Patrick Melrose: The Novels (The Patrick Melrose Novels) Paperback – May 8, 2018

I read these when they first came out, and just re-read them to see if they held up. They were even better on re-reading. This is a sometimes scorchingly honest look at self and others, a story of a man’s attempt to come to terms with a very painful childhood and family legacy. Highly recommend for any fans of VERY dark humor who are not put off by gore. It put me in mind of the movie Trainspotting (I have not read the book), although the social scope is much broader. Fans of peeks into upper-class British life (the book “Snobs,” for example, or “The Crown”) who also are interested in the impact of childhood trauma may also find that they enjoy this.

This is a collection of books 1-5 of the Patrick Melrose series.I struggle to rate this series because there were so many good things about this series, I loved Patrick's sarcasm and his humor and I loved the philosophy and the depth so much of this was written in. This captured so much about humanity and life. It was lovely. At the same time this also had a lot of parts I felt dragged a bit for me and so many characters that were terribly shallow that I didn't care for. This was a definitely an above average read for me but I also can't say it is a personal favorite.The summaries of the books are as follows:NEVERMIND: This is the first book in the series and takes place when Patrick is 5 years old. We first meet his father and mother before we meet the carefree Patrick who is playing by the well. We quickly see that his father is cruel and abusive and his mother is completely uninvolved as she too is victimized by Patrick's father.This was a really good introduction to Patrick's childhood and the people that surrounded him. Mostly toxic people, the books introduced several couples. The most confusing thing about this is that they didn't always tell me who these people were in relation to the Melrose family until later on. It sometimes felt they were on a tangent and I didn't know where it was headed. Overall a really good start to the series.BADNEWS: We meet back up with Patrick when he is in his early twenties, just after he has discovered his father has died. He travels to the states in a herione induced stupor to retrieve his father's body. Patrick seems okay with his father's death because he had the abused that was inflicted upon him during his childhood.This was the first episode in the showtime series and the one we have been seeing the most promos for. This made us realize early on the damage that was done to an innocent child as Patrick tries to self medicate by popping pills and shooting up cocaine and heroine. This was the most entertaining of the stories and my favorite one of the bunch.SOME HOPE: We meet Patrick again in his thirties, as a recovering drug addict who is still trying to find alternate ways to heal from his past. This story takes us to a social gathering with other English high society members.This story went deeper into some of the dynamics of the English high society and we start to see patterns emerge that are common conduct to others in this realm.MOTHER'S MILK: This time we are introduced to the story by Robert, Patrick's son. He is an articulate and observant child who delves in to what I mean to be connected to a mother. This becomes a sort of philosophy all it own and we see where Patrick falls on this continum. Patrick, never having had a strong bond with his mother, feels both the pull of his wife to his children and his desire to be a good father and offer them the things he never had. His relationship with his wife is strained by this especially by the second son, Thomas who forms a closers bond.This is the longest book of the series, and while it is important to see who Patrick is in relation to his mother, it was tedious read as there was so many details I felt had been brushed over before.AT LAST: Patrick is now in his late thirties and is attending a funeral. This was a suitable wrap up for the series as we get to re-meet many people we have already met in previous stories.While I enjoyed this addition it was some more review to things we had touched upon before.

After watching Jennifer Jason Leigh's interview on The Talk and an excerpt from a new series - Patrick Melrose - I was intrigued enough to read the book. She stated that the story line was of a woman who is terrified of her abusive husband but cannot leave the marriage. She thought the book and writing was humorous (!) and the story was compelling.If you like English novels and a look into lives of indolence and the prices that are paid for lack of purpose, then you may like this collection of stories. The chapters are well written and the dialogue is the foundation of the storytelling. The setting includes a cast of characters who are the product of inherited wealth and the result of dwindling resources when subsequent generations fail to work. Marrying to preserve their lock on luxury sometimes succeeds and sometimes results in misery. Coping with the reality of their lifestyles coming to an end by being disinherited or finding out that the family funds are running dry made me glad I am an American.In the USA there are still paths to lives worth living as well as the potential of creating personal wealth without the snobbery of comparison to those who may have inherited wealth through an accident of birth.Lynn S.

I bought this book because Benedict Cumberbatch was making a series for television and he said he'd read the books in the past and they were great. I didn't have the same experience. While the man had horrible and prolonged experiences with his father in his childhood (which I know effects people their whole lives), I still I thought he wallowed in self pity and used it as an excuse to be a wastrel instead of getting help and trying not to let it ruin his life. These events occurred before people talked about such things in public, but still after reading a couple of the books (they are all short, a continuing story), I found him pathetic and distasteful. I finished them all to see what happened, but donated the book to the library rather than keep it for my collection. I tried to watch Benedict C.'s series, but seeing it brought to life by this great actor, only made my repulsion to all the characters in the book more so and I only watched one episode. In all, I could have missed the whole experience.