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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
dark
A rather acerbic little novel about unsympathetic upper class people and the gold diggers that circle like satellites around them. The story centers around the narcissistic and violent David, his understandably alcoholic and down-trodden wife and the son, Patrick, that he he also abuses. It's terrible and astute, with astonishing humor.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maybe this is a case of wrong place, wrong time, but I really struggled with this. What horrid people. What a bleak portrait of humanity. I purchased the full set of Patrick Melrose novels from Audible, so sure was I that I would love these them. But there is no way I’m continuing right now.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Durita pero fascinante. Es muy increíble como funde la belleza de la casa y el paisajismo de los alrededores con la sordidez de los personajes que lo habitan. Hay que leerlo con el ánimo en forma porque rompe mucho.
To be honest, the only reason why I'm reading this book in the first place is because Benedict Cumberbatch told me to (not directly, he told the world to give this book a read on Ellen show), and one thing to know about me is that I love Benedict Cumberbatch. So I might as well give it a go. I've watched the first episode of Patrick Melrose, and it's no surprise to me how very well Cumberbatch's acting is. That is another reason why I decided to read this book.
The book is a bit...disturbing and also boring at times. Though Edward St. Aubyn's narrative about upperclass Englishmen are very well put out, I still couldn't understand it. Maybe because I'm too young to acknowledge about that specific group of people?
David is the only character that actually has the most outstanding characteristic. I love how disturbing he is, how scary he is, and I just love how I hate this guy so much. It's also a bit weird to me how Patrick isn't in the scene much, since this entire series is about him.
What I also realized is that the first episode of Patrick Melrose series is actually based on the 2nd book. So maybe I have to read the whole series to understand what the Patrick Melrose series is about.
The book is a bit...disturbing and also boring at times. Though Edward St. Aubyn's narrative about upperclass Englishmen are very well put out, I still couldn't understand it. Maybe because I'm too young to acknowledge about that specific group of people?
David is the only character that actually has the most outstanding characteristic. I love how disturbing he is, how scary he is, and I just love how I hate this guy so much. It's also a bit weird to me how Patrick isn't in the scene much, since this entire series is about him.
What I also realized is that the first episode of Patrick Melrose series is actually based on the 2nd book. So maybe I have to read the whole series to understand what the Patrick Melrose series is about.
The first of 5 books in the Patrick Melrose series, this opener focuses on a day in the life of 5-year old Patrick as his hideously awful parents prepare for a dinner party with their hideously awful guests. His father- David- has to be one of the vilest literary creations of all-time.
It is a searing indictment of the grotesque nature of a certain type of Upper Class Englishness and, though I don’t know yet what the other books will be about, I anticipate this is the foundations of a truly excellent character portrait. Poor Patrick has not had the best start to life and that’s putting it mildly.
St Aubyn writes with an almost Austenesque clarity about the inner workings and outward expressions of these characters and, in so few pages, creates some indelible impressions and imagery. I’m excited to read the rest.
It is a searing indictment of the grotesque nature of a certain type of Upper Class Englishness and, though I don’t know yet what the other books will be about, I anticipate this is the foundations of a truly excellent character portrait. Poor Patrick has not had the best start to life and that’s putting it mildly.
St Aubyn writes with an almost Austenesque clarity about the inner workings and outward expressions of these characters and, in so few pages, creates some indelible impressions and imagery. I’m excited to read the rest.
HILARIOUS, HORRIFIC
Edward St Aubyn has a razor-sharp wit which he uses to dissect British society – and humans in general – without mercy. He truly is a modern-day Oscar Wilde. Here are just a few selections:
"Why do people spend the evening with people they've spent the day insulting?
So as to have something insulting to say about them tomorrow."
“At the beginning, there had been talk of using some of her money to start a home for alcoholics. In a sense they had succeeded.”
“In my rather brief medical practice,' said David modestly, 'I found that people spend their whole lives imagining they are about to die. Their only consolation is that one day they're right.”
However, this book, sadly semi-autobiographical, is equal parts hilarious and horrific. The depiction of child abuse is sickening, and I would recommend anybody triggered by abuse avoid this book. And when Aubyn begins to craft plays-on-words with his genius wit around topics such as rape and child abuse, the book hits new depths. The clever nature of the wordplay drives home the horrors of what's being described.
My main criticism, apart from the fact that this book is emotionally scarring, is its unfocused nature. Aubyn reaches levels of literary brilliance that 99% of authors writing today aren't capable of attaining. However, his story doesn't really hold together. It's clever, entertaining, profound and dark; yet there's no real arc here - no climax and no resolution, not even a dissatisfying one. Perhaps the Melrose books should be regarded holistically, because "Never Mind" is an amazing opening chapter if that's all it's meant to be.
An excellent book, if you can stomach it...
Edward St Aubyn has a razor-sharp wit which he uses to dissect British society – and humans in general – without mercy. He truly is a modern-day Oscar Wilde. Here are just a few selections:
"Why do people spend the evening with people they've spent the day insulting?
So as to have something insulting to say about them tomorrow."
“At the beginning, there had been talk of using some of her money to start a home for alcoholics. In a sense they had succeeded.”
“In my rather brief medical practice,' said David modestly, 'I found that people spend their whole lives imagining they are about to die. Their only consolation is that one day they're right.”
However, this book, sadly semi-autobiographical, is equal parts hilarious and horrific. The depiction of child abuse is sickening, and I would recommend anybody triggered by abuse avoid this book. And when Aubyn begins to craft plays-on-words with his genius wit around topics such as rape and child abuse, the book hits new depths. The clever nature of the wordplay drives home the horrors of what's being described.
My main criticism, apart from the fact that this book is emotionally scarring, is its unfocused nature. Aubyn reaches levels of literary brilliance that 99% of authors writing today aren't capable of attaining. However, his story doesn't really hold together. It's clever, entertaining, profound and dark; yet there's no real arc here - no climax and no resolution, not even a dissatisfying one. Perhaps the Melrose books should be regarded holistically, because "Never Mind" is an amazing opening chapter if that's all it's meant to be.
An excellent book, if you can stomach it...
Other than Patrick and Anne, the characters are despicable, but the prose is so good.