Patrick Melrose Never Mind, Edward St Aubyn

August 2023

Took this along on holiday as a blockbuster summer read. It sounded just what I needed my brain to sink into - desperate posh addicts destroying themselves and everyone around them over elaborate dinners in fabulous French châteaux. It is all of these things, with Edward St Aubyn’s impeccable style, keen pacing, great humour and stunning linguistic acrobatics. But all the characters are so damn awful. Horrible. I mean really, really, vile. It’s like the anti Cazalet Chronicles.

My copy collects three very short novels into one version, so I’ve left it in Portugal to read next summer, and will spend a devilish day with the awful Melrose family once more.

I know I wouldn’t have cared how grotesque they all are five or ten years ago. I still find it entertaining. And as I’ve said St Aubyn is brilliant. But this isn’t the stuff sweet dreams are made of.