Last Friends Author: Visit Amazon's Jane Gardam Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1609450930 | Format: PDF
Last Friends Description
From Booklist
Last Friends brings to a close Jane Gardam’s lauded series that includes Old Filth (2006) and The Man in the Wooden Hat (2011). Like its predecessors, this final installment examines the complex world of British class, empire, and the social circles that bring them together. Gardam tells of the rise and fall of Terry Veneering, the son of a mysterious Russian acrobat and a rough-and-tumble local girl living in the English midlands. As a child, Veneering is exposed to the ugly side of the British upper class and narrowly escapes death during the Blitz in WWII. Disgusted by the attitudes of the English gentry, and with his hometown destroyed in the war, Veneering sets off to remake himself in the Far East, only to return to England under suspicion. Gardam’s previous novels have brought her acclaim in England, and with the right mix of publicity and word-of-mouth support, American readers, too, will respond to her witty style, insatiable readability, and cast of strange and amazing characters. --Heather Paulson
Review
"Gardam is the best British writer you've never heard of"
--Maureen Corrigan, NPR
"Jane Gardam is a wonderful writer. Her understanding of character and use of language are both remarkable"
--The Times
"Old Filth belongs in the Dickensian pantheon of memorable characters."
--New York Times Sunday Book Review
See all Editorial Reviews
- Series: Old Filth Trilogy
- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Europa Editions; 1 edition (April 2, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1609450930
- ISBN-13: 978-1609450939
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
(4.5 stars) The last novel of an unforgettable trilogy, LAST FRIENDS follows, first, OLD FILTH, the story of Sir Edward Feathers, who Failed in London, Tried Hongkong; hence his nickname. A Raj orphan, Filth grew up in Malaya, went to school in England, became a judge, and then worked for the Empire as a member of the foreign service. The second novel, THE MAN IN THE WOODEN HAT, is the story of Filth's marriage to Betty, told from her point of view. Betty, who never really loved Filth, is reputed to have had an affair with Sir Terence Veneering, Filth's life-long rival in every aspect of life. Both of these novels are filled with wit, irony, and insights into people and relationships, especially those who serve the Empire overseas, and author Jane Gardam's ability to create scenes and unforgettable, often wry dialogue is almost unparalleled.
LAST FRIENDS, the third novel, is ostensibly the story of Sir Terence Veneering, a man of mysterious origins, Filth's rival and possibly Betty's lover. The novel opens as the villagers of St. Ague in Dorset, to which all three retired years ago, are preparing to travel to London for Old Filth's funeral, Betty and Veneering having passed on some time ago. The irrepressible Old Dulcie Williams, the village elder and widow of "Pastry Willy" Williams, a judge who was also in the foreign service, becomes the "voice" of the novel. Clearly dotty, and never shy, Dulcie provides the backstories of these characters, though she "sees" events which may or may not be real, has conversations with people who are long dead, and ignores anything (like the increasingly urgent communications from the bank) that might possibly complicate her life. She is joined in St.
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