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Old Filth #1
Vyras be trūkumų
Seras Edvardas Federsas – legenda tarp advokatų: aštrus protas, sausas humoras. Ir mažai kas žino, kad šis nepriekaištingos išorės senas advokatas – Radžo našlaitis. Taip buvo vadinami vaikai, gimę Britanijos kolonijose, tėvai juos dar visai mažus išsiųsdavo į Didžiąją Britaniją mokytis... Palaidojęs žmoną ir persikraustęs į Dorsetą, kur ketina praleisti paskutinę savo gyvenimo atkarpą, Federsas pagaliau išsilaisvina iš profesinių ir emocinių taisyklių ir klišių, kuriomis visą laiką vadovavosi. Į nueitą gyvenimo kelią jis žvelgia sarkastišku, šaltu, viską mačiusio žmogaus žvilgsniu, tačiau jo paties istorija pagauna ir nepaleidžia. Jo istorija – tai Britanijos imperijos istorija.
Jane Gardam sukūrė literatūrinį šedevrą, vieno žmogaus gyvenimo portretu išskleisdama visą monumentalų XX amžių. Federso vaikystė Malajoje Britanijos imperijos klestėjimo laikotarpiu, mokykla prieškarinėje Anglijoje, kilimas karjeros laiptais Pietryčių Azijoje ir grįžimas į Angliją tūkstantmečio pabaigoje – kertiniai laiko ir erdvės taškai, nužymintys jo gyvenimą. Tačiau Edvardas Federsas, tikras britas, vyras be trūkumų ir be priekaištų, šaltas, sarkastiškas ir išlaikantis atstumą nuo visų, drauge yra ir šimtmečio atspindys. Literatūrinis asmens ir epochos portretas, nepriekaištingai nupieštas vienos žymiausių XX a. britų rašytojų. Intelektualus ir ironiškas, apsišarvavęs abejingumu ir drauge pažeidžiamas. Neužmirštamas.
Jane Gardam sukūrė literatūrinį šedevrą, vieno žmogaus gyvenimo portretu išskleisdama visą monumentalų XX amžių. Federso vaikystė Malajoje Britanijos imperijos klestėjimo laikotarpiu, mokykla prieškarinėje Anglijoje, kilimas karjeros laiptais Pietryčių Azijoje ir grįžimas į Angliją tūkstantmečio pabaigoje – kertiniai laiko ir erdvės taškai, nužymintys jo gyvenimą. Tačiau Edvardas Federsas, tikras britas, vyras be trūkumų ir be priekaištų, šaltas, sarkastiškas ir išlaikantis atstumą nuo visų, drauge yra ir šimtmečio atspindys. Literatūrinis asmens ir epochos portretas, nepriekaištingai nupieštas vienos žymiausių XX a. britų rašytojų. Intelektualus ir ironiškas, apsišarvavęs abejingumu ir drauge pažeidžiamas. Neužmirštamas.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Jane Gardam
68 books508 followersJane Mary Gardam OBE is a British author of children's and adult fiction. She also reviews for the Spectator and the Telegraph, and writes for BBC radio. She lives in Kent, Wimbledon and Yorkshire. She has won numerous literary awards including the Whitbread Award, twice. She is mother of Tim Gardam, Principal of St Anne's College, Oxford. Jane has been awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime’s contribution to the enjoyment of literature and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Her first book for adults, Black Faces, White Faces (1975), a collection of linked short stories about Jamaica, won both the David Higham Prize for Fiction and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. Subsequent collections of short stories include The Pangs of Love and Other Stories (1983), winner of the Katherine Mansfield Award; Going into a Dark House (1994), which was awarded the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award (1995); and Missing the Midnight: Hauntings & Grotesques (1997).
Jane Gardam's first novel for adults, God on the Rocks (1978), a coming-of-age novel set in the 1930s, was adapted for television in 1992. It won the Prix Baudelaire (France) in 1989 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. Her other novels include The Queen of the Tambourine (1991), a haunting tale about a woman's fascination with a mysterious stranger, which won the Whitbread Novel Award; Faith Fox (1996), a portrait of England in the 1990s; and The Flight of the Maidens (2000), set just after the Second World War, which narrates the story of three Yorkshire schoolgirls on the brink of university and adult life. This book was adapted for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. In 1999 Jane Gardam was awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize in recognition of a distinguished literary career.
Her non-fiction includes a book about the Yorkshire of her childhood in The Iron Coast (1994), published with photographs by Peter Burton and Harland Walshaw.
She also writes for children and young adults. Her novel Bilgewater (1977), originally written for children, has now been re-classified as adult fiction. She was awarded the Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Hollow Land (1981) and is the author of A Few Fair Days (1971), a collection of short stories for children set on a Cumberland farm, and two novels for teenagers, A Long Way From Verona (1971), which explores a wartime childhood in Yorkshire, and The Summer After the Funeral (1973), a story about a loss of innocence after the death of a father.
Jane Gardam is a member of PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is married with three children and divides her time between East Kent and Yorkshire.
Her first book for adults, Black Faces, White Faces (1975), a collection of linked short stories about Jamaica, won both the David Higham Prize for Fiction and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. Subsequent collections of short stories include The Pangs of Love and Other Stories (1983), winner of the Katherine Mansfield Award; Going into a Dark House (1994), which was awarded the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award (1995); and Missing the Midnight: Hauntings & Grotesques (1997).
Jane Gardam's first novel for adults, God on the Rocks (1978), a coming-of-age novel set in the 1930s, was adapted for television in 1992. It won the Prix Baudelaire (France) in 1989 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. Her other novels include The Queen of the Tambourine (1991), a haunting tale about a woman's fascination with a mysterious stranger, which won the Whitbread Novel Award; Faith Fox (1996), a portrait of England in the 1990s; and The Flight of the Maidens (2000), set just after the Second World War, which narrates the story of three Yorkshire schoolgirls on the brink of university and adult life. This book was adapted for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour. In 1999 Jane Gardam was awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize in recognition of a distinguished literary career.
Her non-fiction includes a book about the Yorkshire of her childhood in The Iron Coast (1994), published with photographs by Peter Burton and Harland Walshaw.
She also writes for children and young adults. Her novel Bilgewater (1977), originally written for children, has now been re-classified as adult fiction. She was awarded the Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Hollow Land (1981) and is the author of A Few Fair Days (1971), a collection of short stories for children set on a Cumberland farm, and two novels for teenagers, A Long Way From Verona (1971), which explores a wartime childhood in Yorkshire, and The Summer After the Funeral (1973), a story about a loss of innocence after the death of a father.
Jane Gardam is a member of PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is married with three children and divides her time between East Kent and Yorkshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,350 reviews
February 17, 2017
"His colleagues at the Bar called him Filth, but not out of irony. It was because he
was considered to be the source of the old joke, Failed in London, Try in Hong Kong.
It was said that he had fled the London Bar, very young, very poor, on a sudden whim
just after the War, and had done magnificently well in Hong Kong from the start.
Being a modest man, they said, he called himself a parvenu, a fraud, a carefree spirit".
"Filth in fact was no great maker of jokes, was not at all modest about his work and seldom, except in great extremity, went in for whims. He was loved, however, admired, laughed at kindly and still much discussed many years after retirement."
"Now, nearing eighty, he lived in Dorset. His wife Betty was dead but he often prattled on to her around the house".
Old Filth's, Sir Edward Feathers QC, life story is weaved with flashbacks referring to the marvelous life he has lived.....layered bittersweet events. He was born in Malaya, - his mother died in childbirth- and was sent to England as a child to be educated. His father had depression- partly a result from the Great War. Old Filth was raised by Foster Parents - and grew up with two cousins.
Through his years of education- he earns the reputation for being a great lawyer and respected judge. At first glance - his peers think Old Filth had an easy lucky life ...who is somewhat aloof and stuffy in personality - a friendly - good looking man- and modest. None of them could have imagined his childhood.
Old Filth was one of many children 'sent home' to England to to get an education and be raised by foster parents. An orphan child.
Most of these children came from wealthy privileged backgrounds. Their parents were in far off lands -India and Hong Kong. Their own parents were neglected them. We learn about a time in British history when the "Raj Orphans" were World known. Kids sent to "The Raj" came from international diplomats- parents in the military, etc.
Through wonderful storytelling- we get an inside look into 'The Raj".... not something I had spent much time thinking about. I really felt that 'hollow' spot inside Old Filth... something he quietly lived - understandably so - starved for emotional intimacy - the wishes any child wants to feel with their 'own' parents.
This was such a treasure of a book.....the first in a series. Written with warm, humor, .... at times heavy hearted ---but mostly I marvel at the human spirit of "Old Filth".
was considered to be the source of the old joke, Failed in London, Try in Hong Kong.
It was said that he had fled the London Bar, very young, very poor, on a sudden whim
just after the War, and had done magnificently well in Hong Kong from the start.
Being a modest man, they said, he called himself a parvenu, a fraud, a carefree spirit".
"Filth in fact was no great maker of jokes, was not at all modest about his work and seldom, except in great extremity, went in for whims. He was loved, however, admired, laughed at kindly and still much discussed many years after retirement."
"Now, nearing eighty, he lived in Dorset. His wife Betty was dead but he often prattled on to her around the house".
Old Filth's, Sir Edward Feathers QC, life story is weaved with flashbacks referring to the marvelous life he has lived.....layered bittersweet events. He was born in Malaya, - his mother died in childbirth- and was sent to England as a child to be educated. His father had depression- partly a result from the Great War. Old Filth was raised by Foster Parents - and grew up with two cousins.
