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Amazon.co.uk Review
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 war, whose lives revolve around work, family, the racetrack and their favourite pub. When one of them dies, the survivors drive his ashes from London to a seaside town where they will be scattered, compelling them to take stock of who they are today, who they were before and the shifting relationships in between. Both funny and moving, this won the Booker Prize in 1996.

Synopsis
This novel follows four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, who meet to carry out his last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea.

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Waterland by Graham Swift  (14)

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17 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (6) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review (17 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: A touching tale of the lives of ordinary Londoners., 4 Nov 2000 By A Customer This was the first title I have read by Graham Swift, but has inspired me to seek out all his other titles. It is a tale of four friends, their intertwined lives and loves, spread over a fifty year period commencing in World War Two. As with all the best books, Last Orders has realistic and human characters in whom readers will take a genuine interest. The story is ostensibly based around a journey undertaken by three of the men (with a friend) to scatter the the fourth original member's ashes in the sea at Margate. Although similar to Faulkner's 1930 "As I Lay Dying", Swift's novel is none the less a great book in its own right. If you like novels with strong characterisation and a genuine, touching story, I strongly commend "Last Orders" to you.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   5 of 6 people found the following review helpful: More than just a simple story, 7 Jun 2002 By A Customer This is more than just a simple tale of a group of friends taking their friend's ashes to the sea-side. I found it so poignant and moving that I could hardly bear to read the last scene. It's about the big issues in life and how chance can change your whole destiny. It's also about regret and lost opportunities, love and, obviously, death. Each character is beautifully drawn. Ray, the 'lucky' gambler is a 'litte ray of sunshine', Vic, the undertaker, the only one not afraid of death, is the 'Victor' - even the characters' names mean something. It's probably the sort of book you need to read more than once to fully appreciate, but it well deserved the Booker prize and I would recommend it to anyone (as long as you're not expecting to laugh!)  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   4 of 5 people found the following review helpful: Great read, Swift's best, 26 Jan 2004 By  "mege1" - See all my reviews The bad news first: there is enough foundation to point out misogynist traits in Swift's work, but Waterland bothered me much more in this respect than Last Orders. In the latter, there is only Kath, who seems to have resorted to prostitution after her father pressed her to seduce potential buyers for his cars. All the other women are distinctly drawn and have their own minds. Amy, for instance, explicitly decides not to accompany the four blokes to Margate. It's the male characters in the book who have problems with women, not so much Swift this time. And look how carefully built up the novel is. I, for one, found the frequent changes of point of view one of the novel's strongest points, and not at all distracting. I don't know the first thing about south London or Cockney, but it all rang true for me. Besides, I found it spellbinding to eavesdrop on these working-class men's internal monologues. Last Orders is probably no match for Shakespeare's Hamlet, but both texts feature definitely a lot about death and dying that is worth being told.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 17 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews Symbolism in `Last Orders' There must be some central significance to that image of the coach that never leaves, since it is repeated so insistently right up front. Read more Published 7 months ago by G. Bailey One of the finest novels ever written Last Orders is magnificently gripping in its low key description of ordinary men's lives and minds. Swift's approach to his story is no less than genius, initially slightly... Read more Published 11 months ago by S. Lofstad A story of great beauty One of the finest modern novels in English. A delight to be savoured slowly and considerately. Published 18 months ago by L. C. Welsh Well-written...but Booker Prize material? 'Last Orders' is an interesting study in family and friends. It sheds a penetrating light on the secrets people keep and why they choose to keep them. Read more Published on 7 Mar 2004 Thouroughly enjoyed this title I forgot to take the book I had just started with me on a trip abroad, so bought this at the airport, without knowing too much about it. I read it that week. Read more Published on 19 Oct 2003 by allan_lfc A Puzzle from Graham Swift Last Orders is a novel that asks the reader to make sense of some of the puzzling actions of the main charactors. Read more Published on 3 Dec 2002 by Philip Garwood