Patrick Melrose

Bookseller recommendation

“St. Aubyn brilliantly captures the interior struggles of a man plagued by family trauma. Haunted by an emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive father, an emotionally absent mother, and the subsequent anger, drug abuse, alcoholism, and self loathing that followed - Patrick Melrose is, perhaps surprisingly, one of the most sympathetic and relatable characters in modern literature. Underneath all of this horror and trauma, there is hope, and humor. Maybe because hope and humor are what help so many people navigate that terror, and that trauma. Patrick perseveres through many a stumbling block and relapse, through moments of extreme selfishness, through times of blindness to those in his life, but first and foremost he perseveres with the desire not to pass on the legacy of cruelty and abuse he inherited. This series is dark, and a rough read at times, but it’s also one of the most brilliantly written pieces of fiction I’ve ever read. It could be the way the words are woven together, the intense looks into Patrick’s interior narrative at his darkest moments, the humor peppered throughout the stories that is never inappropriate but somehow always necessary and perfectly placed - or maybe it’s all of those things that makes this series one of the most impactful reads of my adult life.”

— Amy • Changing Hands