Through his years of education- he earns the reputation for being a great lawyer and respected judge. At first glance - his peers think Old Filth had an easy lucky life ...who is somewhat aloof and stuffy in personality - a friendly - good looking man- and modest. None of them could have imagined his childhood.
Old Filth was one of many children 'sent home' to England to to get an education and be raised by foster parents. An orphan child.
Most of these children came from wealthy privileged backgrounds. Their parents were in far off lands -India and Hong Kong. Their own parents were neglected them. We learn about a time in British history when the "Raj Orphans" were World known. Kids sent to "The Raj" came from international diplomats- parents in the military, etc.
Through wonderful storytelling- we get an inside look into 'The Raj".... not something I had spent much time thinking about. I really felt that 'hollow' spot inside Old Filth... something he quietly lived - understandably so - starved for emotional intimacy - the wishes any child wants to feel with their 'own' parents.
This was such a treasure of a book.....the first in a series. Written with warm, humor, .... at times heavy hearted ---but mostly I marvel at the human spirit of "Old Filth".
Read
May 30, 2021Reading this book at first I thought it was superlative, further on I simply thought it merely excellent, but by the end I suppose I felt it was just very good. Although I do wonder mildly quite what the Orange prize winner in 2005 was like if this was only one of the also rans.
Old Filth is an end of life story. The title is the nickname and old joke of the central character - Failed in London, try Hong Kong - a former judge, barrister, and abused child.
The novel's chapters alternate between the present - the old man, funerals, visiting equally elderly relatives, ill health and worse - acquaintances - and his youth - birth in Malaya, farmed out to Wales, schooling, war time activities, and post war qualification as a barrister.
I suppose my disenchantment had two completely unfair causes, firstly I got used to Gardam's technique, secondly there was eventually a fullish revelation of the Welsh childhood. Up until that point the Welsh childhood was elusive, coy, seductive, mysterious, like algebra one knew only it through its absence, and the sense of how much an impact that this mysterious something had had on the lives of the characters. When the revelation came, I had that old 'is that it? Grphummpf' reaction. OK, I was missing the point, which was that there were a number of people involved and they all reacted differently to their experiences and the significance was the impact those experiences had on the rest of their lives - and that is something that Gardam makes us aware of. I can only plead before the court that reading is a subjective experience. As it happened Old Filth left his Black Cap behind in Hong Kong, hopefully Mme Gardam did the same.
Something else here was the brief aside about how child abuse was, to a greater extent than today, when at least it is something that is to some degree talked about as a problem, institutionalised in the Empire structures. One of the characters talks about the children's books she had as a child - full of pictures of children beating each other - the prefectorial system as it was called in emulation of old Sparta no doubt.
This is a British Empire novel , in the sense of impacts upon lives, families, generations, the hauteur and the moments of realisation "Blacks - here he was disturbed by a cluster of different coloured people surrounding his bed. These are not the black people of the Empire, he thought, and then realised that that was exactly what most of them were. 'Any of you chaps Malays?' he asked. 'Malaya's my country.'..." (p227).
We might wonder in what way Malaya is his country - because Malay was the only language he spoke as a young child? Because he feels a degree of identification with it that despite for living a good chunk of his life in Britain and Hong Kong that he can't feel for either after his Welsh experience, or because he feels he possesses it in the old Empire way - or some mixture. Our feelings aren't so straightforward.
More to the point this is also a witty novel, I'm pleased to report that I disturbed my fellow travellers by immodesty laughing while enjoying this book - well that'll learn them to abandon book reading in favour of playing with their phones.
"'You can inflict pain through ignorance. I was not loved after the age of four and a half. Think of being a parent like that.'
'Yes. I suppose.'
'A parent like you, for instance, young woman. What child would want a parent like you?'
She was furious. 'I was loved,' she said. 'I'm still loved by my parents, thank you very much. And I love them. We have - difficulties, but it's a normal family life.'
'Then I made a mistake,' he said, still not looking at her. 'Maybe it's your hair. It is so thin. I'm sorry.' (p.159)
On the other hand I'm still divided, was having Old Filth fondly imaging Christ in court as a Barrister and then being confronted with the challenging reality of a priest, a clever comparison or too obvious? And what about the asides made by characters - 'sounds like a channel four play' as one person says of a conversation with another - is this meta-textual comment, modesty, or avoiding criticism about her dialogue writing skills? Is the revelation of the need for love at the end of the book profound or trite? While when we get the revelation that idea is just laid out almost as baldly as I stated it, but then again the groundwork had been done through the novel - we had seen the consequences that the want of love at an early age had - perhaps even across generations.
Read and judge for yourself, particularly if you are interested in empires because this gives a worms eye view of the Imperial endeavour what it is like to be brought up and live within the physical necessities and mental space of an empire. Throw the first stone if you think you're good enough, I'll pause and hold it for a while yet.
The British empire being what it was, my Paternal grandfather served in Malaysia during the so called communist insurgency and so my father and his sisters passed their younger years on the peninsula, before they all went, not to Wales, but to Woolwich< spoiler> which if you don't know it, is very much like Wales, except without sheep, mountains, choirs, leeks, abandoned slate mines, welsh people, chapels or daffodils, well it might have a few of the latter. Reading at first I thought I'd pass the book on to my Dad but gradually decided against it . Anyhow after his death and given both my naive belief in the immense reforming power of literature and the general sense my paternal family gave off of limping around wounded I sent off a copy to my one surviving paternal aunt, her response in writing was one I ought really have predicted having read this novel: she felt there wasn't enough Malaysia in it.
Old Filth is an end of life story. The title is the nickname and old joke of the central character - Failed in London, try Hong Kong - a former judge, barrister, and abused child.
The novel's chapters alternate between the present - the old man, funerals, visiting equally elderly relatives, ill health and worse - acquaintances - and his youth - birth in Malaya, farmed out to Wales, schooling, war time activities, and post war qualification as a barrister.
I suppose my disenchantment had two completely unfair causes, firstly I got used to Gardam's technique, secondly there was eventually a fullish revelation of the Welsh childhood. Up until that point the Welsh childhood was elusive, coy, seductive, mysterious, like algebra one knew only it through its absence, and the sense of how much an impact that this mysterious something had had on the lives of the characters. When the revelation came, I had that old 'is that it? Grphummpf' reaction. OK, I was missing the point, which was that there were a number of people involved and they all reacted differently to their experiences and the significance was the impact those experiences had on the rest of their lives - and that is something that Gardam makes us aware of. I can only plead before the court that reading is a subjective experience. As it happened Old Filth left his Black Cap behind in Hong Kong, hopefully Mme Gardam did the same.
Something else here was the brief aside about how child abuse was, to a greater extent than today, when at least it is something that is to some degree talked about as a problem, institutionalised in the Empire structures. One of the characters talks about the children's books she had as a child - full of pictures of children beating each other - the prefectorial system as it was called in emulation of old Sparta no doubt.
This is a British Empire novel , in the sense of impacts upon lives, families, generations, the hauteur and the moments of realisation "Blacks - here he was disturbed by a cluster of different coloured people surrounding his bed. These are not the black people of the Empire, he thought, and then realised that that was exactly what most of them were. 'Any of you chaps Malays?' he asked. 'Malaya's my country.'..." (p227).
We might wonder in what way Malaya is his country - because Malay was the only language he spoke as a young child? Because he feels a degree of identification with it that despite for living a good chunk of his life in Britain and Hong Kong that he can't feel for either after his Welsh experience, or because he feels he possesses it in the old Empire way - or some mixture. Our feelings aren't so straightforward.
More to the point this is also a witty novel, I'm pleased to report that I disturbed my fellow travellers by immodesty laughing while enjoying this book - well that'll learn them to abandon book reading in favour of playing with their phones.
"'You can inflict pain through ignorance. I was not loved after the age of four and a half. Think of being a parent like that.'
'Yes. I suppose.'
'A parent like you, for instance, young woman. What child would want a parent like you?'
She was furious. 'I was loved,' she said. 'I'm still loved by my parents, thank you very much. And I love them. We have - difficulties, but it's a normal family life.'
'Then I made a mistake,' he said, still not looking at her. 'Maybe it's your hair. It is so thin. I'm sorry.' (p.159)
On the other hand I'm still divided, was having Old Filth fondly imaging Christ in court as a Barrister and then being confronted with the challenging reality of a priest, a clever comparison or too obvious? And what about the asides made by characters - 'sounds like a channel four play' as one person says of a conversation with another - is this meta-textual comment, modesty, or avoiding criticism about her dialogue writing skills? Is the revelation of the need for love at the end of the book profound or trite? While when we get the revelation that idea is just laid out almost as baldly as I stated it, but then again the groundwork had been done through the novel - we had seen the consequences that the want of love at an early age had - perhaps even across generations.
Read and judge for yourself, particularly if you are interested in empires because this gives a worms eye view of the Imperial endeavour what it is like to be brought up and live within the physical necessities and mental space of an empire. Throw the first stone if you think you're good enough, I'll pause and hold it for a while yet.
The British empire being what it was, my Paternal grandfather served in Malaysia during the so called communist insurgency and so my father and his sisters passed their younger years on the peninsula, before they all went, not to Wales, but to Woolwich< spoiler> which if you don't know it, is very much like Wales, except without sheep, mountains, choirs, leeks, abandoned slate mines, welsh people, chapels or daffodils, well it might have a few of the latter. Reading at first I thought I'd pass the book on to my Dad but gradually decided against it . Anyhow after his death and given both my naive belief in the immense reforming power of literature and the general sense my paternal family gave off of limping around wounded I sent off a copy to my one surviving paternal aunt, her response in writing was one I ought really have predicted having read this novel: she felt there wasn't enough Malaysia in it.
