From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die…
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I hadn't even heard of Patrick Hamilton, and I realise this is an omission, particularly since it turns out he was also a playwright (Rope, Gaslight). I sometimes worry about these gaps in my education.
This book reminded me of Somerset Maugham in its evocation of a sense of place and time, locations, dialogue, habits. 1939 and the war about to start. Lives lived in boarding houses and dingy pubs, too much to drink, friends that do you no favours. A nice man devotedly pursues an absolute bitch of ...more
This book reminded me of Somerset Maugham in its evocation of a sense of place and time, locations, dialogue, habits. 1939 and the war about to start. Lives lived in boarding houses and dingy pubs, too much to drink, friends that do you no favours. A nice man devotedly pursues an absolute bitch of ...more

I'm not certain I'd see this movie, but what a book. The protagonist is unreliable; it's best if we stay in his point of view because if you got an outsider's look at the pathos of it all you'd walk away in disgust. He is a dumb son of a bitch all right, and the love interest he sweats over doesn't have a clue about him other than that he has a wallet.
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Jul 12, 2008
Darcy
marked it as to-read

Jan 22, 2009
Tim
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Mar 28, 2010
Empyrio
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Apr 25, 2011
Briggs
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Jan 02, 2014
C.L.
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Feb 08, 2025
Emilie
marked it as to-read