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lukas
, February 25, 2015
(view all comments by lukas)
"Forget heroin. Just try giving up iron, that deep-down need to mean two things at once, to be in two places at once, not to be there for the catastrophe of a fixed meaning."
Edward St. Aubyn returns to his most famous character, Patrick Melrose, in "As Last," which may be the final book in this celebrated series that includes "Never Mind," "Bad News," "Some Hope," and "Mother's Milk," all of which are collected in "The Patrick Melrose Novels." Loosely autobiographical, these books are all about survival and recovery. Drugs and family (especially family) are the two things that the aristocratic Melrose struggles to overcome and in this book, he comes to terms with the death and legacy of his mother, a well-meaning, but weak woman who overlooked her husband's abusiveness. While there's still the sardonic wit and high-brow charm (poetry, religion and French all are discussed) of the earlier books, this one has a more reflective tone and introspective mood. If you haven't read any of these books, start with the others first. "The most brilliant English novelist of his generation."-Alan Hollinghurst
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