July 25, 2022
UPDATE FROM FIRST REVIEW
Wow....I read this book yesterday and I did not know I read it before. I only gave it 2 stars some 1.5 years ago. Now I am giving it 4.5 stars. I suppose the only thing that could account for me really liking it this time around is perhaps when I did the re-read yesterday, I had an enhanced appreciation for Gardam's writing. I had read The Flight of the Maidens about 3 weeks ago and really liked it, and very much liked her writing style.
I am embarrassed that I read this and reviewed it in December 2020, and read it yesterday as if I was reading it for the first time. I think my long-term memory is a thing of the past...
FIRST REVIEW (December 2020)
I can only give this book 2 stars. It was pretty good at the beginning, and pretty good at the end, in which a lot of loose ends were tied up. But the middle part was boring to me oftentimes, and the protagonist, as told in the third person, would shuttle back and forth between the here and the past and sometimes while in the here, he would see his wife who was dead (ergo, here AND the past). I only read this to its conclusion because I am loathe to do a DNF, and then to write a review. So, I think if the book had been shorter than 290 pages and the middle was still on the boring side I would have given it a 2.5 which would have brought it to 3 stars in my rating system.
Old Filth...Filth is an acronym for ‘Failed in London Try Hong Kong’. Filth or Eddie, or Teddy is a retired British lawyer (do they call them barristers?). The book actually covers quite a bit of his past when he was growing up and in his college years (and WWII was sandwiched in there). He was a Raj Orphan—a child of a Brit in the foreign service. His mother had died when he was a baby, and his father was stationed in Malay (now Malaysia) as a District Officer of the British Empire, and he had no time for his son, and so he was shipped off to Wales to a foster home. What happened in the foster home was part of the loose ends that were tied up at the end. One could guess it wasn’t very good from occasional references to it in the middle parts of the book. He was a foster kid along with three other kids, Babs, Claire and Cumberledge. As I recall from reading the book there was very little about his actual lawyering in Hong Kong or in England. He had a wife, Betty. They slept in separate bedrooms…
I think I will end it at that, because for me to divulge anything more would be to divulge material which should be kept for the reader to discover. Anyhoo, bottom line was that I can’t say I was jazzed about the book. I say this with some trepidation because of the pedigree of the author. Jane Gardam won two Whitbread Prizes for Best Novel of the Year, one in 1981 (The Hollow Land) and one 10 years later (Queen of the Tambourine). ‘Old Filth’ was published in 2004 and I read the Europe editions issue (2006). And she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. So she’s no slouch to be sure. “Old Filth’ just wasn’t my cup of tea. Maybe I’ll give her Whitbread winners a shot. Anybody read those? Let me know. Ta-ta.
Notes:
In looking up reviews I found that this book was the first of three in a trilogy, followed by
1. ‘The Man in the Wooden Hat’ (2009) [“An astute, subtle depiction of marriage . . . absolutely wonderful.” —The Washington Post |“Told with quintessentially British humor . . . Gardam’s prose is witty and precise.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)]
2. Last Friends (2013) [“The satisfying conclusion to Gardam’s Old Filth trilogy offers exquisite prose, wry humor, and keen insights into aging and death.” The New Yorker| “All three Gardam books are beautifully written but it’s a pleasure to note that Last Friends is the most enjoyable, the funniest and the most touching.” —National Post].
The attention-grabbing title is the nickname of the novel's protagonist, a lawyer named Sir Edward Feathers (Filth being an acronym for 'Failed in London Try Hong Kong). Though Gardam had written multiple award-winning books before, none of them took off the way Old Filth did—it became a New York Times Notable Book, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and earned Gardam multiple comparisons to Charles Dickens.
Reviews (all reviews were quite favorable to the book…):
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• http://www.complete-review.com/review...
Wow....I read this book yesterday and I did not know I read it before. I only gave it 2 stars some 1.5 years ago. Now I am giving it 4.5 stars. I suppose the only thing that could account for me really liking it this time around is perhaps when I did the re-read yesterday, I had an enhanced appreciation for Gardam's writing. I had read The Flight of the Maidens about 3 weeks ago and really liked it, and very much liked her writing style.
I am embarrassed that I read this and reviewed it in December 2020, and read it yesterday as if I was reading it for the first time. I think my long-term memory is a thing of the past...
FIRST REVIEW (December 2020)
I can only give this book 2 stars. It was pretty good at the beginning, and pretty good at the end, in which a lot of loose ends were tied up. But the middle part was boring to me oftentimes, and the protagonist, as told in the third person, would shuttle back and forth between the here and the past and sometimes while in the here, he would see his wife who was dead (ergo, here AND the past). I only read this to its conclusion because I am loathe to do a DNF, and then to write a review. So, I think if the book had been shorter than 290 pages and the middle was still on the boring side I would have given it a 2.5 which would have brought it to 3 stars in my rating system.
Old Filth...Filth is an acronym for ‘Failed in London Try Hong Kong’. Filth or Eddie, or Teddy is a retired British lawyer (do they call them barristers?). The book actually covers quite a bit of his past when he was growing up and in his college years (and WWII was sandwiched in there). He was a Raj Orphan—a child of a Brit in the foreign service. His mother had died when he was a baby, and his father was stationed in Malay (now Malaysia) as a District Officer of the British Empire, and he had no time for his son, and so he was shipped off to Wales to a foster home. What happened in the foster home was part of the loose ends that were tied up at the end. One could guess it wasn’t very good from occasional references to it in the middle parts of the book. He was a foster kid along with three other kids, Babs, Claire and Cumberledge. As I recall from reading the book there was very little about his actual lawyering in Hong Kong or in England. He had a wife, Betty. They slept in separate bedrooms…
I think I will end it at that, because for me to divulge anything more would be to divulge material which should be kept for the reader to discover. Anyhoo, bottom line was that I can’t say I was jazzed about the book. I say this with some trepidation because of the pedigree of the author. Jane Gardam won two Whitbread Prizes for Best Novel of the Year, one in 1981 (The Hollow Land) and one 10 years later (Queen of the Tambourine). ‘Old Filth’ was published in 2004 and I read the Europe editions issue (2006). And she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. So she’s no slouch to be sure. “Old Filth’ just wasn’t my cup of tea. Maybe I’ll give her Whitbread winners a shot. Anybody read those? Let me know. Ta-ta.
Notes:
In looking up reviews I found that this book was the first of three in a trilogy, followed by
1. ‘The Man in the Wooden Hat’ (2009) [“An astute, subtle depiction of marriage . . . absolutely wonderful.” —The Washington Post |“Told with quintessentially British humor . . . Gardam’s prose is witty and precise.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)]
2. Last Friends (2013) [“The satisfying conclusion to Gardam’s Old Filth trilogy offers exquisite prose, wry humor, and keen insights into aging and death.” The New Yorker| “All three Gardam books are beautifully written but it’s a pleasure to note that Last Friends is the most enjoyable, the funniest and the most touching.” —National Post].
The attention-grabbing title is the nickname of the novel's protagonist, a lawyer named Sir Edward Feathers (Filth being an acronym for 'Failed in London Try Hong Kong). Though Gardam had written multiple award-winning books before, none of them took off the way Old Filth did—it became a New York Times Notable Book, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and earned Gardam multiple comparisons to Charles Dickens.
Reviews (all reviews were quite favorable to the book…):
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• http://www.complete-review.com/review...
March 3, 2019
What a brilliant book! For me it is a true masterpiece. Jane Gardam wrote an incredibly subtle book about the Raj orphan Edward Feathers, a.k.a. Old Filth. The story has interesting locations and people. His father was a district head in Malaysia and had baby Edward raised by the Malay nanny in the next village, as Edward’s mother died when delivering his son. He did not see his son till he sent him off to England. It is implied that the father suffered from post traumatic stress from fighting in WW-I. But, then again, as you progress with the story you learn that Edward was one of the many Raj children who were sent all alone to England at a very early age. High class colonials were of the opinion that their young children could easily be hurt or killed by living in the tropics, so they should be sent off to boarding schools in England for their own good. However, there seemed not to be an awareness at all that what they did to their children only resulted in everlasting trauma’s of the children feeling displaced and unloved.
It is sometimes hard to read about the surpressed feelings of Old Filth. Filth realised that only diligence was expected from him and he delivered. He suceeded at Oxford and even gained a great reputation as a judge in Hong Kong. But friendship and love were harder fields to conquer and he never quite succeeded. The novel is bittersweet and sad to its deepest core, although there is a lot of beautiful irony as well. For me the book was very moving. On to the second Old Filth book!
It is sometimes hard to read about the surpressed feelings of Old Filth. Filth realised that only diligence was expected from him and he delivered. He suceeded at Oxford and even gained a great reputation as a judge in Hong Kong. But friendship and love were harder fields to conquer and he never quite succeeded. The novel is bittersweet and sad to its deepest core, although there is a lot of beautiful irony as well. For me the book was very moving. On to the second Old Filth book!
June 29, 2010
I'm not sure why I love Jane Gardam's writing as much as I do. She bowls me over. I'm hoping that it's more than the fact that she writes about the kind of people I grew up with; my background is solid upper middle class - strong emphasis on education, high parental expectations, all that good stuff, so that the academics, barristers, doctors and other professionals who populate her fiction form a milieu which is instantly recognizable to me. But it is more than that - she is a bloody good writer, creating indelible characters that stay with you in prose that is terrifically effective without ever calling attention to itself.
(OK. Let me go on the record, in case you haven't figured it out by now. I am not a particular fan of fiction that's clever/flashy/gimmicky because far more often than not it signals an author who's insecure, narcissistic, or both and is usually a harbinger of major deficiencies in important aspects like characterization and plot. I could name names, but the list would go on for days..)
