Nizoral just wasn’t working
The Patrick Melrose series… selectively…
You may not have Sky Atlantic, so be a bit allergic to the fuss that is being made about Benedict Cumberbatch’s epic performance in this TV adaptation of the Edward St Aubyn novels.
But it is great – everything about the show is mesmerising. I didn’t want it to end so sought out the original material.
The series is based on some shortish books known as “The Patrick Melrose novels” and I have approached them with a terror and trepidation that you might use when crossing a minefield in, like, Cambodia or deal with an unexploded WWII bomb discovered underneath playground of a primary school.
I say that because, if you don’t already know, the story contains child abuse and torture of the sort I’m really not okay with reading or knowing about and do not want to stumble across a lot of detail.
I’m simply not one of those people who thinks that it is part of one’s humanitarian duty to really get face to face with, say, exactly the kinds of things that happened in the Holocaust or in Serbia.
I’m quite alright not knowing, thanks! I can imagine.
I often turn, out of the corner of my eye, a coat hanging on a peg into a man coming to kill me and regularly jump at small noises. It’s a sort of gift. I don’t need exact details to freak out about anything.
Anyway the books! They are, in order:
Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother’s Milk, At Last.
If you are squeamish about child abuse, I have vetted for you Some Hope and Simon Conway read Bad News and we enjoyed them both enormously and there was only very fleeting references to awful stuff; mostly it was fabulous writing and highly entertaining social satire about how miserable rich people are – and who doesn’t want to read about that?
I started At Last, but to my mind it wasn’t his best stuff; I’m not touching Never Mind with a barge pole.
This works best if you have already seen some of the TV series and would like to re-live the glory in your own time. But if you haven’t seen it, a bit of imagination will probably do the trick.
I was so tempted by these as someone said they were excellent but totally put off for the same reasons. I didn’t read any of Kate Atkinson’s detective novels because the first one started with something happening to a child. NOPE! I can imagine one of those black stringy things you get floating in your eye is someone coming to kill me. (I don’t know if this means I need a psychiatrist or an optometrist) So thanks for being the canary in the mine.
The writing is wonderful, but the story is so painful. (I think BC is amazing, and I can’t tear my eyes away from Holliday Granger)
I found the Melrose novels wonderfully written and brutal in many places. But, if you want to read more St. Aubyn, do try Lost for Words, his satire about publishing and literary awards. It’s delightful.
Thanks Georgia I definitely will
Isn’t the series just absolutely superb?! I was totally captivated by all of it although I did find those seriously garish screens with ‘Patrick Melrose’ emblazoned on them at the beginning and end of each episode properly migraine-inducing. Have downloaded the books onto my kindle for upcoming break to the US – I deal with quite a lot of abuse/addiction stuff for my job so hoping it’s not too much like reading more case papers (rather more witty and glamorous, I’m hoping)!
Enjoyed reading this old New Yorker article about the author earlier this week: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/02/inheritance – mind slightly blown at the idea of doing $5k of drugs a week and surviving!!!
Abi I LOVED those garish screens!!! How funny you identified them as horrid. I totally get it of course. I regarded them as a kind of queasy juxtaposition with the lavish interiors/locations/clothes
Really?! they made me feel so nauseous I actually had to look away!! But yes, totally agree with you – I thought the use of colour and light throughout was v clever. I read something in the Times where the production designer had said that all of the dresses in episode two were inspired by the colours of a fig. Use of silence also v clever – that scene in episode two where the camera pans silently around the house in France was so powerful. Ah, I could have watched at least another five episodes!
me too me tooooo!!!!!
I did read the Edward St Aubyn series which I found disturbing at times, but his writing is superb. I loved Patrick’s precocious children. Looking forward to watching the series.
Susan it’s FANTASTIC, you will really enjoy it, it’s very faithful to the books
I’m squeamish too about this stuff, but in this case I think it’s worth it. You just gotta be brave and do it from book one. It’s only a few pages, and without it, you’re not getting who all the later characters are and why you care?