In his first venture into non-fiction, the celebrated novelist Rupert Thomson has produced one of the most extraordinary and unforgettable memoirs of recent years. On a warm, sunny day in July 1964, Thomson returned home from school to discover that his mother had died suddenly while playing tennis. Twenty years later, Thomson and his brothers get word that their father, who suffered chronic lung damage during the war, has died alone in hospital. In an attempt to come to terms both with their own loss and with their parents' legacies, the three brothers move back into their father's house. The time they spend in this decadent, anarchic commune leads to a rift between Thomson and his youngest brother, a rift that will not be addressed for more than two decades. "This Party's Got to Stop" works Thomson's memories into a powerful mosaic that reveals the fragility of family life in graphic and often heartbreaking detail. It is both a love letter to a lost brother and a chronicle of the murderousness and longing that can characterize blood relationships.
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Review
`Very funny ... Rupert Thomson is such an attentive writer, and the quality of his attention brings the smallest incidents to life' --Hilary Mantel
`A completely brilliant book. Spikily funny, very dark and beautifully constructed'
--Rob Macfarlane
`Writing so desperately honest, so full of warmth and emotional daring, that you can't help but be pulled along' --Julie Myerson, Observer
'A Masterpiece, in its own modest way ... humanely funny, wryly anarchic, achingly poignant' --Time Out
`Darkly comic, disturbing, strange and ultimately humane, a memoir that discovers love and human kindness in the most unexpected places' --Sunday Telegraph
'Thomson tells his story brilliantly. His language is clear, his dialogue flawless ... a beautifully made literary artifact'
--Irish Times
`A completely brilliant book. Spikily funny, very dark and beautifully constructed'
--Rob Macfarlane
`Writing so desperately honest, so full of warmth and emotional daring, that you can't help but be pulled along' --Julie Myerson, Observer
'A Masterpiece, in its own modest way ... humanely funny, wryly anarchic, achingly poignant' --Time Out
`Darkly comic, disturbing, strange and ultimately humane, a memoir that discovers love and human kindness in the most unexpected places' --Sunday Telegraph
'Thomson tells his story brilliantly. His language is clear, his dialogue flawless ... a beautifully made literary artifact'
--Irish Times
About the Author
Rupert Thomson is the author of eight highly acclaimed novels: Dreams of Leaving, The Five Gates of Hell, Air & Fire, The Insult, Soft, The Book of Revelation, Divided Kingdom and most recently, Death of a Murderer, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award and by World Book Day for the Book to Talk About 2008. He lives in Barcelona with his wife and daughter. This is his first book for Granta
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By J. Craze
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It's a beautifully written, darkly comic, and heartbreaking memoir about loss and the unexpected responses we can have to grief. You don't know if you're going to laugh or cry from one page to the next. It's up there with the best literary memoirs, Martin Amis' Experience and Lorna Sage's Bad Blood. I was unable to put it down.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By J. Spiteri
Format:Hardcover
Having read the majority of Rupert Thomson superb output I have to say that This Party's Got To Stop is without doubt my favorite. I finished it a few weeks ago and cannot stop thinking about the issues that he dealt with. I'm reminded of conversations overheard, feelings provoked and depths of sadness and mountains of joy. Ruperts details for the things that are so often forgotten are so enlightening. I didn't have brothers, my parents were very different to Ruperts and yet those feelings of growing up in a house with huge events taking over was very powerful and so often put out of ones mind. Rupert brought me back and made me face up to those situations and upheavals. I thank him for giving me the chance to look at his past as well as my own. He deserves all the acolades and more.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The night seems to stagger. It's made from dark blocks that don't quite fit together,
19 Dec 2010
By Eileen Shaw
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A funny and touching memoir of a strange period of Rupert Thomson's life when his father died and he and his two brothers inherited the house they had lived in as children. Some instinct kicked-in and made them all converge on the house, taking up possession of various rooms. Ralph, the youngest of them, has a wife and child by then, but Robin, who is a musician, and Rupert are close enough to draw comfort from each other. Rupert struggles valiantly to remember the mother who died when the boys were very young, and when she was only in her late twenties.
