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jmimaxwell's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
bernard_black's review against another edition
dark
reflective
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
5.0
gioiam's review against another edition
I read this book decently quickly after taking a break after Patrick Melrose #4. It was a nice return to Edward St. Aubyn, and I really enjoy his writing style. This book sort of reminded me of number 3. I think I really need to re-read these later in my life.
haveloved's review
4.0
For a while, as I read and listened to this, I wasn't totally certain how I felt about it. The first three books of the quintet, taken together, were a really powerful experience, but I felt the fourth and most of this fifth book were too meandering for me. I simply wasn't as interested in the struggles surrounding Patrick's relationship with Eleanor as I was in his overcoming the trauma inflicted on him by David. There's so many side characters in this one I was starting to get tired of them distracting from Patrick and the people more immediately connected to him. But as much as I felt this book--which, like Bad News and Some Hope, is focused on the events of a single day--wandered too much and didn't entirely have my interest, I still found myself in tears at the final scene. The brilliance of those few paragraphs made me tick up my rating of the book as a whole. The last two books of the five were not, for me, as fascinating and enthralling as the previous three, but taken together, the five novels will probably remain for quite a while one of the most complete and rewarding reading experiences I'm likely to have.
Spoiler
Patrick's moment of clarity and eventual peace with his understanding of his abusive parents was very moving, and rewarding as the sum total of the five books.whitneyborup's review against another edition
4.0
As an installment, this wasn’t very satisfying. But as a complete product, this series of novels was one I’ll be returning to. I loved it.
liisae's review
4.0
Patrick Melrose has become one of my favorite characters. Following his life in sort of episodic stages across 5 books actually made me feel as if I understood him better than other characters that a reader inhabits continuously. I really enjoy books like these that have a basis in philosophical questioning smoothed over with irony, sarcasm, and helplessness. The contrast between the inarticulacy that is being addressed within the novels and the characters, and the acute articulacy of the prose in which it is explored is invigorating.
emily1602's review against another edition
My favorite of the St. Aubyn novels that I have read so far. Before, I found the characters constantly being witty and philosophizing distracted from the plot/emotion of the books, but I liked it here. Maybe I am getting used to his way of writing or maybe it was just that I recognized more of the references here and was already familiar with the characters. Ending was sweet.
kbuchanan's review
3.0
A fitting last installment that sees Patrick saying goodbye to the last vestiges of childhood. The claustrophobic world of Eleanor Melrose's memorial service dominates this volume, magnifying the importance of transitory things. We catch our last glimpses of the Melrose circle, those we have seen flit in and out of previous novels, and we watch Patrick processing the towering influences that place and time can have on a life. A heady brew with a surprising dose of tentative hope.