Friday 21 August 2020

The Last Weekend by Blake Morrison

 

"So to recap: on a late October night in my second year at uni I meet Daisy and ask her out."

If you've been reading my reviews you will know my list ticking insanity. I've never met a top 10 list on The Guardian that I didn't immediately want to finish. So this novel was the last one for me from Tim Lott's Top 10 summers in fiction list and what a fantastic list it was.

This novel is peopled by some generally unlikeable people. The narrator, Ian,  is married to Emily and yet still carries a torch for his love from university,Daisy. This is despite the fact that she is married to his best friend from university. Naturally Daisy's husband, Ollie, not only got the girl, but has a jealousy inducing more successful career and lifestyle. 

Appearances can be deceiving and a couple's weekend away unearths the secret of Ollie's terminal cancer diagnosis and a large wager between the two men. Is Ollie telling the truth,?Can Ian be relied upon as a narrator? Is something terrible going to happen?

Well I guess you will have to pick up a copy to find out. This has a somewhat Hitchcock-light feel to it and while aspects were fantastic, I was disappointed that I could predict what was going to happen. The thriller aspect built slowly and then just fizzled a little for me. I don't think I cared enough about the characters and that dulled the story's impact. It still is an engaging read and I'm nit-picking.


4 out of 5, the good thing about being single is no smug couple weekends.

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