Past Imperfect
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Review
'Guaranteed page turners don't come much better than Past Imperfect...witty, intelligent and elegantly written' (SUNDAY HERALD )
'This delightful comedy of manners from a master of social satire is perceptive, acute and ultimately very poignant.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
'This delightful comedy of manners from a master of social satire is perceptive, acute and ultimately very poignant.' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
Review
Julian Fellowes has a wickedly keen eye for observing the habits of the upper classes ... Past Imperfect is intelligently and wittily written. (DAILY EXPRESS )
PAST IMPERFECT is a brilliant observation of the upper classes of society by Julian Fellowes....Julian is the perfect writer of this genre and his rendition on audio very definitely gives you a flavour of the atmosphere of the period.... An audio book to enjoy at leisure. (BOOK FIENDS KINGDOM www.bfkbooks.com )
thoroughly enjoyable. (Sue Arnold THE GUARDIAN ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
PAST IMPERFECT is a brilliant observation of the upper classes of society by Julian Fellowes....Julian is the perfect writer of this genre and his rendition on audio very definitely gives you a flavour of the atmosphere of the period.... An audio book to enjoy at leisure. (BOOK FIENDS KINGDOM www.bfkbooks.com )
thoroughly enjoyable. (Sue Arnold THE GUARDIAN ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I started off being just a little dubious about the cover plot summary and its implications. But Julian Fellowes not only knows his stuff he has the rare ability to conjure up an era with both great sincerity and a light touch. The marks of a good novel ( for me, at any rate) were all there: I genuinely cared about the characters-even those who were pretty obnoxious-
I could 'see' every moment with cinematic clarity ; detail was what it should be-detailed; the 'human condition' was clear for all to see but was portrayed with compassion and kindness and there was enough dry and wry humour scattered throughout to stop us taking ourselves too seriously.
It kept me engrossed throughout. A pretty near perfect novel.
I could 'see' every moment with cinematic clarity ; detail was what it should be-detailed; the 'human condition' was clear for all to see but was portrayed with compassion and kindness and there was enough dry and wry humour scattered throughout to stop us taking ourselves too seriously.
It kept me engrossed throughout. A pretty near perfect novel.
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this book. It evokes a world, that few of us have experienced, of aristocratic families and the social gatherings that underpinned the marriage-market of debutantes coming-out into 'Society'. It starts in the 1960s when this world was also changing and follows the lives of a group of bright young things who met at these gatherings. As with his Gosford Park, Julian Fellowes gently satirizes the foibles, petty snobberies and unearned privileges of this world. However the book is far more than this as there is a strong central story of a dying man's quest to find a son he didn't know he'd fathered until decades later and through this search the often sad and disappointing life stories of the central characters unfold and greatly enrich the book.
38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Past Imperfect" produced a profound feeling of ambivalence in me; on the one hand, I wanted to devour it, and on the other, I did not want it to end. With the first sentence, Julian Fellowes caught my attention; by the end of the first page, he had me hooked. As a consequence, I found it very difficult to put the book down for the next three days, as I navigated the intricacies of its complex plot. It was as if I were being conducted on a special tour by a knowledgeable guide into a fascinating and privileged world to which I would otherwise have no entry: aristocratic London of the 1960s, an era in which Bright Young Things--and a few Dim Bulbs--still danced the night away at debutante balls.
Such a topic might, at first glance, seem frivolous, but the author soon dispels this notion by tightening the strings of suspense, introducing and repeating a key word--a place name, which I shall not reveal--and then adroitly deferring the resolution until the last chapter. With lucid prose and sharply honed wit, he cuts through the pretense and pretensions of his characters, which are delineated so thoroughly that one comes to care for each of them. (They are, in fact, so well defined that I was already casting a BBC series in my head!). The book, furthermore, comments on both past and present, being peppered with clever allusions to literature, theatre, and politics, sometimes in a single phrase (e.g., "The Curious Case of Gordon Brown" [p. 406]).
I recommend this book as an antidote for sundry books that I've picked up lately, which seem to have been knocked off in a hurry for persons in a hurry. Plot-driven, such books are like fast food; they fill one up only momentarily. With its memorable characters, wit, and suspense, "Past Imperfect," which recaptures the flavor of a vanished era, will leave one both satisfied and nourished long after the book has been closed reluctantly for the last time.
Reviewed for Vine; Amazon.com
Such a topic might, at first glance, seem frivolous, but the author soon dispels this notion by tightening the strings of suspense, introducing and repeating a key word--a place name, which I shall not reveal--and then adroitly deferring the resolution until the last chapter. With lucid prose and sharply honed wit, he cuts through the pretense and pretensions of his characters, which are delineated so thoroughly that one comes to care for each of them. (They are, in fact, so well defined that I was already casting a BBC series in my head!). The book, furthermore, comments on both past and present, being peppered with clever allusions to literature, theatre, and politics, sometimes in a single phrase (e.g., "The Curious Case of Gordon Brown" [p. 406]).
I recommend this book as an antidote for sundry books that I've picked up lately, which seem to have been knocked off in a hurry for persons in a hurry. Plot-driven, such books are like fast food; they fill one up only momentarily. With its memorable characters, wit, and suspense, "Past Imperfect," which recaptures the flavor of a vanished era, will leave one both satisfied and nourished long after the book has been closed reluctantly for the last time.
Reviewed for Vine; Amazon.com
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
You Have to Have a Taste for That Kind of Thing
Julian Fellowes won the 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the ever-popular, British-set, period country house costume drama Gosford Park [DVD] [2002]. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stephanie DePue
Sorry, but I must agree.
Sorry, but I must agree with some of the other 'one star' reviewers.
I admire the obvious talent of this author with his screen plays such as Downton Abbey and many... Read more
I admire the obvious talent of this author with his screen plays such as Downton Abbey and many... Read more
Published 10 months ago by BERLIN DOC
"Back in the day"
Think having your grandfather rambling on about how things were in the good old days, only far less enjoyable, and you've more or less got the gist of what Past Imperfect is like. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Andrea Smith
The 1960s captured
This novel describes the 1960s that I knew.I was not a socialite like the characters in the novel, just someone sitting on the edge observing a lifestyle and social order that has... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Janet Cockerill
Present perfect
I really enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. I felt the author captured the feel of the period, and its characters, perfectly. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Donald Hughes
Novel/social history of the '60s
I put off reading this as the central theme - a dying man engages a friend from university days, who now hates him, to track down a possible heir to his vast fortune - didn't... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Suzie
Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes
You could easily imagine yourself in the world of this clearly narrated story. The characters were well-drawn although I occasionally had a problem remembering who was whom... Read more
Published 17 months ago by romey
Peep Through the Keyhole
Find the mother is not an unusual theme for a tale, "Lace" by Shirley Conran being the prime blockbuster example. Read more
Published 19 months ago by M. J. Saxton
Rambling and slow
Hmmmm. This could have been a really jolly tale had it been more judiciously edited. Unfortunately the author's ramblings and overly long insights get in the way of the plot and... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Barney
Not as good as snobs
All in all I had a good time reading 'Past imperfect' although 'Snobs' is superior as far as I am concerned. Read more
Published 21 months ago by H. Lacroix
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