"He checked the pills again (lower right pocket) and then the envelope (inside left) and then the credit cards(outer left). This nervous action, which he sometimes performed every few minutes, was like a man crossing himself before an altar - the Drugs; the Cash; and the Holy Ghost of Credit."
The horrific events of Patrick Melrose's childhood described in Never Mind have been set aside in a swathe of vigorous drug taking. Patrick, in his twenties, is an enticing junkie.
A trip to pick up his father's ashes in New York, beginning with a hilarious Concorde flight, St Aubyn so evilly depicts the unpleasantness of flight next to a talkative bore.
Arriving in the 'States, Patrick's adventures are centered around reaching out to friends and potential paramours, but mostly scoring an ever growing supply of drugs which he surreptitiously partakes of throughout the novel. The eye patch, the dangerously unhygienic needles and the hilariously wacky pop culture riddled highs are strangely compelling and I simply can't wait to find where he lands next.
5 out of 5, this book will have you high on literature.
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