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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
Great prose but after the first 150 pages it all got really boring; one can only take reading about self-hatred, greed, laziness, sadness, and misanthropy for so long without any relief. Too much of a good thing is never that good. Such is the case with these 4 short stories.
As the person who recommended this series to me said, the Patrick Melrose novels contain the most delicious writing about the most despicable people. The first book follows a dysfunctional snobby English family and their supposed friends, including Patrick Melrose, the 5yo scion who grows up (in the second book) into a drug addict. I almost threw up at the meticulously graphic descriptions of his dosing in the second book which is also an ode to New York and self absorption. No one seems to have any redeeming qualities but it doesn’t matter because it’s all so smartly written and thrilling. I kind of want to research the author because it’s incredible how much he knows about both UK and American cultures and about drug use. It’s also some of the sharpest and most beautiful writing I’ve read.
The third book was the most interesting of them all for me because he gets clean and struggles with the meaning of life and the purpose of it all and the emptiness which is really a universal human condition. And it’s all set in the backdrop of a huge English countryside party with its attendant (and entertaining) snobberies and awfulness.
In the fourth, he’s a father and an alcoholic, slowly and tragically throwing his life away. This book was the least interesting to me, possibly because I finally had a stake in his life and mind, but it (he) doesn’t go anywhere (which is of course true of the lost, but wasn't satisfying to me personally). It also ends a bit abruptly, but I think there’s a fifth book out now that closes the series. I’ll be sure to pick that up at some point, but in the meantime, if you’re looking for devastatingly witty writing about landed gentry (tell me that doesn’t pique your colonial reading brain) or sharp insight into the effects of addiction, pick these up.
The third book was the most interesting of them all for me because he gets clean and struggles with the meaning of life and the purpose of it all and the emptiness which is really a universal human condition. And it’s all set in the backdrop of a huge English countryside party with its attendant (and entertaining) snobberies and awfulness.
In the fourth, he’s a father and an alcoholic, slowly and tragically throwing his life away. This book was the least interesting to me, possibly because I finally had a stake in his life and mind, but it (he) doesn’t go anywhere (which is of course true of the lost, but wasn't satisfying to me personally). It also ends a bit abruptly, but I think there’s a fifth book out now that closes the series. I’ll be sure to pick that up at some point, but in the meantime, if you’re looking for devastatingly witty writing about landed gentry (tell me that doesn’t pique your colonial reading brain) or sharp insight into the effects of addiction, pick these up.
prose as lush and beautiful as anything i've read in ages, often funny too. the stories, however, are as corrosive as quicklime. and the characters are, for the most part, debased and debauched. but, if you have the stomach for it, ya oughta give it a try.
I gave up in the middle of the fourth book and just watched the show. These books were a slog. Watch the show - its great,pretty much word for word the books, you won't have to make it through the endless child POV chapters of Mother's Milk.
This is a tough review, because it's a tough read. It's best described as a literary horror story; it contains so much of the trappings of overprivileged upper class life...with genuine horror brilliantly and graphically described. This really doesn't feel like five short novels, it feels like one brilliant and horrible story; when you think things can't get worse, they do. It's beautifully written but horrifying and what little redemption there is at the end doesn't help that much.
I adore these complex, entertaining, horrifying novels, which read more as autobiography than as fiction.
Ugh, these people are the absolute worst. Was glad to be done with it, finally. The good parts, specifically when Patrick and Johnny have long talks, are spectacular. Totally worth hating it for the many moments of brilliance tucked between the pages.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the novels, but I didn't love them. They're more a series of character sketches loosely organized around major events in Patrick's life, which is not my favorite kind of novel. The writing is undeniably strong, and the comedy bruise black (which I do like). Of the five, Some Hope was my favorite (and made me laugh out loud repeatedly); At Last did very little for me, and by the end, I was reading just to finish.