The Complete Patrick Melrose Novels: Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk, and at Last

I bought this after listening to Edward St Aubyn interviewed on a Radio 4 book programme. I was captivated by his voice and his slow, carefully chosen words - he reminded me initially of Will Self but without the rather self-conscious cynicism, and with a great deal more self-deprecating charm. But I became even more interested when I realised that these novels are semi-autobiographical, and describe (thinly disguised) the author's struggle to come to terms with being sexually abused by his father at the age of 5, growing up in an elite world in which he could not talk about this, taking refuge in heroin and then psychotherapy. It is a very courageous journey from the damage caused to an intelligent and sensitive child by a sadistic father, to finally realising as an adult that his self-destructive drug use and suicidal feelings could be (somewhat) purged through bringing his own darkness up to the light, and telling his story. His fear of revealing the truth of what had been done to him to people who knew him (and to people who didn't) is so typical of children who carry a heavy sense of shame as a result of their hidden abuse. As he says himself, he did not want to write one of those "Why Daddy, Why" type of abuse stories that litter supermarket bookshelves. There is no self-pity here - but there is anger at those who failed to protect him, and a savagely ironic pillorying of those around him who live shallow, superficial and inauthentic lives. Edward St Aubyn is a survivor who writes the most beautifully crafted and evocative prose, liberally sprinkled with wonderfully funny black humour. I absolutely loved these novels and felt they were one of the best things I had read in the last 20 years. For those who don't flinch at the mention of emotional or sexual abuse, and who enjoy the emotional complexities of intelligent human beings, I cannot recommend these novels enough.

Repellent and harrowing. The best I can say is that it doesn't glamourise the decadence but does over egg the pudding with the drug using. This is one for my recycling I think. For every ten readers I would say one will enjoy its literary achievement, one or two will admire the authors frankness and the majority will put it to one side unread. I am sorry the Melrose childhood was immeasurably vile but I dont wish to share any more of it nor the later developments.

Coming late to the Melrose novels has its advantages - reading the five books in quick succession allows you to immerse yourself in the story and hold the threads together as the large cast of characters age, often disgracefully. At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, (has there ever been a father as monstrous and compelling as David Melrose?), the sheer quality and beauty of the writing is dazzling. The box set is a thing of beauty in itself (I started reading the sequence on Kindle and quickly realised it was so good that only proper books would do).

Wonderfull, shocking, funny, sad, it has it all.

I read these 5 books one after the other in order to keep the story going. The author used great wit to write about 'upper-class' nitwits. His descriptions, his phrasing, and marvelous vocabulary (plus an interesting story) made the story -telling very intense..the black humor was caustic, but well merited by his set of characters.

Just read them. The writing is exquisite but unobtrusive, and the story Edward St Aubyn tells is harrowing but so full of humanity and understanding that it somehow manages to be uplifting. The set will remain on my bookshelf as one of my favourites, to be read and re-read over time.

I started off loving this sequence of novels - the first - Never Mind - is an absolute masterpiece, painful, funny, heartrending and a superb recreation of the powerless nightmare that childhood can become. However, sad to say, the sequence got duller, stodgier, more baroque, irritating and repetitive, until by the final book one had totally lost sympathy with the characters (pretty well all of them actually) and ceased to care. Quite an achievement to so comprehensively wreck the promise of a super first book, turning what looked set to become a near masterpiece into a dutiful trudge through the wreckage of a rather unpleasant life. Great pity, and a sad waste.

I really enjoyed these books and read one after the other in quick succession. A mix of very dry sarcasm, intelligent humor and the best writing I've come across for a long time. Oscar Wilde comes to mind..

Todavía estoy leyendo el segundo volumen, y reproduce el estilo del primero: no puedo más que decir lo mismo que leerán en otras críticas: Fina ironía y brillante estilo. Algunos parráfos son tan sinceros que "dan en la diana" de las emociones y, de alguna manera, hacen conectar de lleno tanto con el personaje como con el autor.

With that being said, here is my caveat emptor to the prospective reader: I didn't finish these novels on the first try. I read about 50 pages and then just wasn't motivated to pick it up again. It took almost two years and the coronavirus sheltering-in-place mandate to inspire me to give it one more shot. I truly wanted another chance to understand the overwhelming acclaim and praise of this edition's featured reviewers. Mission accomplished. And to the reader who has not yet discovered the amazing, thought-provoking words of Edward St. Aubyn, let me give you a bit of advice that might encourage you to stay the course. In addition to the author's particular style, novels have a certain rhythm and pace. The rhythm and pace of St. Aubyn's writing, to me, starkly contrasts that of most Western fiction. There is a standard accounting of people, places, and events, but these stories are punctuated by deep dives into the innermost thoughts and musings of the main characters. These journeys take on a life of their own, in a stream-of-consciousness meandering of concepts starting with whatever is "happening" within the story but then often going far afield. These forays into the character's wandering minds may seem pointless at first. But if you stay the course, you will realize they are all on purpose, and you can observe the main character's development by tracking the variations on themes within his musings. St. Aubyn's writing is fearless, and admittedly, a few passages are difficult to read. Knowing the "Patrick Melrose" novels are semi-autobiographical, I truly admire the sheer audacity of St. Aubyn's self-revelations.

O livro chegou antes do esperado. Contudo, chegou com desgastes nas bordas das capas e na lombada, com aparência de usado. Tirando isso, perfeito.

Great read and a smooth hassle free transaction with the seller.

The book came straight out from a envelope with no protection or whatsoever, the pages and the front page is not in the perfect condition. Kinda sad as I wanted to keep it as a collection. Other then that, everything else is fine. No missing pages or anything.