Ruminations

On 1/24/13, I started reading The Patrick Melrose Novels.  What an amazing story; I am simply going to post here what Amazon.com said about the book, because that sums it up well:

“The Melrose Novels are a masterwork for the twenty-first century. . . .” —Alice Sebold.  

For more than twenty years, acclaimed author Edward St. Aubyn has chronicled the life of Patrick Melrose, painting an extraordinary portrait of the beleaguered and self-loathing world of privilege.  This single volume collects the first four novels—Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother’s Milk, . . .  —to coincide with the publication of At Last, the final installment of this unique novel cycle.  By turns harrowing and hilarious, these beautifully written novels dissect the English upper class as we follow Patrick Melrose’s story from child abuse to heroin addiction and recovery.

Never Mind, the first novel, unfolds over a day and an evening at the family’s chateaux in the south of France, where the sadistic and terrifying figure of David Melrose dominates the lives of his five-year-old son, Patrick, and his rich and unhappy American mother, Eleanor.

From abuse to addiction, the second novel, Bad News opens as the twenty-two-year-old Patrick sets off to collect his father’s ashes from New York, where he will spend a drug-crazed twenty-four hours.

And back in England, the third novel, Some Hope, offers a sober and clean Patrick the possibility of recovery.

The fourth novel, . . .  Mother’s Milk, returns to the family chateau, where Patrick, now married and a father himself, struggles with child rearing, adultery, his mother’s desire for assisted suicide, and the loss of the family home to a New Age foundation.

After finishing this book, I went straight on to the next one, At Last, which is the final installment in the saga, and I finished this one around February 7th.

 At Last begins as friends, relatives, and foes trickle in to pay final respects to Patrick’s mother, Eleanor.   An American heiress, Eleanor married into the British aristocracy, giving up the grandeur of her upbringing for “good works” freely bestowed on everyone but her own son, who finds himself questioning whether his transition to a life without parents will indeed be the liberation he had so long imagined.  The service ends, and family and friends gather for a final party.   Amid the social niceties and social horrors, Patrick begins to sense the prospect of release from the extremes of his childhood, and at the end of the day, alone in his room, the promise some form of safety . . .  at last.

“Edward St. Aubyn offers a window into a world of utter decadence, amorality, greed, snobbery, and cruelty—welcome to the declining British aristocracy.”

I thoroughly enjoyed these amazing books.  And here is an interesting interview with the author, Edward St. Aubyn.  He says here, “The whole Melrose series is an attempt to tell the truth, and is based on the idea that there is some salutary or liberating power in telling the truth . . . . But I can still say what I think is true – that I have spent 22 years trying to transform painful lived experience into what I hope is pleasurable reading experience. The intention was to make a work of art rather than a confession.”  I think these books are definitely a work of art.

1/20/13 – Started reading “The Scar” by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko.  The jacket copy says,

“Stylistically reminiscent of Robin Hobb [who is one of my absolute favorite authors], and with a haunting and ominous imagination similar to Michael Moorcock [another one of my favorite authors]‘s, The Scar tells a story that cannot be forgotten.”

“Rich, vivid, tactile prose, with a solid yet unpredictable plot – and an extraordinary depth and intensity of character reminiscent of the finest Russian literature.”

Sounds like my kind of book!

1/24/13 – and I finished this book last night.  A very good book – I love the way it is written; the language is wonderful.  Here’s a sample that I liked:

“Cowards were disgusting and despicable.  More than once, Egert had observed others being cowards; he had seen the outward signs of their fear: pallor, uncertainty, trembling knees.  He now knew how his own cowardice looked.  Fear was a monstrosity, worthless and insignificant when viewed from the outside, but when seen from within, it was an executioner, a tormentor of irresistible power.”

Today, January 1, I started reading The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. 

And today, January 12th, I finished it. I really enjoyed this book; I particularly liked reading about the various parts of the world and history connected with these places.  And the idea that Dracula is real was quite convincing!