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emib23's review against another edition
5.0
The prose is so deft, and the characters so fully realized, that this novel swept me up into its current and left me no choice but to read it in one sitting when I had planned on only a chapter or two.
Reading this author’s voice felt like jogging on a crisp autumn morning when I had known only humid summer afternoons. The pages just whisked me along and enveloped me in the disturbing, dark and absurd world that the characters inhabit. I look forward to continuing the series.
Reading this author’s voice felt like jogging on a crisp autumn morning when I had known only humid summer afternoons. The pages just whisked me along and enveloped me in the disturbing, dark and absurd world that the characters inhabit. I look forward to continuing the series.
ohsnaplez's review against another edition
4.0
wow. a deadly combo of tragically disturbing content about mostly wretched humans presented in needle-fine, exquisite prose. I must know what happens to poor Patrick, moving on to book two now.
elundh's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sheesaw's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tomleetang's review against another edition
4.0
A world of vicious, bored cruelty. How much more edifying on the subject of Britain's upper class than Made in Chelsea.
coronaurora's review against another edition
4.0
Moving on, what a riot this first of Melrose's book is! It's vital triumph, the humour is a difficult thing to dissect. Either you are on board with the pincer-sharp British irony and sarcasm, or you're not and after a chapter or two, I was glad to not be the one staring befuddled at the page margins.
Capturing the lead-up to a dinner party that sees three British couples meeting up in South of France with our fictional hero as a mere 5 year old toddler in this Origins-like 1st book, we get a panorama of the six attendees' mental scape by a narrative that swims in and out of the character's heads laying bare their private sniggers, frustrations and anxieties which intersects clumsily and to great comic effect with their outward behaviour. From drug-addled, indolent ladies to narcissistic bullies and paedophilic men: they're all here for unassuming readers to inhabit.
What I like about this book is that there is an unshakeable authenticity in the capture of the aristocratic upper class and their life of leisure with a commendable swipe at the prevailing values, morals, pomposities, brutalities that evidently come from author's own experience of having grown within such a milieu. He drapes them with the entitlement, the impunity, the worship of "connections" and lets us roll our eyes at them sure but not before summoning our humanity and concern, not before we have felt sorry for the little boy who doesn't know what to make of his molestation or marvel at the monk-like discipline of the molesting patriarch. Even within a mocking sketch of a drug-addled woman, there's a child-like glee in her chemical euphoria.
And all those internal commentaries, saddled like the rest of us less monied mortals with dramas around petty worries, self-preservation exercises, ghastly best-not-be-verbalised impressions, he brings these characters closer with his humanisation and brings whole new layers to the tragicomic theatre of manners as they settle down and smile their way through the incomprehensibility, disgust and unfairness of life and people around them. I'd be reading intently how Patrick and the Melroses develop sure. Bring on #2!
Capturing the lead-up to a dinner party that sees three British couples meeting up in South of France with our fictional hero as a mere 5 year old toddler in this Origins-like 1st book, we get a panorama of the six attendees' mental scape by a narrative that swims in and out of the character's heads laying bare their private sniggers, frustrations and anxieties which intersects clumsily and to great comic effect with their outward behaviour. From drug-addled, indolent ladies to narcissistic bullies and paedophilic men: they're all here for unassuming readers to inhabit.
What I like about this book is that there is an unshakeable authenticity in the capture of the aristocratic upper class and their life of leisure with a commendable swipe at the prevailing values, morals, pomposities, brutalities that evidently come from author's own experience of having grown within such a milieu. He drapes them with the entitlement, the impunity, the worship of "connections" and lets us roll our eyes at them sure but not before summoning our humanity and concern, not before we have felt sorry for the little boy who doesn't know what to make of his molestation or marvel at the monk-like discipline of the molesting patriarch. Even within a mocking sketch of a drug-addled woman, there's a child-like glee in her chemical euphoria.
And all those internal commentaries, saddled like the rest of us less monied mortals with dramas around petty worries, self-preservation exercises, ghastly best-not-be-verbalised impressions, he brings these characters closer with his humanisation and brings whole new layers to the tragicomic theatre of manners as they settle down and smile their way through the incomprehensibility, disgust and unfairness of life and people around them. I'd be reading intently how Patrick and the Melroses develop sure. Bring on #2!
randomoutcome's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
medium-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
4.5
alexandragporter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sophiemo24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
anvh_01's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Finished with the first novel, now on my way to the second. Surprised me how crude and cruel it was, damn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting