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A review by jacki_f
The Party by Elizabeth Day
5.0
In the tradition of Brideshead Revisited, this is a creepily uncomfortable page turner that I absolutely loved. It's the story of a boy from a middle class home who befriends a charismatic aristocrat at boarding school. Martin is very bright but socially awkward and when he meets charming, privileged Ben, he is smitten. They attend Cambridge together and their friendship continues over the years. Martin is a journalist while Ben goes into the financial sector and becomes (according to Tatler) "the most connected man in Britain", with a beautiful wife, amazing houses and the PM as a bestie. The friendship persists, although it's clearly become far more important to Martin than it is to Ben.
The book begins with Martin being questioned by the police about an incident that happened at Ben's 40th party a couple of weeks earlier. It then moves back and forth in time as we gradually learn the story of their friendship over the years and eventually learn what the incident was that has prompted the police investigation. I was riveted throughout. This was one of those books that I deliberately read slowly because I didn't want it to end. Having said that, I love books about outsiders who are not necessarily likeable. This has elements of so many writers: Claire Messud, Donna Tartt, Herman Koch. It's terrific.
The book begins with Martin being questioned by the police about an incident that happened at Ben's 40th party a couple of weeks earlier. It then moves back and forth in time as we gradually learn the story of their friendship over the years and eventually learn what the incident was that has prompted the police investigation. I was riveted throughout. This was one of those books that I deliberately read slowly because I didn't want it to end. Having said that, I love books about outsiders who are not necessarily likeable. This has elements of so many writers: Claire Messud, Donna Tartt, Herman Koch. It's terrific.