Old Filth (The Old Filth Trilogy, 1) Paperback – June 1, 2006

I don’t know quite what to make of this book. I lived in Hong Kong so understood the term FILTH and it caught my interest. I think the way it was written made it compelling reading. Not the usual thing I would read but I am really glad I did. Something magical about it!!

It was a lovely read. It all hung together. It had humor, some tension. Loved the characters. Recommend it for a sweet read.

A wonderful novel! However, I should say right away that my enthusiasm for the book is probably enhanced by its personal resonances; more about that in a moment.Only the title is awkward. "Filth" stands for "Failed in London, try Hong Kong," which is a misleading soubriquet for the central character, Sir Edward Feathers, a distinguished advocate and judge, and a man of the utmost probity. Born in the Far East, he was educated in England, spent most of his brilliant professional career in Hong Kong, and has now as returned to England in retirement. He is shown as a lonely old man, unable to make close personal connections, even with his wife of over fifty years. One of the book's many beauties is the way in which Feathers reaches out in old age to repair at least a few of these missed connections.The book takes the central portion of Sir Edward's career mainly for granted, concentrating instead upon the way memories of his first quarter-century come back to haunt him as he enters his last. Born in Malaya of a mother who died in childbirth and a half-mad father who never spoke to him, he was shipped off to Britain as a young child, spending his formative years with an abusive foster-mother in Wales, and then at various boarding schools. The book describes his dysfunctional relationship with various distant relatives and close friendships with a family who are not relatives at all, his sexual education, and his wartime service guarding the Queen Mother -- all experiences that turn out to have shaped his life. The warmest contacts seem to be the most transient, and he almost entirely lacks the strong family structure that would have given him stability. As the story progresses, dodging backwards and forwards in time, the reader begins to understand how the man could have become so aloof and afraid of emotion. More importantly, Feathers begins to understand a little in himself also.Gardam uses a term that I had not heard before, "Raj Orphan." It refers to the children of British colonial administrators sent Home in early childhood, often not seeing their parents again for many years. My father had such a childhood, and I believe was seared by it; his two brothers, like Sir Edward Feathers, both went into the law; and all of us, including myself, underwent a similarly spartan education. At times, I felt I was reading a family biography!But I think it would work for other readers also, especially if they have an interest in a vanished past or of an age when it is more fascinating to look back than to peer forward. I am not convinced that it all quite hangs together as a unified narrative; there is an encounter with two distant cousins of the next generation that seems a little out of place, and I find myself wanting to know more about Old Filth's adult years than I do, but that would have made a much longer book. Gardam's style is lucid and sometimes luminous, her comparison of lives and attitudes over a sixty-year span rings entirely true, and -- even though writing about a man who cannot easily feel emotion -- her own power to evoke feeling is quite remarkable.I also want to say that the Europa paperback edition is a real joy: flexible yet solid, with distinguished typesetting on quality paper with lots of space.

I didn’t find the book funny. Well written story of a boy who grows up to be a rather vapid, emotionally detached lawyer. Smart enough to go thru Oxford but, because of his childhood, unable to fully develop in his relationships with just about all other people, and unable to fully connect with all those closest to him, which makes his life more tragic than humorous. Rather sad.

“Old Filth” is the nickname of Sir Edward Feathers, Jane Gardam’s memorable protagonist, for reasons having nothing to do with his hygiene, habits, or reputation. Sir Edward is a “Raj orphan,”one of many English children who came of age during the closing days of the British Empire. Born to English families living in any of the far-flung colonies (in Sir Edward’s case, Malaysia) they were eventually exiled to foster homes or boarding schools in England. This would seem to make for a potentially traumatic, affection-starved childhood, and indeed it was for poor Sir Edward. His early years constitute a Dickensian series of dislocations, exploitations, and deprivations. And yet, circumstance enables him to emerge from these inauspicious beginnings with an Oxford education, a stable marriage, wealth, and a distinguished judicial career based mainly in Hong Kong. As the novel opens, we find Sir Edward at the threshold of old age. He is coming through a series of jolting transitions: retirement, resettlement in England, and the sudden death of his wife. Physical frailty and blunting of his mental acuity have begun to appear. Above all, Sir Edward is beset by loneliness. Events geopolitical and personal have left him with few surviving friends or relatives. He has difficulty establishing new connections, no doubt a result of his disrupted childhood. How will he proceed from here? Will he settle into quiet isolation, speaking only when he wishes to grouse about the shortcomings of those around around him and the devolution of society in general? Will he manage to adapt in a more fulfilling way? Or, to put it differently, can a Raj orphan break the shackles of his past and find happiness?Gardam unfolds this story by alternating between present narrative and flashbacks. She executes these shifts with incredible virtuosity, even making them work to the betterment of the story’s whole. In some spots, the sequencing enhances the ironic nature of specific events. In others, the shifting elucidates the temporal and locational disorientation to which the aged Sir Edward is occasionally prone. Gardam’s ability to develop her characters is spot on. Her dialogue is flawless. She offers humor and pathos generously but precisely.I must admit to disliking the current craze toward books appearing in series; sequels and trilogies tend to make me skeptical. However, I was delighted to find that Old Filth is only one of three books that Jane Gardam featuring her brilliant creation, Sir Edward Feathers. I won’t reveal how the nickname “Old Filth” came about, but if you read the book, you’ll find out at the very beginning. Old Filth may be the best novel I’ve read all year. Can’t wait to read the next two.