Old filth

Old Filth is empathy and empire, a story of a judge whose life crossed east to west and back again. Gardam's imagination and depth of character is built like an expert craftsperson. The story bounces between its present (the early 2000s) and the past, throughout the life of Filth, the 80-year-old ex-pat whose life as part of the British elite is flipped on its head several times in his relationship to "home". The ending ties everything up a little too neatly, but the thread of mystery in the story is satisfying, and this is a strong, character-driven novel.

Jeg er alltid av den mening at kontekst avgjør verdien av en bok. Jeg forstår hvorfor folk skryter hemningsløst av boken, og den er utrolig sjarmerende. Men jeg hadde kanskje større forventninger til empire- og old School-biten av boken, og kom ikke helt under huden på Old Filth, han ble ikke helt troverdig for meg, og akkurat den biten henger sammen med egen sinnsstemning mens jeg leser boken. Så sjarmerende, definitivt, men ikke helt topp.