Past Imperfect (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A middle-aged Londoner is forced to revisit his past in Fellowes's slick and dexterous second novel (after the bestselling Snobs). Former friend Damian Baxter, after 40 years of estrangement, convinces the unnamed narrator to locate the woman Damian believes to have borne his child in 1968. As the narrator looks back on the events of that fateful summer, Fellowes exercises his considerable talent for observing the nuances of custom and class distinction. Especially interesting are the frequent digressions to consider the peculiar juncture of their "safe little, nearly-pre-1939 world" with the Swinging Sixties. In the narrator's circle of friends-who would fit comfortably into a Trollope novel-the ossified conventions of the upper class still hold sway, yet the '60s make an appearance as well, enlivening a debutante party with surprise hash brownies. We quickly discover that middle-class Damian (a "social mountaineer") managed to insinuate himself into this smart set until a terrible scene tears apart the group of friends. Deservedly compared to Tom Wolfe, Fellowes, with his ability to document the aristocracy with a sociologist's eye, fashions intriguing narratives.
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Review

'A gloriously funny, bumpy ride through modern times.' -- Andrew Barrow THE EVENING STANDARD 'he knows too, how to create memorable characters. Working with an upper-class cast Fellowes populates PAST IMPERFECT with a gallery of sometimes grotesque but mostly affetionately drawn toffs - acidly observed by the narrator, ever peevish, ever diverting.' -- Peter Burton THE DAILY EXPRESS 'PAST IMPERFECT is both a historical document for that vanished era and a comedy of manners... sharply perceptive and required reading for anyone who was there.' -- Claire Colvin THE DAILY MAIL 'Its plot cannot fail to grip the reader... what elevates this novel to much more than a comedy of manners is the depth of compassion the author displays for his characters.' -- Elisa Segrave THE SPECTATOR 'An elegant satire, it offers an entertaining commentary on our times and a heartfelt lament for a kinder, more courteous Britain' -- Sebastian Shakespeare TATLER A witty take on the world as it was and is now' WOMAN AND HOME 'It is amusingly written, ends neatly, quietly subverts the surface stereotyping of its characters, and will have a certain kind of social historian swooning with pleasure.' -- DJ Taylor THE GUARDIAN 'Very entertaining - think a more self-aware and sophisticated Jilly Cooper... the result is that rare thing - an intelligent and insightful blockbuster.' GLOSS MAGAZINE 'An elegy for a long-lost class ill-equipped to deal with its inevitable demise.' -- Clare Allfree METRO 'A funny poignant story from the actor and Oscar-winning writer of Gosford Park' BELLA MAGAZINE 'Elegantly written, it says much about the times that we've lived through.' CHOICE MAGAZINE 'A witty page-turner for those who love reading about the toffs antics of yesteryear.' EASY LIVING 'compelling' -- Jane Shilling THE TIMES 'Elegantly written, intelligent, thoughtful and witty' THE GLASGOW EVENING TIMES 'A sometimes poignant, sometimes rueful elegy to the era when AA men saluted you' -- Lizy Buchan SUNDAY TIMES --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312570686
• ISBN-13: 978-0312570682
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Imperfect, February 3, 2009

By	Incognito (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes (Hardcover)

I enjoyed Past Imperfect much less than I did Snobs. The sharp insights and observations of the English upper class that made Snobs so funny and witty are largely absent from this book. Perhaps Fellowes didn't want to repeat himself. Instead, there were a lot of nostalgia for the 60's. Fellowes would often stop the narrative to spend a couple of pages educating readers on the way things were in the past, however they weren't particularly insightful or amusing.

The characters were also a bit unconvincing. Why was Damien so popular? Why was he so bitter towards 'me'? I understand Damien is supposedly a charming character, and he's bitter because 'I' am a snob. But I simply remain unconvinced that those are real people.

I also didn't like Fellowes' patronising attitude towards many characters. Midway through the book, I realised that Fellowes really is quite shallow and snobbish. For example, when a character said that she'd like to do something meaningful, to help people, Fellowes remarked that some people like to take the moral high ground in their life. I found that comment very shallow.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "It's always a pleasure to hear from an old friend but at my age it is, if anything,more interesting to hear from an old enemy", July 10, 2009

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In 1968 the London Season was on the wane. At one time it referred to the annual period when it was customary for members of the a social elite to hold posh debutante balls, dinner parties various soirees, large charity events, etc.. This period could begin any time after Christmas, depending upon the success of the hunting season in the country. It also coincided with the sitting of Parliament. London became a virtual marriage market during the Season. There were only a few short months for eligible debutantes to be officially presented to the queen, attend approximately 50 balls, 60 parties, 30 dinners and 25 breakfasts in order to, hopefully, find themselves a wealthy, titled husband. And a young lady was not considered approved for the marriage market until she was presented at court - her curtsy to the queen had to be impeccable if she were to succeed.

