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Last Orders (Paperback)

by Graham Swift (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 295 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; New edition edition (7 Dec 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330489674
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330489676
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 954,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #29 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Swift, Graham

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Product Description

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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


Review

'Inspired... His finest novel yet' Guardian 'Tragic, comic and wonderfully compassionate' Daily Mail 'A triumph... A novel that unflinchingly contemplates human perishability, and that also pays unsentimental tribute to human resilience' Sunday Times
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A touching tale of the lives of ordinary Londoners., 3 Nov 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Last Orders (Paperback)
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.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars More than just a simple story, 7 Jun 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Last Orders (Paperback)
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!)
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, Swift's best, 25 Jan 2004
By Markus Isch "mege1" (Schweiz) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Last Orders (Paperback)
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Booker winner? Leave it out, knock it on the `ead...
This is Faulkner's As I Lay Dying relocated to estuary England, right down to the different viewpoints, brief chapters, attempts at dark humour and tedious dialect. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Trevor Coote

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but flawed
Overall, Last Orders is an enjoyable novel, but it does become tedious in its final third. It is somewhat rescued from the tedium that sets in however by a suspenseful dénouement... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Flibertigibbit

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 on 2 Oct 2007 by G. Bailey

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 on 29 May 2007 by S. Lofstad

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of great beauty
One of the finest modern novels in English. A delight to be savoured slowly and considerately.
Published on 13 Nov 2006 by L. C. Welsh

2.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 18 Oct 2003 by allan_lfc

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb study of real people.
Graham Swift can really write. This book contrasts sharply with most current fiction, much of which is about two-dimensional people whose fate - to anyone of any sensibility -... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply moving, thought provoking novel.
Yes, it is like As I Lay Dying. So what? I have to go back and reread that now. This book is a stunning achievement. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2001 by kirsteenross@btinternet.com

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