Last Friends

I absolutely loved “Old Filth”, the first book in what has become a trilogy written by Jane Gardam. This book not so much. This is the last of the three books and I am hoping that the middle one (The Man in the Wooden Hat) will make some of this one, “Last Friends” clearer.
Jane Gardam is a wonderful author and I love her style of writing that evokes laughter out loud. “Last Friends” does explain the relationships of the major characters, with an element of mystery. In the middle of the book, Gardam introduces a new character . . . a young boy and his life many years prior to the current day of the novel. For me it was a major interruption in the flow of the book. While it was a clever method of doing so, I would have appreciated another method.
However, all in all, a great story, artfully told.

Deel twee viel een beetje tegen, deel drie was weer een stuk beter. Dit deel behandeld voornamelijk “the day after” (nadat Filth en Veneering dood zijn) plus de vroege jaren van Veneering (met onder meer een Russische circus-artiest). Eigenlijk is Veneering een stuk interessanter dan Filth :-)