Gardam's calm, self-assured style may have something to do with her late start as a writer - her first novel for adults was published when she was 50. When "Old Filth" came out, in 2004, she would have been 78. I enjoy imagining the scene when the inevitable request must have come from her publisher to come up with a more marketable title - her photos suggest a woman who doesn't suffer fools gladly. But in this case one has to think that there must have been a better title - "Old Filth" is a slightly offputting title which gives no indication of how terrific this book is.
FILTH is an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong", which describes a particular sector of the British professional and civil service classes, with the not so subtle implication that those who chose to work in former outposts of the empire may not have done so as a first choice. The book is the story of Eddie Feathers, a successful Hong Kong barrister and so-called "Raj orphan", born in Malaya, orphaned, and returned to England to be educated. When the story opens, Feather is already retired; Gardam flashes back and forward along the timeline throughout the novel, so skillfully that it's never annoying.
Although Eddie enjoys professional success, his emotional life is far more circumscribed and Gardam sketches its limits with subtlety, warmth and humor.
Even better, she continues the story in last year's "The Man in the Wooden Hat". While "Old Filth" explores the Feathers marriage (and the love triangle that prevents it from being emotionally fulfilling) from Eddie's viewpoint, the sequel presents events from the point of view of Betty, his wife. TMitWH accomplishes the amazing feat of not just matching the brilliance of OF, but improving on it.
The NY Times reviewer timesreview wonders how a writer of Jane Gardam's general awesomeness can remain neglected by U.S. readers who apparently find time to read the anemic maunderings of that one-note whiner Anita Brookner. To be honest, I'm a bit puzzled myself.
This is a great book.
(OK. Let me go on the record, in case you haven't figured it out by now. I am not a particular fan of fiction that's clever/flashy/gimmicky because far more often than not it signals an author who's insecure, narcissistic, or both and is usually a harbinger of major deficiencies in important aspects like characterization and plot. I could name names, but the list would go on for days..)
Gardam's calm, self-assured style may have something to do with her late start as a writer - her first novel for adults was published when she was 50. When "Old Filth" came out, in 2004, she would have been 78. I enjoy imagining the scene when the inevitable request must have come from her publisher to come up with a more marketable title - her photos suggest a woman who doesn't suffer fools gladly. But in this case one has to think that there must have been a better title - "Old Filth" is a slightly offputting title which gives no indication of how terrific this book is.
FILTH is an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong", which describes a particular sector of the British professional and civil service classes, with the not so subtle implication that those who chose to work in former outposts of the empire may not have done so as a first choice. The book is the story of Eddie Feathers, a successful Hong Kong barrister and so-called "Raj orphan", born in Malaya, orphaned, and returned to England to be educated. When the story opens, Feather is already retired; Gardam flashes back and forward along the timeline throughout the novel, so skillfully that it's never annoying.
Although Eddie enjoys professional success, his emotional life is far more circumscribed and Gardam sketches its limits with subtlety, warmth and humor.
Even better, she continues the story in last year's "The Man in the Wooden Hat". While "Old Filth" explores the Feathers marriage (and the love triangle that prevents it from being emotionally fulfilling) from Eddie's viewpoint, the sequel presents events from the point of view of Betty, his wife. TMitWH accomplishes the amazing feat of not just matching the brilliance of OF, but improving on it.
The NY Times reviewer timesreview wonders how a writer of Jane Gardam's general awesomeness can remain neglected by U.S. readers who apparently find time to read the anemic maunderings of that one-note whiner Anita Brookner. To be honest, I'm a bit puzzled myself.
This is a great book.
February 2, 2010
"Old Filth" is one of those critically approbated books that I feel I "should" like more than I actually did. Detailing the life of Sir Edward Feathers, a distinguished advocate and judge, Jane Gardam presents a detailed character study of a man who is, quite literally, a foreigner in his own life.
I respect Gardam's economic prose as well as her Dickensian cast of characters. The problem is that I simply did not "connect" to the novel. I admired it, but I simply didn't enjoy my time with it. Old Filth is a fascinating hybrid of heart-rending pathos and humanistic comedy, a novel that will (and has) appealed to a great many people. For me, though, it was a respectable, but unaffecting piece of writing.
I respect Gardam's economic prose as well as her Dickensian cast of characters. The problem is that I simply did not "connect" to the novel. I admired it, but I simply didn't enjoy my time with it. Old Filth is a fascinating hybrid of heart-rending pathos and humanistic comedy, a novel that will (and has) appealed to a great many people. For me, though, it was a respectable, but unaffecting piece of writing.
July 29, 2016
FILTH is an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong". That's what his colleagues at the Bar called him, but not out of irony. And Eddie Feathers, or later in his life also known as Sir Edward Feathers, was one of the professional Brits landing up in the outposts of the British Empire. In his case, his parents were already there and he actually was born in Malaya (now Malaysia). His mother passed away after his birth, leaving a scared, emotionally unattached father to first hand him over to his carer, Ada, to live in her village, and then rescued by his aunt May and sent to England to become a proper Englishman. He became one of the Raj orphans in the British educational and foster care system.
The book starts out with judge Feathers retired and alone. He and his wife retired to Dorset in England after his long career in the East as barrister and judge."It had been said that he fled London Bar, very young, very poor, on a sudden whim just after the War, and had done magnificently well in Hong Kong from the start. Being a modest man, they said, he had called himself a parvenu, a fraud, a carefree spirit."
He was eighty-two-years old and ready to face his memories and past. He was wealthy and successful in his career, but lack emotional commitment to anybody and anything. On the surface he acted like an old curmudgeon, with very little known about his true feelings. But Betty, his late wife, understood him better than anyone, even though she never asked more of him than he was willing to give. Children was not asked. And not given.
Bittersweet scenes, combined with humorous moments, made this an excellent read. The author presents a character study of a man who never felt he belonged, who always felt that he was left behind.
Like 'A Man Called Ove' by Frederik Backman, 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' by Helen Simonson, 'The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce, and 'The Book Of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B. Edwards, this book introduces a seemingly grumpy old loner to the world, who had a totally different story to tell when he finally decided to do so.
This book forms part of a series (trilogy?):
Old Filth (Old Filth #1)
The Man in the Wooden Hat (Old Filth #2)
Last Friends (Old Filth #3)
Definitely recommended for the gentle reader who enjoys historical fiction.
The book starts out with judge Feathers retired and alone. He and his wife retired to Dorset in England after his long career in the East as barrister and judge."It had been said that he fled London Bar, very young, very poor, on a sudden whim just after the War, and had done magnificently well in Hong Kong from the start. Being a modest man, they said, he had called himself a parvenu, a fraud, a carefree spirit."
He was eighty-two-years old and ready to face his memories and past. He was wealthy and successful in his career, but lack emotional commitment to anybody and anything. On the surface he acted like an old curmudgeon, with very little known about his true feelings. But Betty, his late wife, understood him better than anyone, even though she never asked more of him than he was willing to give. Children was not asked. And not given.
He had married a Scotswoman but she had been born in Peking. She was dumpy and tweedy with broad Lanarkshire shoulders and square hands, but she spoke Mandarin perfectly and was much more at home with Chinese ways and idiom than she ever felt on her very rare visits to Scotland. Her passion for jewellery was Chinese and her strong Scottish fingers rattled the trays of jade in the street markets of Kowloon, stirring the stones like pebbles on a beach. “When you do that,” Old Filth would say—when they were young and he was still aware of her all the time—“your eyes are almond-shaped.” “Poor Old Betty,” he would say to her ghost across in another armchair in the house in DorsetOld Filth begins to scramble his memories around to find the source of the person he had become. His childhood memories held an incident he could never discuss with anyone. He had to confront his memories of his foster parents, Ma and Didds, and for that he needed to complete circles with family and friends who left his life a long time ago. Only he knew why he did not see an irony in his nickname. He had to confess to a priest, although he was of the opinion that he did not need help to come to an end.
Bittersweet scenes, combined with humorous moments, made this an excellent read. The author presents a character study of a man who never felt he belonged, who always felt that he was left behind.
Like 'A Man Called Ove' by Frederik Backman, 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' by Helen Simonson, 'The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce, and 'The Book Of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B. Edwards, this book introduces a seemingly grumpy old loner to the world, who had a totally different story to tell when he finally decided to do so.
This book forms part of a series (trilogy?):
Old Filth (Old Filth #1)
The Man in the Wooden Hat (Old Filth #2)
Last Friends (Old Filth #3)
Definitely recommended for the gentle reader who enjoys historical fiction.
March 29, 2013
Marvelous. Great read! Why? Well, it is informative - it depicts the life of a Raj orphan, of which there were many. Through books such as this history becomes real, not just a subject of dates and numbers. I like learning as I read. Furthermore FILTH, the main character of the book, does not have an ordinary life, but as the author emphasizes everyone mistakenly thought he did. How often do we think that that person doesn't have our problems? Think if we only knew more about all these ordinary people! How often do we truly know other people?
FILTH stands for "Failed In London Try Hong Kong" and he was employed in the British Legal system. This is a man who truly believes in justice, whatever that is! This is a man who did his best to live a worthy life regardless of the difficulties life threw at him. Some authors love misery and almost regale in it, but Gardam although depicting very difficult circumstances, shows how humans can struggle through. Each character found their own way to survive. Succes/survival is never a defined unvaried solution. There is never only one way to achieve it. The diversity of people and how we each deal with life is amazing.
FILTH stands for "Failed In London Try Hong Kong" and he was employed in the British Legal system. This is a man who truly believes in justice, whatever that is! This is a man who did his best to live a worthy life regardless of the difficulties life threw at him. Some authors love misery and almost regale in it, but Gardam although depicting very difficult circumstances, shows how humans can struggle through. Each character found their own way to survive. Succes/survival is never a defined unvaried solution. There is never only one way to achieve it. The diversity of people and how we each deal with life is amazing.
