Having, seen the film, I wanted to read the book!
Well, it might have been the book of the film, rather than the other way around. the plot was exactly the same, even the words people said in the film were lifted straight from here.
It's a small book by any standards, and very well-written. Somehow, I wasn't expecting that. Having seen the film of course helped to picture what was going on, so no need for a picture to be painted in words - but it was.
If you haven't seen the film, the plot is slightly Evelyn Waugh - reminded me of Bridehead Revisited. It's basically a decline and fall tale in a "how are the mightly laid low" sort of way. No-one comes out of it particularly well, even the narrator who, one is left feeling, is well-meaning but a bit wet. I don't feel the main female character is very well-drawn, though others are. Clever devices, such as (convincingly, it has to be said) revealing information which should come out later in the story are used to circumvent the problem of a first-person narrative having access only to things (s)he personally has seen. This device is presumably what led to the whole story appearing as a flashback in the recent film.
I would definitely recommend this if you've enjoyed the film, or even if you haven't seen it yet.
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