book data
348 ratings, 3.55 average rating, 22 reviews
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published
2002
(first published 1996)
by Random House of Canada
binding
Paperback, 304 pages
literary awards
Booker Prize Winner 1996; 1998 IMPAC Dublin Award Nominee
isbn
0679312110
(isbn13: 9780679312116)
description
From the author of Waterland and Ever After, Last Orders is a quiet but dazzling novel about a group of men, friends since the Second World Wa...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 494)
Read in November, 2008
Four grown men and the follies of their lives and relationships, and the love that ties and keeps them all together. They carry the ashes around from the bar to the meadows to the cathedral and to the end of a dirty old pier and each tells his own story along the way.
It's an easy read, but read the first 50 pages straight through or else you'll get confused about who's who like I did and have to re-read them. The relationships are complex and interwoven and riddled with deceit and disappoi...more
It's an easy read, but read the first 50 pages straight through or else you'll get confused about who's who like I did and have to re-read them. The relationships are complex and interwoven and riddled with deceit and disappoi...more
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let's stop in for a pint. jack would've wanted it. jack would've expected it.
brilliant.
brilliant.
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1 comment
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
social realists
The weird thing about this book is I must have started reading it once before and forget that. Either that or I was having major deja vu, which quite honestly could be the case. I knew so many details that I otherwise can't explain. Maybe I read a review when it was published?
Anyway, the book was enjoyable, but definitely didn't seem to me like a Booker Prize winner. (I preferred Seamus Deane's "Reading in the Dark," which was shortlisted the same year.) Life could be beautiful, bu...more
Anyway, the book was enjoyable, but definitely didn't seem to me like a Booker Prize winner. (I preferred Seamus Deane's "Reading in the Dark," which was shortlisted the same year.) Life could be beautiful, bu...more
recommends it for:
Mrs. Samuel
Mrs. Samuel was my English teacher when I was twelve and I only put her name down because I'm tired of thinking of specific people to whom I want to recommend EACH BOOK. I recommend this to all of you, folks, all of you. Gavin is right (and I'm not just saying that because he said I was right about Waterland): this is a lovely novel, narrated by a bunch of old men and some other people. No, seriously, the old men are lovely. It's like you're sitting with each of them at a pub and hearing his...more
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Read in February, 2008
Follows four English men who are trying to carry out thier friend's "last request" - to scatter his ashes at a specific location. Of course, it is much more about the relationships between the four men, an exploration into male friendship and loyalty, than about the ashes or where they end up.
A quiet book. Not alot of action, but the characters are fairly well created. My problem with it is that I didn't really connect well enough with any of the men, so while I enjoyed reading ...more
A quiet book. Not alot of action, but the characters are fairly well created. My problem with it is that I didn't really connect well enough with any of the men, so while I enjoyed reading ...more
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Read in April, 2004
Usually I hate it when books use different narrators and give you a big announcement when the narrator is changing. I like to think that I am clever enough to figure out who is speaking on my own (patting myself on the back). But with Last Orders, it really works. The characters are wonderful, Graham Swift is an excellent writer, and they even managed to make a good movie version of the book. (When in doubt, always cast Michael Caine - can't go wrong.)
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The first 30 pages are a challenge, but if you can eventually figure out who is speaking (there are several narratives) and what that person is speaking about (there are decades-long relationships to unravel), Graham Swift's novel about friends carrying out the last wishes of a departed companion is rich and rewarding. This novel leaves you wishing you could continue as part of this circle of friends whose intimacy you feel you have earned.
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Not quite as dreary as "Waterland", but not exactly unadulterated reading pleasure either. This was the second book by Graham Swift that I've read, and I think it will be my last. Though he obviously appeals to British readers and critics, judging by his regular showing on the Booker shortlist, his work strikes me as somewhat parochial, limiting its potential to appeal to a broader audience.
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I've read this book several times, and love the way the story is told from the different perspectives -- and distinct 'voices' of the men who are the main characters. The book captures an area of London and a set of class experiences at a particular point in time, and also has a lot to say about friendships among men, and father son relationships.
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Read in July, 2008
some lines and passages in this book about two friends, an adopted son, a wife, and an undertaker dealing with the ashes of a man who died on the brink of changing his life (or was he?) are so deep and truthful that they almost hurt. the story builds in short narrative episodes told from different perspectives. won the Booker prize.
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Read in January, 2006
Loved this book. The book is very dialog-driven but a lot also takes place in the memories of the principle characters as they remember their friend. The characters and their lives are so believable. You really can see people like the characters in this book in the world around you.
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Read in January, 2008
Finely constructed tale of a bunch of mates (geezers, innit) carrying out the last wishes of one of their number. Fragmented storytelling that doesn't negatively impact the narrative - good stuff. Recommended if you're after something plain-speaking with hidden depth.
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Read in August, 2007
This Booker prize winning title, tells the tale of four friends on a journey to fulfill the last request of one of thier mates. This group has been together for a long time, but they must overcome thier history on this one last day together.
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Very good and poignant book about men's friendships and relationships. I also liked the book's structure with the narrative switching by chapter. Pay close attention, as important story points are hidden in small details.
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Read in November, 1996
Cathy wrote: "won the Booker Prize the week after I stole it out of a box full of comps." (She was working at the UT co-op bookstore, I think. Or else Borders.)
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Read in January, 2005
A tale of a group of aging men who have been friends for years - one of them has just died - I liked the characters...overall a nice story.
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Hardcover. First US Edition.
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