April 9, 2024
I heard about Jane Gardam via the reliably wonderful Backlisted Podcast. They discussed her debut novel A Long Way from Verona.
Old Filth (aka Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feather), is a wonderful creation through which to encapsulate a lengthy period: from the glory days of the British Empire, through WW2, and into the present day.
Jane Gardam is an unshowy, self assured writer, and a consummate storyteller. Her diverse characters are all understated and credible, and yet wholly memorable too. Don't be put off by the title. FILTH being an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong". Apparently, former outposts of the British Empire were the stamping ground for those who could not cut it back in the mother country.
Old Filth is cleverly structured. Hoping backwards and forwards in time, and slowly revealing more about the primary characters, until we reach the denouement, which explains much about the characters and how they behave.
The less you know about the plot the better. However, be assured that Old Filth is a real treat.
5/5
Old Filth (aka Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feather), is a wonderful creation through which to encapsulate a lengthy period: from the glory days of the British Empire, through WW2, and into the present day.
Jane Gardam is an unshowy, self assured writer, and a consummate storyteller. Her diverse characters are all understated and credible, and yet wholly memorable too. Don't be put off by the title. FILTH being an acronym for "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong". Apparently, former outposts of the British Empire were the stamping ground for those who could not cut it back in the mother country.
Old Filth is cleverly structured. Hoping backwards and forwards in time, and slowly revealing more about the primary characters, until we reach the denouement, which explains much about the characters and how they behave.
The less you know about the plot the better. However, be assured that Old Filth is a real treat.
5/5
October 29, 2017
Update - 10/29 - It has been a couple days since I've finished Old Filth which I thought was quite good, but not special or memorable. Yet.... Old Filth has been stalking me. Eddie Feathers keeps popping into my head. I'm been thinking about his childhood, poor Eddie. Wondering about Betty. I think this novel is stronger than I initially thought. I'm changing to a solid 4 stars.
3.5 stars - Intelligent, witty, enjoyable. But no superlatives for Old Filth
3.5 stars - Intelligent, witty, enjoyable. But no superlatives for Old Filth
July 14, 2024
Nachtrag/2012
Wäre eines re-Read würdig.
Wenn ich doch die Fähigkeit hätte, Zusatzlesezeit herbeizuzaubern 🙏
Wäre eines re-Read würdig.
Wenn ich doch die Fähigkeit hätte, Zusatzlesezeit herbeizuzaubern 🙏
April 19, 2020
This is a tricky book to rate. For the majority I had pegged it as a three star read - there were some lovely passages but it hadn't exactly wowed me. However towards the end, there was a revelation that completely reframed the narrative, one that made me rethink my evaluation.
The story revolves around a retired judge named Sir Edward Feathers, dubbed Old Filth by his peers (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong). He began life in colonial Malaya, before being dispatched by a distant father to a foster home in Wales. He received an Oxford education but spent most of his career in Hong Kong as a barrister and distinguished judge. Now 80, he has retired to Dorset with his wife Betty.
Filth is a difficult character to warm to. He is aloof and has few friends. He hasn't bothered to learn the name of his housekeeper, referring to her as Mrs-er. Even his marriage to Betty is a bit off - it's not quite loveless, more functional.
But there is also something awful in Filth's past that he chooses to bury. A darkness from his childhood that his shaped his entire personality. We get a sense of it throughout the story though it is only fully revealed at the end. And this caused me to view him in a whole new light, with much more sympathy than I had previously allowed.
Filth certainly had some colourful adventures in his life - highlights include an eventful boat trip to Singapore and a stint in the army involving a high profile assignment. However, I also thought that quite a few of the narrative's developments hinged on unlikely coincidences. So it's a three star rating for me this time around. Though I suspect that a re-read, armed with a deeper knowledge of Filth's backstory, would prove a richer experience.
The story revolves around a retired judge named Sir Edward Feathers, dubbed Old Filth by his peers (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong). He began life in colonial Malaya, before being dispatched by a distant father to a foster home in Wales. He received an Oxford education but spent most of his career in Hong Kong as a barrister and distinguished judge. Now 80, he has retired to Dorset with his wife Betty.
Filth is a difficult character to warm to. He is aloof and has few friends. He hasn't bothered to learn the name of his housekeeper, referring to her as Mrs-er. Even his marriage to Betty is a bit off - it's not quite loveless, more functional.
But there is also something awful in Filth's past that he chooses to bury. A darkness from his childhood that his shaped his entire personality. We get a sense of it throughout the story though it is only fully revealed at the end. And this caused me to view him in a whole new light, with much more sympathy than I had previously allowed.
Filth certainly had some colourful adventures in his life - highlights include an eventful boat trip to Singapore and a stint in the army involving a high profile assignment. However, I also thought that quite a few of the narrative's developments hinged on unlikely coincidences. So it's a three star rating for me this time around. Though I suspect that a re-read, armed with a deeper knowledge of Filth's backstory, would prove a richer experience.
November 7, 2010
As soon as I finished this book, I went back to Amazon to try to figure out why I read it. Yep, 33 5 star reviews and 3 4's and nothing else. When I was half way through it, a new Carl Hiaasen book landed on my desk, and I was sorely tempted to jump ship (you know, life is too short...). But then I thought about all those 5 star reviews, and the glowing quotes on the back of the book, and I thought, well maybe it gets better, I'll just race through the rest. Sadly, it didn't get any better, although at least there was a little surprise revelation.
The sense I got from the book, corroborated by the reviews, is that you're most likely to like this book if something in it resonates with you. That probably means you're British, or know what it's like to be British, you love British war history, you know something about the "Raj orphans", you are very old and rue your life, you are unhinged by your wife dying although it can't be said you loved her, you never really knew your father who probably didn't want to know you, you've spent your entire life regretting something, you find your life pointless, your sex life has consisted only of a couple of brief, meaningless incidents, you are wealthy and that's all anybody can remember about you, you cannot really connect with people on any level, or you've only met one interesting person in your entire life.
Hmmm... Maybe two stars was too generous.
The sense I got from the book, corroborated by the reviews, is that you're most likely to like this book if something in it resonates with you. That probably means you're British, or know what it's like to be British, you love British war history, you know something about the "Raj orphans", you are very old and rue your life, you are unhinged by your wife dying although it can't be said you loved her, you never really knew your father who probably didn't want to know you, you've spent your entire life regretting something, you find your life pointless, your sex life has consisted only of a couple of brief, meaningless incidents, you are wealthy and that's all anybody can remember about you, you cannot really connect with people on any level, or you've only met one interesting person in your entire life.
Hmmm... Maybe two stars was too generous.
August 21, 2019
Puikus rytas knygai pribaigti.
Ir šiosios, teisybės vardan, niekad nebūčiau pasirinkusi, jei reiktų spręsti tik pagal pavadinimą ir viršelį.
O būtų gaila.
BBC įtraukta į top100 geriausių britų romanų - ne veltui.
Suraityta meistriškai, vis stebinanti naujais siužeto vingiais, neleidžianti snausti, nes plevenanti per skirtingus britų imperijos laikmečius.
Dar daugiau - simboliškai man ši knyga skaitėsi po “Motinos pieno”, nes joje luošinanti tėvystė ir jos padariniai taip pat yra ašių ašis.
Radžo našlaičiais buvo vadinami vaikai, iš britų kolonijų parsiunčiami į Angliją mokytis. Daugelis jų savo tėvų nebeprisiminė, užtat skaudžiai išgyveno profesionalių globėjų nemeilę.
“Vyro be trūkumų” arba Radžo našlaičio Edvardo istorija man priminė liūdnąjį Stounerį. Beprotiškai vienišo, mylėti negebančio, išgąsdinto vyro istorija. Vyro, kuriam reikia sulaukti devyniasdešimties, kad jis mestų tas nuobodžias savo gyvenimo taisykles ir šiek tiek sušiltų bent prieš mirtį.
Labai.
Ne tik tokiais lietingais rytais.
Ir šiosios, teisybės vardan, niekad nebūčiau pasirinkusi, jei reiktų spręsti tik pagal pavadinimą ir viršelį.
O būtų gaila.
BBC įtraukta į top100 geriausių britų romanų - ne veltui.
Suraityta meistriškai, vis stebinanti naujais siužeto vingiais, neleidžianti snausti, nes plevenanti per skirtingus britų imperijos laikmečius.
Dar daugiau - simboliškai man ši knyga skaitėsi po “Motinos pieno”, nes joje luošinanti tėvystė ir jos padariniai taip pat yra ašių ašis.
Radžo našlaičiais buvo vadinami vaikai, iš britų kolonijų parsiunčiami į Angliją mokytis. Daugelis jų savo tėvų nebeprisiminė, užtat skaudžiai išgyveno profesionalių globėjų nemeilę.
“Vyro be trūkumų” arba Radžo našlaičio Edvardo istorija man priminė liūdnąjį Stounerį. Beprotiškai vienišo, mylėti negebančio, išgąsdinto vyro istorija. Vyro, kuriam reikia sulaukti devyniasdešimties, kad jis mestų tas nuobodžias savo gyvenimo taisykles ir šiek tiek sušiltų bent prieš mirtį.
Labai.
Ne tik tokiais lietingais rytais.
January 14, 2016
I loved this book.
I picked it up thinking the title looked like fun and found myself instead in a book about emotional constriction and concealments in the lives of retired judge Sir Edward Feathers (Old Filth himself), his wife Betty and the third main character, Veneering.
