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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
Some very good writing.
But I'd challenge a lot of his assumptions about entitlement ...
But I'd challenge a lot of his assumptions about entitlement ...
dark
reflective
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 really enjoyed the first book, then too many characters were introduced and the story lost some vitality. Worst possible timing: its dark mood caught me unprepared.
(August 2024)
(August 2024)
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape
Four novels in one volume is just too much of a good thing. There are no sympathetic or likable characters and everyone is wretchedly miserable at all times. Still, the writing is crisp and beautifully lacerating.
A strange and undeniably compulsive experience to read all five novels back-to-back: beautiful writing, full of crystalline sentences and unexpectedly funny moments and startling similes. The cast of characters is rich and varied, taking in Rich Twat, Posh Twat and a generous detour via Rich Posh Twat. Reading it as one novel does rather blunt the shocking human unpleasantness which is nevertheless omnipresent, though: at some point, though I'm not quite sure where, the startling repulsiveness of the wealthy gives way to a looming sense of self-pity.
Love love loved it. Loved it so much. Both totally hilarious and completely desperate. From incestual paedophilia through drug abuse and addiction to general snobbery in Gloucestershire of all places. Everything about this book either touched me or tickled me. An easy 5 stars.
I've now finished reading all of the Patrick Melrose novels. Here's my abridged review of them all:
1: Never Mind: Absolutely cracking. Funny, awful, the sort of thing you really like if you're me. 4.5 stars
2: Bad News: Even more cracking. Even more funny and awful. Totally debauched. Drugs, sex, mental illness. Basically my perfect novel. 5 stars
3: Some Hope: Very good. Centres around a party. Less debauched. More grown up. Recovery. 4 stars.
4: Mother's Milk: No debauch. Parenting. Alcoholism without the fun. Unhappy lives and fantastic children. Parents with parent-issues. 3.5 stars.
5: At last: Resolution. Philosophical. Recovery and recovery. Still fantastic children. It'll all probably be ok. Maybe. 4 stars.
Overall a really great set of novels. If nothing else, read the first two, they repeatedly made me laugh, made me feel bad for laughing and made me feel totally sane. Overall I'd give the whole series a 4, but the first two are worth more than that.
1: Never Mind: Absolutely cracking. Funny, awful, the sort of thing you really like if you're me. 4.5 stars
2: Bad News: Even more cracking. Even more funny and awful. Totally debauched. Drugs, sex, mental illness. Basically my perfect novel. 5 stars
3: Some Hope: Very good. Centres around a party. Less debauched. More grown up. Recovery. 4 stars.
4: Mother's Milk: No debauch. Parenting. Alcoholism without the fun. Unhappy lives and fantastic children. Parents with parent-issues. 3.5 stars.
5: At last: Resolution. Philosophical. Recovery and recovery. Still fantastic children. It'll all probably be ok. Maybe. 4 stars.
Overall a really great set of novels. If nothing else, read the first two, they repeatedly made me laugh, made me feel bad for laughing and made me feel totally sane. Overall I'd give the whole series a 4, but the first two are worth more than that.
A perfect tragicomic specimen, alternating between the shock of child abuse (and other afflictions) and the shock of the author finding humor in the context of such woes. As far as style goes, St. Aubyn writes perfectly. I don’t remember the last time I audibly gasped, giggled involuntarily, hungrily sipped on sentence after blinding sentence of sharp, cerebral, caustic and deeply wise language. The characters are deeply fleshed out, and agonizingly flawed. In spots, I would get lost in the soliloquies, the philosophical inquiries, the endless point of view ping-ponging -- most especially in the last book, which was the least interesting. And yet even so, everything about it was marvelously constructed.
dark
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes