - though each individual novel is short, with two of the four encompassing only one day's length, I don't recommend reading the whole omnibus straight through. The precise renditions of cruelty, snobbery, and hypocrisy can become overwhelming.
I remember spotting this book on a rainy day while killing some time in a Northampton bookstore with a friend of mine post our five year college reunion. I loved the look of the book (go go book cover design gadget) I loved the pink and the people and the names of the novel's, intoxicating when read all together in one breath - Bad News, Never Mind, Some Hope and Mother's Milk. I took a picture so I could remember to hunt for it at the library. Then I read a recommendation for the book from Ann Patchett on the Parnassus Blog:
"I wound up reading all five books in five days (each one is short.) The last time I had such an all-encompassing one-author book binge was when I read John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom novels straight through. Every second sentence in the Patrick Melrose cycle was one that I wanted to write down or read aloud to my husband. These books made me reconsider issues of family, responsibility, entitlement, depression, addiction, and life in general. They also made me think about what makes great writing. They’re brilliant books, especially when read straight through. I would not have been happy to wait years between the publication of each volume. As much as I loved them, I have to warn you: they’re very strong. They’re not going to be for everyone, but they were certainly for me."
And then Ann Patchett's review in the Gaurdian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/08/my-hero-edward-st-aubyn
So basically a casual interest in the look of a book turned into a real desire to track down a copy. It took a while to finagle one from Inter-Library Loan, but I'm glad it finally came through. In four novels about one person and ostensibly about the same thing, Patrick and his relationship to his parents, they return to the subject and drill at it from different times and angles. My least favorite was the second novel "Never Mind" which details Patrick's drug use in detail, all those needles makes me nauseous. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the last two novels. Now I want to track down the fifth novel, "At Last."
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very dark, so if you can't handle that, beware. Personally, I loved this book. The writing is phenomenal.
Perhaps this isn't for everyone. This series is infinitely depressing, but I think I could make a convincing argument, given enough time, about why it's worth reading... or at least why it's was worth reading for me. I don't know that I could write an articulate enough review of this book, but if anyone ever wanted to chat about it over a cup of tea I'd be glad to.