While the story has tragic elements that other writers might turn into sentimental slush, Gardam maintains a superb balance between tragedy and comedy, making this book about displaced lives very easy to read, profoundly moving and funny all at the same time. She has a great gift for dry humour, which is sometimes so gentle that it can almost be missed, and sometimes so sharp you gasp.
This book, published in 2004, was reviewed as Gardam's 'masterpiece' in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004...
It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and lost to Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Later reviews for the second and third volumes in what has turned out to be a trilogy have referred to it as Gardam's masterpiece as a whole. Here is the TLS 2013 of the third volume Last Friends.
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/a...
I picked it up thinking the title looked like fun and found myself instead in a book about emotional constriction and concealments in the lives of retired judge Sir Edward Feathers (Old Filth himself), his wife Betty and the third main character, Veneering.
While the story has tragic elements that other writers might turn into sentimental slush, Gardam maintains a superb balance between tragedy and comedy, making this book about displaced lives very easy to read, profoundly moving and funny all at the same time. She has a great gift for dry humour, which is sometimes so gentle that it can almost be missed, and sometimes so sharp you gasp.
This book, published in 2004, was reviewed as Gardam's 'masterpiece' in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004...
It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and lost to Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Later reviews for the second and third volumes in what has turned out to be a trilogy have referred to it as Gardam's masterpiece as a whole. Here is the TLS 2013 of the third volume Last Friends.
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/a...
March 26, 2020
Jane Gardam “Vyras be trūkumų” suviliojo mane tobulu viršeliu ir tuo, kad BBC šią knygą yra įtraukę į geriausių britų romanų šimtuką. Intriguoja, tiesa?
Labai britiška- santūri ir subtili- knyga, kurioje pasakojama apie vieno vyro gyvenimą. Edvardo gyvenimas prasidėjo nelengvai - vos kelios dienos po jo gimimo miršta motina. Tėvas atsitveria šalčio siena ir berniuką augina svetimi žmonės, kuriems už tai yra mokama. Vėliau berniukas tampa Radžo našlaičiu. Šiek tiek istorijos: Radžo našlaičiais tapdavo vaikai, kurių tėvai dirba britų imperijai rytuose. Šie vaikai siunčiami į Britaniją, kad mokytųsi, o jų globa atitenka svetimiems žmonėms arba įstaigoms. Nereikia net sakyti kokia tai didelė trauma vaikui išplėštam iš pažįstamos aplinkos ir atsidūrusiam tokioje nežinomybėje ir nesaugume. Šie vaikai praranda ryšį su tėvais ir tokie iššūkiai palieka randus visam gyvenimui.
Pagrindinis herojus, seras Edvardas, auga ir galime stebėti kaip ta neišmylėto vaika drama lyg šešelis jį seka. Jo saugusis prieglobstis - darbas. Vyras dirba prestižinį advokato, vėliau teisėjo darbą.
Ši jautri sero Edvardo istorija kartu yra ir britų kolonijų gyvenimo užkulisiai. Tai priduoda tekstui svorio ir sodrumo. Šios dvi istorijos seka koja kojon ir tikrai įdomu stebėti abi.
Pagrindinė kūrinio tema - vyro vidinis pasaulis. Kiek daug pasaulyje mes turime tų Radžo našlaičių. Nebūtinai tikrąja to žodžio prasme, bet vyrų, kurie luošinami psichologiškai daug. Tie vyrai emociškai nesubrendę, įskaudinti, iš jų reikalaujama būti tvirtais, nerodyti silpnumo - būti kažkokiais antžmogiais.
Kita tema - išorinis spindesys. Edvardas turi viską - prestižinę karjerą, statusą, pinigų, namus, puikią žmoną, bet kas po tuo gražiu sluoksniu slypi iš tiesų? Tai man asmeniškai labai susišaukia ir su šių dienų aktualijomis - socialiniais tinklais. Kiek daug melo ten, kuriuo mes tikime arba kurį net patys ir kuriame.
Tai labai subtilus, rafinuotas pasakojimas su tipiško britiško humoro intarpais ir puikiai tiks literatūros gurmanams. Užčiuopti kūrinio emocijas ir būti empatiškam reikia sugebėjimo, nes nieko paviršiuje nėra, bet jei pavyks - išgyvensite tikrą kūrinio grožį ir gylį.
Video apžvalga: https://bit.ly/2Um3EI6
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Labai britiška- santūri ir subtili- knyga, kurioje pasakojama apie vieno vyro gyvenimą. Edvardo gyvenimas prasidėjo nelengvai - vos kelios dienos po jo gimimo miršta motina. Tėvas atsitveria šalčio siena ir berniuką augina svetimi žmonės, kuriems už tai yra mokama. Vėliau berniukas tampa Radžo našlaičiu. Šiek tiek istorijos: Radžo našlaičiais tapdavo vaikai, kurių tėvai dirba britų imperijai rytuose. Šie vaikai siunčiami į Britaniją, kad mokytųsi, o jų globa atitenka svetimiems žmonėms arba įstaigoms. Nereikia net sakyti kokia tai didelė trauma vaikui išplėštam iš pažįstamos aplinkos ir atsidūrusiam tokioje nežinomybėje ir nesaugume. Šie vaikai praranda ryšį su tėvais ir tokie iššūkiai palieka randus visam gyvenimui.
Pagrindinis herojus, seras Edvardas, auga ir galime stebėti kaip ta neišmylėto vaika drama lyg šešelis jį seka. Jo saugusis prieglobstis - darbas. Vyras dirba prestižinį advokato, vėliau teisėjo darbą.
Ši jautri sero Edvardo istorija kartu yra ir britų kolonijų gyvenimo užkulisiai. Tai priduoda tekstui svorio ir sodrumo. Šios dvi istorijos seka koja kojon ir tikrai įdomu stebėti abi.
Pagrindinė kūrinio tema - vyro vidinis pasaulis. Kiek daug pasaulyje mes turime tų Radžo našlaičių. Nebūtinai tikrąja to žodžio prasme, bet vyrų, kurie luošinami psichologiškai daug. Tie vyrai emociškai nesubrendę, įskaudinti, iš jų reikalaujama būti tvirtais, nerodyti silpnumo - būti kažkokiais antžmogiais.
Kita tema - išorinis spindesys. Edvardas turi viską - prestižinę karjerą, statusą, pinigų, namus, puikią žmoną, bet kas po tuo gražiu sluoksniu slypi iš tiesų? Tai man asmeniškai labai susišaukia ir su šių dienų aktualijomis - socialiniais tinklais. Kiek daug melo ten, kuriuo mes tikime arba kurį net patys ir kuriame.
Tai labai subtilus, rafinuotas pasakojimas su tipiško britiško humoro intarpais ir puikiai tiks literatūros gurmanams. Užčiuopti kūrinio emocijas ir būti empatiškam reikia sugebėjimo, nes nieko paviršiuje nėra, bet jei pavyks - išgyvensite tikrą kūrinio grožį ir gylį.
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September 14, 2020
4+ stars
Old Filth, A.K.A Sir Edward Feathers, is a complex character whose humanity with its flaws and heartrending early traumas evoked deep compassion in me. I was reminded of the expression, "Never judge a man until you have walked in his shoes." Who would want to walk in Eddie's shoes?
Losing a mother anytime is difficult. Perhaps is you lose your mother when you are three days old and have no recollection of her, maybe it is not difficult; but maybe if that death was caused by your birth, perhaps you will always feel, not only loss but also guilt. Can the surviving parent compensate for this loss? Again, perhaps. In Eddie Feathers's case, a father devoid of love and emotion only added to the deepening emotional wound. Eddie, an example of a Raj orphan, is forced to leave Malaya and his surrogate family. To Eddie, England is a country of unfamiliar people, language, and climate. Like a Dickens' novel, things don't improve: an abusive foster mother, two uncaring and self-absorbed aunts, the death of a friend, and the termination of a relationship with a supportive and loving family only increase his pain. Who succumbs to years of emotional deprivation? Who is unscathed? The wounds may scab, but the scar remains.
Gardam's story is not all doom and gloom, nor does she make this a sentimental tearjerker. Eddie achieves financial success. He is highly respected; his unconventional relationship with his wife is envied. (Who knew?) Only after Betty dies does Eddie try to make sense of his past and the person he is now at eighty.
Gardam is a skillful writer who makes the reader work. She reveals one thread at a time moving back and forth between the past and the present. I have read reviews that describe this book as humorous.
That is as misleading as the title if one doesn't realize FILTH is an acronym. There are certainly amusing events and descriptions, but overall it is a sad account of a man's life. I loved the ending. I felt rays of warm sun shining down on this survivor of life's cruelties.
Old Filth, A.K.A Sir Edward Feathers, is a complex character whose humanity with its flaws and heartrending early traumas evoked deep compassion in me. I was reminded of the expression, "Never judge a man until you have walked in his shoes." Who would want to walk in Eddie's shoes?
Losing a mother anytime is difficult. Perhaps is you lose your mother when you are three days old and have no recollection of her, maybe it is not difficult; but maybe if that death was caused by your birth, perhaps you will always feel, not only loss but also guilt. Can the surviving parent compensate for this loss? Again, perhaps. In Eddie Feathers's case, a father devoid of love and emotion only added to the deepening emotional wound. Eddie, an example of a Raj orphan, is forced to leave Malaya and his surrogate family. To Eddie, England is a country of unfamiliar people, language, and climate. Like a Dickens' novel, things don't improve: an abusive foster mother, two uncaring and self-absorbed aunts, the death of a friend, and the termination of a relationship with a supportive and loving family only increase his pain. Who succumbs to years of emotional deprivation? Who is unscathed? The wounds may scab, but the scar remains.