Subsequently there was a stepmother and two more children but this second marriage did not work out and eventually Sonya, and their two young children moved to Switzerland, leaving Dad with his three sons once again. Rupert is troubled and puzzled that his Dad never told his sons how ill he was and subsequently died alone. There are descriptions of eccentric members of the family and the strangely brooding kind of relationship Ralph had with his wife. The writing is beautifully poised and sensitive to the moods that overtake them, in particular, of course, Rupert. But there is also some fun with Dad's old medication and a hilarious visit from a constable, alerted by a neighbour to the frequent fires (they are burning old furniture and filling skips and one neighbour is obviously incensed). The party, if such it can be called, has to be stopped.
Twenty years later Rupert visits his brother in China, where Ralph - a banker - and his family live. There some accommodation is reached and a reason for their estrangement is touched upon.
Fascinating, enjoyable and highly engaging, this memoir really gets to the dark heart of family relationships. My bet is we could all produce unsettling, even worrying moments from the past, if we were honest enough and if we only had the skill to give them the significance and singularity of Rupert Thomson.
Subsequently there was a stepmother and two more children but this second marriage did not work out and eventually Sonya, and their two young children moved to Switzerland, leaving Dad with his three sons once again. Rupert is troubled and puzzled that his Dad never told his sons how ill he was and subsequently died alone. There are descriptions of eccentric members of the family and the strangely brooding kind of relationship Ralph had with his wife. The writing is beautifully poised and sensitive to the moods that overtake them, in particular, of course, Rupert. But there is also some fun with Dad's old medication and a hilarious visit from a constable, alerted by a neighbour to the frequent fires (they are burning old furniture and filling skips and one neighbour is obviously incensed). The party, if such it can be called, has to be stopped.
Twenty years later Rupert visits his brother in China, where Ralph - a banker - and his family live. There some accommodation is reached and a reason for their estrangement is touched upon.
Fascinating, enjoyable and highly engaging, this memoir really gets to the dark heart of family relationships. My bet is we could all produce unsettling, even worrying moments from the past, if we were honest enough and if we only had the skill to give them the significance and singularity of Rupert Thomson.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy This Book
This really is one of my top 5 fave books ever. As I started to read I realised everything else would have to be put on hold until I had finished it. It was a drug! Read more
Published 3 months ago by LadyUnderwood
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shame it had to stop
I have read a few of Rupert Thomson's books - loved the Divided Kingdom and Death of a Murderer but couldn't finish The Insult. Read more
Published 9 months ago by M. Burrows
4.0 out of 5 stars
This Party's Got to Stop
The book jumps around a lot over a number of decades, and at times my inability to focus on specific details (i.e. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Kirsty at Book - Love - Bug
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully written and touching memoir
Rupert Thomson writes movingly about his life and his family, centred around the death of his father in the 1980s when he and his two brothers return to their hometown of... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Benjamin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as much of a party extravaganza as expected
If you think this is going to be a full on expose of someone's life turning pants due to excess, look elsewhere. A moderate and congenial party following the death of a parent.
Published 23 months ago by Newcastle 73
2.0 out of 5 stars
Memoir of a Very Ordinary Bloke
I know from reading all the rave reviews of Rupert Thomson's fans that i'm going to give offence, but i do feel that a little balance-redressing is in order. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2011 by Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful and moving.
I've read all of Rupert Thomson's books. This is a great read and it's powerful and moving stuff. After reading this, I can understand a lot more where his themes and ideas for... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2010 by T. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
That fragile gift bestowed for an uncertain time
The author says that in these 8 words Imre Kertesz captured what it was like to grow up in his family. Read more
Published on 6 May 2010 by Singapore Relic
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Party's Got to Stop
Rupert Thomson's memoir depicts a deeply moving story of grief. Tiny details enlivened this harrowing account of lives changed by the loss of parents in childhood and early... Read more
Published on 3 May 2010 by Dr. D. Farquharthomson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, perceptive and moving . . .
This is the most compelling book I've read in a while. Rather like the author, that compulsion comes from the need to get answers to the question "Why?". Read more
Published on 1 May 2010 by Roger Risborough
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