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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Last but not Least, 27 Jul 2007
Patrick Hamilton wrote the three stories concerning the nefarious activities of Ernest Ralph Gorse - 'The West Pier' (1951), 'Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse' (1953) and 'Unknown Assailant' (1955) towards the end of his life. If fact they were the last of his novels to see publication.
Anyone who knows anything of Hamilton's life will know that by this time he was totally lost in the alcoholic addiction that was to lead to his untimely death a few years later (1962). How he managed to produce work of this magnificent calibre under such conditions is a mystery which can only be explained by the fact that what he did he did to perfection.
What he did was to put a variety of people - the slum-beauty Esther Downes, the Colonel's widow Mrs Plumleigh-Bruce, under the microscope and report their every flaw with the intensest scrutiny. He was a 'dissector of English life' (Keith Waterhouse).
Most reviewers rave about 'Hangover Square' and 'The Slaves of Solitude', the two major works of Hamilton's middle period but, in my opinion, neither of these can compare with two of the three novels in this trilogy.
If 'The West Pier' is comical in its portrayal of schoolboy life and its reporting of the absurities of young couples 'getting off' in 1920s Brighton, then 'Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse' is the funniest thing Hamilton ever wrote. It is humourous in its atomised view of pub life, and the way Gorse deceives the obnoxious but intensely real Mrs Plumleigh-Bruce.
'Unknown Assailant', unfortunately, reveals that, by 1955, Hamilton had completely lost his genius. It is difficult to see that it could have come from the same pen as the two preceding novels in this set. However, if you are a completist like me then you will want it simply because it is Hamilton.
By all means read 'Hangover Square' and 'The Slaves of Solitude' but do not, DO NOT, neglect these three remarkable products of Patrick Hamilton's quirky genius.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
bleak genius, 24 Oct 2007
I totally agree with Nemo about 'Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse'. It is funny beyond belief and so wonderfully cynical - or realistic, in my opinion - about human nature. No redemption possible for these characters - ! which is incredibly refreshing and, somehow, adult to read. Having read pretty much all his work I think that Hamilton is one of the great stylists of the twentieth century. Hard to recommend him highly enough.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Gorse Trilogy - minor variations on the same theme, 3 Jun 2009
This book consists of three novels, set in the 1920s and 1930s, which deal with the exploits of one Ernest Ralph Gorse and his fleecing of gullible women's money.
The first novel,'The West Pier',finds Gorse in Brighton where he takes Esther Downes under his wing. This is the most successful of the three novels. Hamilton is good at portraying the way teenagers interact with each other and how people can control and manipulate others by their actions and words (or, indeed, the lack of actions and words). There is a real sense of inevitability about the progress of the novel to its conclusion as the reader sympathises with the fate of the naive and stupid Esther.
The second novel 'Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse' explores the same territory, but this time Gorse is based in Reading and his target is a middle-aged woman, Joan Plumleigh-Bruce. For me, this novel is not as engrossing as the first, as it covers many of the same themes. Most of the novel is dialogue, which Hamilton is good at doing, as befits the successful playwright who wrote 'Rope' and 'Gaslight'. Three quarters of the way through the novel, Hamilton decides to introduce the diary entries of one of the characters to explain the action. This didn't work for me, certainly not at this late stage, where it holds up the natural flow of events. There are sections where two characters, Stimpson and Parry, ruminate on the crossword puzzles and poems they are compiling; these are tedious and add nothing either to our knowledge of the characters or the development of the plot. Some descriptive passages stand out: for example, Hamilton's description of the furnishings and fittings of a semi-detached house in Reading are spot-on as an example of a type of middle class decor. There is a twist towards the end of the novel which is satisfying.
The third novel finds Gorse targeting another victim, only this time it does seem at one point that he may not get away with it. There is very much a sense of Hamilton going over old ground here and a feeling of events being rushed.
Maybe it was a mistake to read three novels with such similar themes, one after the other. If one was to read certainly the first two in isolation, they would make for very satisfying reading experiences and 'The West Pier', in particular, is excellent.
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