I had never heard of this
author until my mom just forced me to invest 50p in this book of his at Surrey
Docks Farm. As we all know, my mom is very rarely wrong (at least when it comes
to literature, when it comes to playing cards with me that’s an entirely
different story).
The first section of the book
details extremely well a number of feelings that I undeniably felt right after
the birth of my daughter (minus the borderline psychic older son, and some of
Patrick’s self-destructive tendencies), but what is just great is seeing the
odd dilapidation of an impressive family fortune in the following sections (one
dedicated to every summer holiday of the main character, which I found to be a
wonderful idea).
If Patrick’s complex family
situation at first runs the risk of reminding the reader a bit too much of the
kind of McEwan novels that have come to bore me, its spiralling out of control
is actually closer to a more serious version of Jonathan Coe’s Winshaws – and that’s
one of the reason why this novel is ultimately so enjoyable. The other reason, although
this is far from being politically correct, is its shrewd treatment of people
who age badly – not something I necessarily disagree with.
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