Last Friends

Starred review from April 8, 2013
Completing the trilogy begun by Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat, Gardam's impeccable finale revisits the triad of Edward "Old Filth" Feathers; his wife, Betty; and his rival (and Betty's lover), Terry Veneering. Although this third installation is ostensibly about Veneering, it is just as much about the minor characters these three have left in their wake. The novel begins at Old Filth's memorial service as Dulcie, widow of Judge William Willy, and Fred Fiscal-Smith, the perpetual hanger-on, share hazy reminiscences of their departed friends. As the two witness the last traces of the British Empire fade away, Gardam juxtaposes scenes from Veneering's impoverished childhood, describing the pains he took in order to escape class restrictions and become a respected lawyer. Though familiarity with the prior two installments of the trilogy is not necessary, readers entering the story at this late entry will miss much of the richness and depth of Gardam's narrative. They see themselves moving out of sync with the world around them, as one of the numerous geriatrics who populate this novel muses "Perhaps fiction was a mistake, it has rather fizzled out." But here Gardam proves that, even in its twilight, there is still life in the traditional English novel.

Starred review from February 1, 2013
Award-winning British author Gardam completes her superb Old Filth trilogy--Old Filth (2004) and The Man in the Wooden Hat (2009)--with Sir Terence Veneering's story. This third--and final--book about a love triangle involving two bitter rivals is exquisitely expressive. When Sir Terence and Sir Edward die within months of each other, only a few people at their memorial services can personally recall the details of the venerable yet tumultuous lives they led. But old Dulcie, widow of judge William Willy, and Sir Frederick Fiscal-Smith, perennial houseguest of the upper class, share fleeting recollections of earlier lives through reminisces that are clouded with the haze of old age. The author's two previous books focused on the stories of Sir Edward "Old Filth" Feathers and his wife, Betty. Gardam completes the trilogy by telling bits and pieces of Sir Terry Veneering's rise from an impoverished childhood to a life of distinction. Terry, born the son of Florrie, a coal vendor, and Russian-born Anton, a former acrobat and dancer whose career is cut short when he suffers an injury, is an intelligent youngster with an affinity for languages and a love of the sea. While roaming the beach one day, he meets a lawyer who helps him further his education. A fortuitous last-minute decision and some devastating news sends Terry to Ampleforth College and subsequently to sharing top honors on the bar exam finals with Sir Edward. Their rivalry, fired when they represent opposing sides in court and fueled by Sir Terry's love of Betty, endures until the twilight of their lives. Those who've read the first two books in the series will no doubt relish the opportunity to gain insight into the life of the third key player in the love story, but they'll also feel deeply moved by Dulcie and Fiscal-Smith, two relics of the old guard who recall a time in England when one's class restrictions were difficult to circumvent and surnames were of ultimate importance--regardless of accomplishments or financial circumstances. Impeccably written.

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May 15, 2013

The missing pieces in the life stories of Edward Feathers (also called Old Filth, for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong") and his archenemy, Terence Veneering, are provided by their contemporaries Dulcie Williams and Fred Fiscal-Smith, who find themselves attending the funeral of Sir Edward as the last survivors of a community of British expats from the postwar years in Hong Kong. Where Feathers started life blessed with good looks and good connections, Veneering (born Varenski) came by his luck more haphazardly--through self-invention, a protective mother, and benevolent patrons. Despite their divergent beginnings, the two have followed strikingly similar paths, both practicing commercial law in the Far East and both loving the same woman--Betty, Old Filth's wife. By equally strange coincidence, Feathers and Veneering ended their days back in England, living next door to each other. Seen through the eyes of their former friends and colleagues, their history is patched together and fleshed out. VERDICT What this final chapter in the Old Filth trilogy (Old Filth; The Man in the Wooden Hat) lacks in originality, it makes up for in the pleasures of reacquaintance; for all who loved Gardam's dear old eccentrics.--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2013
Last Friends brings to a close Jane Gardam's lauded series that includes Old Filth (2006) and The Man in the Wooden Hat (2011). Like its predecessors, this final installment examines the complex world of British class, empire, and the social circles that bring them together. Gardam tells of the rise and fall of Terry Veneering, the son of a mysterious Russian acrobat and a rough-and-tumble local girl living in the English midlands. As a child, Veneering is exposed to the ugly side of the British upper class and narrowly escapes death during the Blitz in WWII. Disgusted by the attitudes of the English gentry, and with his hometown destroyed in the war, Veneering sets off to remake himself in the Far East, only to return to England under suspicion. Gardam's previous novels have brought her acclaim in England, and with the right mix of publicity and word-of-mouth support, American readers, too, will respond to her witty style, insatiable readability, and cast of strange and amazing characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)