Gardam's story is not all doom and gloom, nor does she make this a sentimental tearjerker. Eddie achieves financial success. He is highly respected; his unconventional relationship with his wife is envied. (Who knew?) Only after Betty dies does Eddie try to make sense of his past and the person he is now at eighty.
Gardam is a skillful writer who makes the reader work. She reveals one thread at a time moving back and forth between the past and the present. I have read reviews that describe this book as humorous.
That is as misleading as the title if one doesn't realize FILTH is an acronym. There are certainly amusing events and descriptions, but overall it is a sad account of a man's life. I loved the ending. I felt rays of warm sun shining down on this survivor of life's cruelties.
August 28, 2008
Captivating. One of the most rewarding things about reading is discovering a character, a piece of history, a perhaps arcane bit of information that somehow finds its way into your life, even if it just leads you to another great book. Old Filth was the first time I had ever heard the term "Raj Orphans," referring to the children of British citizens posted in Asia during Britain's rule who were sent back to England (or Wales, or Scotland, etc.) to be raised by distant family members or foster families. Fascinating piece of history that makes me want to read more about this period. This novel is hugely entertaining, as well, with a nice little mystery at its core as an added bonus.
July 8, 2016
I first heard about this book on one of those recommended reading lists one comes across at the beginning of the summer. Not sure who exactly it was who recommended it, maybe Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post or maybe someone from NPR, maybe both. Whoever it was, the book sounded interesting, so I added it to my list of books to read. Recently, on a trip to my public library, I stopped at a display bookcase entitled “Find a good book to curl up with” and there it was. It didn’t have to invite me twice; I took it home.
We are introduced to our eponymous hero with the tiniest bit of a dramatic scene, which takes place in the lunchroom of the courts where we hear several people talk about Old Filth, a retired judge whom they have just seen. The remarks are largely positive, leading readers to like the character even before we meet him. We also learn that he is called Old Filth because he invented the word FILTH, an acronym standing for Failed in London, Try Hong Kong. (And he was an attorney in Hong Kong for many years before he returned to England to be a judge.) As we get into the novel proper, we learn more about Old Filth, Sir Edward Feathers, who was born in Malaya to English parents. His mother died when he was three days old, and his father showed little or no interest in him. At three days old he was sent to live in a Malaysian village with his wet nurse and stayed there until he was four and a half, living as a native Malaysian. At that point an emissary from his father (she was a missionary who persuaded his father to let her remove young Edward from the care of his Malaysian family) comes to accompany him “Home” (to England) where he is placed in foster care with a Welsh family until he is old enough to be sent off to an English boarding school.
The book begins with Sir Edward in old age, a widower living in retirement in Dorset. And we learn his whole life story in flashbacks, in jumps and starts, filling us in on his history, telling us parts and keeping some parts for later. It is Jane Gardam’s brilliant writing that makes this novel so worth reading and this out-of-order narrative so totally unconfusing. I found myself completely drawn into this story, set in the end days of the British colonies, about this man, who is a Raj Orphan (a British child sent alone from the Asian colony where his parents live to be brought up back “home” in Britain), both so British and so Malaysian he does not really fit anywhere comfortably, although he thinks he fits everywhere comfortably. The way the story is told actually made me more and more interested as I read about Sir Edward. He is a supremely interesting and complicated character even though he lacks self-knowledge and seems unaware of so much going on around him. His relationship with his wife Betty seems friendly, even though Gardam lets us know directly that Betty has found love elsewhere. There are clues Sir Edward should have picked up on about Betty, but he does not. His ability to protect himself from what he does not want to know seems almost omnipotent. He remains cheerful much of the time. It is as if his Raj Orphan life, which he takes so for granted, has made him unable to face himself or any one else. Yet, instead of seeing him as a pathetic character, I became both sympathetic with him and more and more interested in his story. In fact, I am so taken with this character and Jane Gardam as his storyteller, that I will soon be looking for the next two books in this trilogy: The Man in the Wooden Hat and Last Friends. Can’t wait to see more about these characters through the eyes of Betty and of Terry Veneering, another Hong Kong attorney of British heritage who ends up retiring right next door to Sir Edward in Dorset.
4.5/5
We are introduced to our eponymous hero with the tiniest bit of a dramatic scene, which takes place in the lunchroom of the courts where we hear several people talk about Old Filth, a retired judge whom they have just seen. The remarks are largely positive, leading readers to like the character even before we meet him. We also learn that he is called Old Filth because he invented the word FILTH, an acronym standing for Failed in London, Try Hong Kong. (And he was an attorney in Hong Kong for many years before he returned to England to be a judge.) As we get into the novel proper, we learn more about Old Filth, Sir Edward Feathers, who was born in Malaya to English parents. His mother died when he was three days old, and his father showed little or no interest in him. At three days old he was sent to live in a Malaysian village with his wet nurse and stayed there until he was four and a half, living as a native Malaysian. At that point an emissary from his father (she was a missionary who persuaded his father to let her remove young Edward from the care of his Malaysian family) comes to accompany him “Home” (to England) where he is placed in foster care with a Welsh family until he is old enough to be sent off to an English boarding school.
The book begins with Sir Edward in old age, a widower living in retirement in Dorset. And we learn his whole life story in flashbacks, in jumps and starts, filling us in on his history, telling us parts and keeping some parts for later. It is Jane Gardam’s brilliant writing that makes this novel so worth reading and this out-of-order narrative so totally unconfusing. I found myself completely drawn into this story, set in the end days of the British colonies, about this man, who is a Raj Orphan (a British child sent alone from the Asian colony where his parents live to be brought up back “home” in Britain), both so British and so Malaysian he does not really fit anywhere comfortably, although he thinks he fits everywhere comfortably. The way the story is told actually made me more and more interested as I read about Sir Edward. He is a supremely interesting and complicated character even though he lacks self-knowledge and seems unaware of so much going on around him. His relationship with his wife Betty seems friendly, even though Gardam lets us know directly that Betty has found love elsewhere. There are clues Sir Edward should have picked up on about Betty, but he does not. His ability to protect himself from what he does not want to know seems almost omnipotent. He remains cheerful much of the time. It is as if his Raj Orphan life, which he takes so for granted, has made him unable to face himself or any one else. Yet, instead of seeing him as a pathetic character, I became both sympathetic with him and more and more interested in his story. In fact, I am so taken with this character and Jane Gardam as his storyteller, that I will soon be looking for the next two books in this trilogy: The Man in the Wooden Hat and Last Friends. Can’t wait to see more about these characters through the eyes of Betty and of Terry Veneering, another Hong Kong attorney of British heritage who ends up retiring right next door to Sir Edward in Dorset.
4.5/5
March 9, 2014
OMG, where to start! As hard a marker as I am, this one gets 'em all- every star. I've already the next by this author on my Kindle. How did I miss these? Two jobs, I suspect.
This is a case where the author has hit the perfect pitch and nuance of this protagonist's life. She cornered every one of his grounded "attachments". And she mastered the transitions that flit from Old Filth to Master Eddie and some in between with graceful stability to those grounded "attachments" of Eddie Feathers' life and accomplishments. Raj orphans indeed! Just ordinary ones; nothing ever "happens" that makes them celeb superior?
Highly, highly recommend this one. It applies fully to moderns who are not parented, as well. This could have been a staid and dire tale, but in the telling and spirit OVER adversity, such joy in this life translates instead! Manufactured for self that capacity for joy, possibly, but in the end- so absolutely real JOY.
At entirely different portions when reading, at least 3 or 4 times, I stopped to ponder a sentence or two and wonder to myself. Can the young reader begin to understand this? It's from old "eyes". Nearly completely. Often entirely different from passion and emotion and hiccup reaction of the young. Lovely, lovely portrait of a time and condition and a core of characters by a master. I'll read all she writes.
This is a case where the author has hit the perfect pitch and nuance of this protagonist's life. She cornered every one of his grounded "attachments". And she mastered the transitions that flit from Old Filth to Master Eddie and some in between with graceful stability to those grounded "attachments" of Eddie Feathers' life and accomplishments. Raj orphans indeed! Just ordinary ones; nothing ever "happens" that makes them celeb superior?
Highly, highly recommend this one. It applies fully to moderns who are not parented, as well. This could have been a staid and dire tale, but in the telling and spirit OVER adversity, such joy in this life translates instead! Manufactured for self that capacity for joy, possibly, but in the end- so absolutely real JOY.
At entirely different portions when reading, at least 3 or 4 times, I stopped to ponder a sentence or two and wonder to myself. Can the young reader begin to understand this? It's from old "eyes". Nearly completely. Often entirely different from passion and emotion and hiccup reaction of the young. Lovely, lovely portrait of a time and condition and a core of characters by a master. I'll read all she writes.
June 17, 2015
Failed in London, try Hong Kong........the words behind the acronym Filth. A small joke that gets way too much distracting play in this novel about Edward Feathers, ostensibly successful British barrister and Hong Kong lawyer and judge.
This is my first Gardam book and I definitely find her a wordsmith of the first order. She does wonderful things with characterization. And, I am taken by the challenge of peeling back the layers of a life to reveal its structure and foundation. Along the way, we jump forwards and back to catch Eddie at various key junctures. (If I am a bit circumspect in my description, it is to avoid spoilers.) The book spans the 20th Century from his birth right after World War One in Malay to about eighty years later.
Gardam, herself, explicitly raises issues of "memory and desire." This puts forward many questions, including:
How much do we know about our partner?
How much do we want to know?
Do we expect to find out anything new after their death?
How much are each of us beyond our deeds?
I found myself pausing often to think about such things and the reading experience was enhanced by doing so. I am not sure I ever quite determined the significance of Eddie not being able to write his memoirs. And, I am still musing about how much of the book is about growing old and how "what seems important" changes.
