The Old Romantic

Starred review from November 22, 2010
Dean's very British fourth novel (after The Idea of Love) is a grimly hilarious family saga in which an old curmudgeon faces his mortality. Ken Goodyew, a working-class bloke who believes he is at the end of his life, sets out to settle his affairs. Spewing vitriol in every direction, he calls upon his social-climbing son, Gary—now known as Nick, a dapper country gentleman—and Nick's hapless little brother, Dave, first to help him spurn his second wife, the unnervingly thrifty June, and then to find the boys' mother, Pearl. Ken also spends a good chunk of time shadowing undertaker Audrey as she fetches, dresses, and embalms bodies, in order to come to some conclusion about the right way to die. But after June's out of the picture and Pearl is found—hospitalized—Ken's desire to make sense of things profoundly affects his sons, leading to a denouement that perfectly balances humor and poignancy. Dean, with her superb ear for language and class nuance, gives readers the essence of contemporary British life in this touching and funny family portrait.

November 15, 2010

A dark yet sometimes rocking comedy from British social satirist Dean (The Idea of Love, 2009, etc.) about a posh British lawyer who has spent most of his life running away from his crude, working-class family.

His parents divorced after teenager Nick, already an intellectual golden boy embarrassed by his parents, ratted out his father Ken for adultery. Nick's sweet-natured, less favored younger brother Dave went to live with Ken, while Nick stayed with their eccentric, angry mom Pearl before he escaped to university. More than 20 years later, Dave, who has remained the family mediator, talks Nick into a reunion with Ken. At 80, Ken has decided he will be dying soon and wants Nick's help in divorcing his second wife June. By turns nasty and maudlin, Ken still infuriates Nick, but Nick is also feeling delayed guilt about his past behavior. On vacation with his live-in girlfriend, spa owner Astrid, Nick runs into a girlfriend he treated badly in his youth and faces what a snob he was even then. Mistakenly jealous and misreading Nick's feelings, Astrid is afraid that Nick will decamp if her looks and youth continue to fade. He worries that he is not up to playing stepfather to Astrid's troubled daughter Laura, to whom he has unexpectedly become devoted. Meanwhile, Ken's infatuation with a kindly middle-aged funeral-home director leads him to an unexpected meeting with Pearl and the rekindling of passion, no less intense for being geriatric. Some scenes—like Ken's trip with his sons to Wales in search of June, whom Ken (mistakenly) suspects has stolen his money—have a madcap energy reminiscent of Joyce Cary novels, while Nick and Astrid's complicated duet shows how difficult it can be to achieve intimacy. The rural working-class British dialect may be difficult for American readers to comprehend, but the tartly sweet rewards are worth the challenge.

Dean's acerbic affection for her characters and her social commentary are both spot-on and surprisingly poignant.

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December 1, 2010

After a long estrangement from his family, Nick, a Hastings solicitor, is invited by his brother to a dinner reunion with their eightysomething father, Ken. Growing up the favored son, whose charm and good grades helped get him into Cambridge, Nick left home at 18 and turned his back on the family. For his part, Ken, a gruff old codger, long divorced from his first wife, Pearl, and recently abandoned by his second wife, is lonely and increasingly preoccupied with his impending death. Their reunion and subsequent encounters with old friends and old wives is a wake-up call to both men that life is short and family matters. Their first meeting is all it takes for Ken to insinuate himself back into Nick's life, with frequent phone calls and requests for help. A surprise meeting between Ken and Pearl and a holiday to Sicily for Nick and his longtime girlfriend also lead them both to ever-closer family connections. VERDICT This novel's pitch perfect dialog, sparkling wit, and sharp observations of life, love and mortality make it a winner. Warmly recommended for fans of Mark Haddon and Nick Hornby. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/10.]--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

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