Past Imperfect

This story was mezerizing, engrossing and thoroughly entertaining. I laughed, cried, cringed, and lived through it all right along with the characters. Many who complain of the lengthy descriptions aren’t reading the book for what it is. It was the impartation of the philosophy of English upper class and what they went through in the tumultuous sixties and seventies and what it did to shape what British society is today. He is brilliant. Every word was selected to mean something. But then, one must actually care about British society to appreciate his painstaking presentation of that portion of history from that perspective. It was the unraveling of a culture and the rewinding it back up again. It was not only how it affected those caught up in the times but also how it has created what it has become. Take the time to read this book slowly and see it from the eyes of one who lived through it. It is pure gold.

Julian Fellows writes novels as spell binding as his films. He has his own generation of aristocrats down to a tee. The narrarator is quite objective and a good man to his group of friends who gather for The Season in 1960's London. We learn about the individual characters of this group, and watch the evolution of the narrarator's unrequited love for one of the girls. The characters are about the sixth year of "the baby boom" and it's especially fun to follow them into middle age. The horrible evening that is referred to throughout the book is almost anti climatic to the remainder of the story, but it does give the reader an idea of the still youthful attitude of the crowd. Fellow's other novel could be the same group in a different circumstances. Reading both is a good idea. One book compliments the other. American readers will be fascinated by the tiny details of upper class British life which Fellow shares as one would an important but inside secret. I wanted to grab a pen and write them down as guidance of what Not to do in Britain. I found six - you might find more. And, American's shouldn't be huffy about the aristocratic and social climbing parents in the book. I see young people now are marrying later in life when they have experienced how well they can live. Many are examining their potential spouses for more than romantic love and considering what compromises would be necessary to live the life they imagine for themselves. The book is filled with memories, songs of the period,a treasure hunt and is thought provoking. Very well titled!!

In PAST IMPERFECT by Julian Fellowes, we have an unnamed narrator who is contacted by a former friend, Damian Baxter, to locate a woman who he believed gave birth to his child in 1968.Our narrator reluctantly agrees to this request and begins his quest in a very reflective state of mind and discovers as much about himself (past and present) as he does about the members of a debutante group he was a part of in the late 60s.The story is a bit long, but interesting, detailed, witty and a bit sad.As with Julian Fellowes’ book, SNOBS, the story is told against the backdrop of English class and society. I liked the details of London in the 1960s. I liked the book’s cover art. I became a bit reflective, myself, about past friends and experiences. A great read.

Can the writer who supplies Downton Abbey with so many plot lines transition to the contained form of the novel? My reply is a resounding "Yes!" Fellowes casts his gimlet eye on contemporary British society in transition as the political power of the aristocracy fades, their mores relax, yet within their set, ancient customs with regard to marriage and family subtly persist and prevail. The characters are as finely drawn and their motivations as keenly observed as those in DA. While not really a page-turner-- or clicker on the Kindle-- PI is definitely a compelling narrative and the action culminates in an emotionally and intellectually satisfying way. The author who supplies Maggie Smith with all those brilliant one-liners expresses his protagonist's insights with the same wit and concision. I give PI all 5 stars, but beyond that, my highest compliment: it is re-readable.

This novel is set in the 1990s and in the late 1960s, telling the story of the young gentry of England who came of age in the 1960s and 70s, the last generation that still had a season, and followed many of the unspoken rules of their class; in which young women had no expectations other than marrying well and having children. The narrator is our guide to this world and the bridge to the new one as he embarks on a mission to help the dying Damian, a "common" man who made a fortune, and a former friend turned enemy. The narrator journeys in memory into the fateful season of 1968, and in fact into finding his friends from that time, in order to discover the identity of Damian's now adult child, and heir to his enormous fortune. During the course of the novel, he reviews his own life in light of new information as well as memory, and in the changes in society, including the notion of class, expectations, youth and maturity.The book is a good read, if not a page-turner. It's chock full of detail, snobbery, dinner parties, house parties, cogent observations, and Brits being Brits.

While I realize that Jillian Fellows has currently corned the market on our inner Anglophilia I was nonetheless drawn into this book. It's historical presentation of an 'end of an era' was both nostalgic and insightful. I generally attribute Fellows with more shallow and superficial posturing but I felt a true authenticity in the narrators voice. He was honest, self aware, introspective and all too human. While there was a bit too much Conservative party preaching with poorly disguised disdain for the tenets of the labor party, the primary characters were each wtitten with compassion and complexity. The plot devise was contrived but in the end satisfying ( though predictable) I really enjoyed this insight into the upper class system and recommend the book as both a good read and a learning experience. My opinion of Mr Fellows has grown as a result

I've read this book three times over the years and loved it every time. I lived in London in the 60s and it brought back many happy memories. Julian Fellows has such an eye for detail this is as important as the story itself for me.

I like this author. It is about English gentry but written with much humour and I enjoyed the read very much. I have read several of Julian Fellowe's books and I like his writing style.

A very enjoyable journey through some almost unbelievably embarrassing but amusing events of the personal history of many of us who weathered our youth and the shifting of classes in the sixties and seventies. The book takes a little time to take off and get into the nitty-gritty, so to speak but, as always, Fellows "comes out" with his usual elegant brilliance and manages to round the story off very satisfactorily.

La description de la société anglaise toujours aussi parfaite. Sensibilité et non sensiblerie. Émotion sans exagération. Parfait. À lire absolument quand on apprécie la littérature et l'histoire anglaise.

Eine spannende Geschichte, die interessante Einblicke in die englische High Society gewährt.