This is my first Gardam book and I definitely find her a wordsmith of the first order. She does wonderful things with characterization. And, I am taken by the challenge of peeling back the layers of a life to reveal its structure and foundation. Along the way, we jump forwards and back to catch Eddie at various key junctures. (If I am a bit circumspect in my description, it is to avoid spoilers.) The book spans the 20th Century from his birth right after World War One in Malay to about eighty years later.
Gardam, herself, explicitly raises issues of "memory and desire." This puts forward many questions, including:
How much do we know about our partner?
How much do we want to know?
Do we expect to find out anything new after their death?
How much are each of us beyond our deeds?
I found myself pausing often to think about such things and the reading experience was enhanced by doing so. I am not sure I ever quite determined the significance of Eddie not being able to write his memoirs. And, I am still musing about how much of the book is about growing old and how "what seems important" changes.
May 25, 2020
I finished this book on a plane to London and I very, very nearly started crying. Indeed, only the prospect of strangers asking me if I was okay deterred my outpour of emotion.
Perhaps the most significant thing I have realized in my own process of “growing up” is how afraid people are of being alone, and how loneliness is not only widespread, but really a key part of adulthood. The banality of loneliness is only overcome by the banal situations people place themselves in order to escape their condition.
Sir Edward Feathers QC, known as Old Filth (Failed In London Try Hong kong), is acutely aware of his loneliness although he rarely voices it. At heart, Old Filth is about a man's attempts at coping with the death of his wife, and with the undeniable fact that he, someone to whom nothing appears to have happened, is absolutely alone. Even so, perhaps because of this, Sir Edward places himself in unlikely, often humorous situations. It's a humour born of incongruence but not at the expense of the characters. Sir Edward's presence is always sobering, never ridiculous. Little by little we learn the depths of this man, about his past and about his feelings, that is to say, his secrets.
Beautifully written, with an understated prose that takes its readers very seriously, I have already bought the second volume of the trilogy and I can’t wait to read it.
Perhaps the most significant thing I have realized in my own process of “growing up” is how afraid people are of being alone, and how loneliness is not only widespread, but really a key part of adulthood. The banality of loneliness is only overcome by the banal situations people place themselves in order to escape their condition.
Sir Edward Feathers QC, known as Old Filth (Failed In London Try Hong kong), is acutely aware of his loneliness although he rarely voices it. At heart, Old Filth is about a man's attempts at coping with the death of his wife, and with the undeniable fact that he, someone to whom nothing appears to have happened, is absolutely alone. Even so, perhaps because of this, Sir Edward places himself in unlikely, often humorous situations. It's a humour born of incongruence but not at the expense of the characters. Sir Edward's presence is always sobering, never ridiculous. Little by little we learn the depths of this man, about his past and about his feelings, that is to say, his secrets.
Beautifully written, with an understated prose that takes its readers very seriously, I have already bought the second volume of the trilogy and I can’t wait to read it.
December 19, 2020
I enjoyed this, though not as much as some of my GR friends did. It's written in an entertaining, amusing (even sometimes breezy) style, but also with insight as to what it might've been like to be a Raj orphan -- that was the most interesting aspect of the book to me, as I've read lots of novels set in the Raj and post-Raj time periods but none that focus on that issue.
The book lost me, for some reason, along the way, around the time Queen Mary is introduced, and I think the sections with Loss might've benefited from being just a tad less breezy. Despite that, I'd definitely read Gardam again.
The book lost me, for some reason, along the way, around the time Queen Mary is introduced, and I think the sections with Loss might've benefited from being just a tad less breezy. Despite that, I'd definitely read Gardam again.
April 19, 2013
For those of us who reveled in The Raj Quartet mini-series back in the 1980's, this is a gift. It tells the tale of a barrister who returns to England to die after having spent his adulthood in Hong Kong in the aftermath of the British Empire. In a series of flashbacks (the plot is not linear), we learn about his troubled childhood, first as a motherless child in Malaysia and then as a Raj orphan. Edward Feathers, nicknamed Filth (failed in London, try Hong Kong) is a legend in his professional life but he can't seem to find satisfaction or intimacy in his private life.
As he confronts a lonely old age he begins to ruminate on the past. His quest to understand himself assumes global implications as he embarks upon a series of journeys, both into his past and toward an uncertain future. As a character, Filth seems to encompass all the contradictions of the British Empire. His story is filled with evocative narrative sweep and personal triumphs and tragedies. It is immensely satisfying.If you liked this review please read on:
http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.ph...
March 12, 2009
One of the best uses of flashback that I can remember. Immensely wise, this is the bittersweet story of an old man's life. Gradually Gardam reveals the successes and failures of Eddie Feathers, his astonishing luck and balance amid life's rough seas. We come to respect his judgement, appreciate his wit, and thank him for his humanity. We love him for forgiving the infidelities of his wife, and for his embrace of his arch nemesis. We miss him at the end. One of the great characters of British literature today.
We first see eighty-year-old Feathers in retirement in Dorset, England after a long career at the bar in Hong Kong. Careful reasoning on illustrious cases earns him a reputation at home and abroad and he is known to all by the sobriquet "Old Filth" (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong), a term usually reserved for a group of people. His mind drifts back over chapters in his life that formed and directed him, and we see him reason, and change. A remarkable performance which should earn Jane Gardam well-deserved respect and a large audience.
We first see eighty-year-old Feathers in retirement in Dorset, England after a long career at the bar in Hong Kong. Careful reasoning on illustrious cases earns him a reputation at home and abroad and he is known to all by the sobriquet "Old Filth" (Failed in London, Try Hong Kong), a term usually reserved for a group of people. His mind drifts back over chapters in his life that formed and directed him, and we see him reason, and change. A remarkable performance which should earn Jane Gardam well-deserved respect and a large audience.
November 18, 2009
Filth stands for "Failed In London, Try Hong kong." It's a story about an old British lawyer and judge who dispersed justice in Hong Kong, India and other former Far East colonies of the Empire, although his work was mentioned briefly, only as an afterthought to outline his outstanding reputation as a lawmaker. He retires with his wife to Dorset, she dies (while planting tulips in the garden) and that sends him to revisit people and places from his childhood and youth. Through these travels, the fragmented story of his early life is being told, flashing back and forth from WW2 time to present. Finally, a dark secret (which somehow doesn't seem neither dark nor horrific) is revealed, but by then the reader is so numb of all the pre and post-war Britishness that it feels anticlimactic. Old Filth reminds me of Love in the Time of Cholera, British version.
NPR book reviewers call Gardam the best British author you've never heard of. Call me demanding, but this book left me indifferent. I am not sure I'll give her a second chance.
NPR book reviewers call Gardam the best British author you've never heard of. Call me demanding, but this book left me indifferent. I am not sure I'll give her a second chance.
September 4, 2020
I chose this based on the number of overwhelmingly positive reviews, but I am not British and there is much that I certainly know of...rather than experienced myself, but it fell flat for me as I expected humour. I became rather depressed reading the life of a Raj child rather than finding amusement as I had expected from the book.
Gardam is a fine writer and the story is well told, but I did not enjoy reading it in that it truly depressed me. Now I am so glum I may have to search for?? don't know...what can pick me up from this depression I feel from this book?
I had planned to read the trilogy but am sending the second book back for refund.
Kindle Unlimited
Gardam is a fine writer and the story is well told, but I did not enjoy reading it in that it truly depressed me. Now I am so glum I may have to search for?? don't know...what can pick me up from this depression I feel from this book?
I had planned to read the trilogy but am sending the second book back for refund.
Kindle Unlimited
July 29, 2021
Sir Edward Feathers, aka "Old Filth", is a legend in his own time. Everyone who is Anyone in England's legal system knows of him. The reader, however, is left in ignorance of what he did to have earned such a reputation, except that he himself coined the acronym FILTH which stands for Failed in London, Try Hong Kong.
Instead, this is a superb character study. Gardam precedes her novel with the quote from an inscription and a dedication, both of which have great bearing on what is to follow.
I confess I don't know how Gardam will handle this being only the first installment in a trilogy. I am more than anxious to find out. 5-stars for this one!
Instead, this is a superb character study. Gardam precedes her novel with the quote from an inscription and a dedication, both of which have great bearing on what is to follow.
Lawyers, I suppose, were children onceThe novel opens when Old Filth is 80-years old and he is in England. Soon we are told the story of his birth in Malay. The timeline of this novel is fluid. Sometimes he is a child in Malay, sometimes aged 80, sometimes a student, back and forth. Gardam handles this well and I was never confused about when any action was taking place. I use the word "action" cautiously as there are definite scenes, but overall very little plot.
(Inscription upon the statue of a child in the Inner Temple Garden in London)
To Raj Orphans and their parents
I confess I don't know how Gardam will handle this being only the first installment in a trilogy. I am more than anxious to find out. 5-stars for this one!
October 2, 2008
I really enjoyed this book - it is a British book, so there is quite a bit of uncommon (to Americans) vocabulary, but don't let it put you off, it is a bit like seeing a British film, once you just sit back and relax about it and don't worry about what each word means, you will thoroughly enjoy it. The story is wonderful and the manner in which it is written, between the past and the present, is well done. Don't let the title put you off, either. You will quickly learn that Filth stands for Failed In London Try Hong kong (FILTH), so don't mistakenly assume it is about a dirty old man! It is a wonderful tale with great characters and plot twists you will be surprised with and enjoy.
September 7, 2021
I have not much to say about this book. It wasn't bad by any means but i did not connect with either the story or characters. Didn't even remembered that I've read this before until I was documenting it
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