However, in 1968, the world was in a period of flux - politically and socially. This was the end of one era and the beginning of another. Although many of the traditions and customs remain, the official organization of the Season no longer exists The presentation of debutantes at court was abolished by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958. And while the London Season continues - young debs still have to be married, as do eligible bachelors - the scale of events has been cut-back significantly.

Boutique clothes and micro mini-skirts from Carnaby Street were "in," as were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in 1968. Charles, Prince of Wales, was probably dating his Camilla - although both were single at the time. And the unnamed narrator of "Past Imperfect," fresh out of Cambridge, was enjoying himself, along with his circle of friends. Prominent amongst these friends was the handsome, debonair Damian Baxter. Although not a member of the nobility, nor rich, this young man had the wherewithal and poise to act as one of the privileged, and to be accepted by the younger set, although not by their parents.

Damian was not after inherited wealth or a noble wife, though his peers would never have noticed this. He did not covet the life of the elite - he wanted to "witness it - to experience it, but only as a traveler from another land." "He didn't want to live in the past where he had no position. He wanted to live in the future where he could be anything he wished."

Now, some forty years later, Damian is as rich as Midas, with a large, elegant home in Surrey where he lives alone. He is dying. After receiving an unsigned letter from a former lover telling him he had sired a child out of wedlock, back in the good old days, he finds himself desperate to find his natural heir. Obviously he wants to bequeath him/her his considerable fortune, £500 million, but he also has a need to know that his line will continue, albeit from the wrong side of the blanket. Damian had married in his 30s, but by that time he was sterile due to an unfortunate bout of adult mumps. During the promiscuous period of the 1968-69 Seasons, he had affairs with various young women. One of them could possibly be the mother of his child.

Damian calls upon our narrator to assist him in finding his offspring and the prospective mother. What is so remarkable about the request is that Damian and the narrator had a major falling out in 1970, and lost touch with either other's life. The narrator actually hates his terminally ill former friend. "Past Perfect's" mysteries include: Does Damien have an heir? Why does the narrator hate Damian? And why does he accept Damian's request for help in his quest?

In fulfilling the dying man's request, the narrator must return to his own past and, inevitably, compare it with his present existence. He has been forced to remember what he wanted from life at nineteen...before he knew what life was about. Now, thanks to Damien, "he must bear witness to what happened to all those silly, over made-up girls, the vain self-important young men - and to what happened to himself." "He has been rendered discontented when it is nearly too late to fix, but soon enough to have many years ahead to live with that discontent."

There is a list of five women - five former debs whom Damien had sex with back then - all of whom have children of the right age. As the narrator finds them and explores their past and present lives, more of the storyline, from the 1960s to the 21st century, are revealed. And these women, also former friends of the narrator, are more than happy to discuss their pasts with him. Their stories represent different aspects of British upper class society.

Author and Academy Award winning screenwriter, (Gosford Park), Julian Fellowes writes with wit, as he describes the lives of the upper classes as they were having to start to come to terms with the changing times. The well written narrative is full of astute observations on human nature. The novel is frequently funny, and often poignant. The characters are wonderful. Obviously, I enjoyed "Past Imperfect" immensely. Highly recommended!
Jana Perskie

Snobs

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quaint practices of a time past - a great read, August 2, 2009

By	Reader from Singapore - See all my reviews

This review is from: Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes (Hardcover)

The subject of Julian Fellowes' "Past Imperfect" may not seem interesting or terribly relevant to readers of our time, other than hardened snobs or Brits with a gauche fascination for the quaint practices of the upper classes in the late 60s and early 70s. These were times when debutante balls were ritually held each year to herald the coming out of the children of the privileged classes to high society, where they would hopefully meet and find their life partners from compatible backgrounds. All this may sound rather feudal but the fact that this social circle co-existed not so many decades ago with the generation of the great unwashed - think pop star Marianne Faithfull, the Rolling Stones and their drug fueled escapades - testify to there being in reality two Englands, one looking to the future for change and the other facing backwards and clinging desperately to the failing efficacy of secret codes that governed their conduct in life.

Fellowes who wrote the screenplay for Robert Altman's classic "Gosford Park" is in familiar territory and clearly in his element. His indictment of the foolish pretensions of the upper classes is nothing less than devastating - Damien Baxter may be a loathsome adventurer, a ruthless social climber bent on muscling his way into a circle he doesn't belong to, somebody who would betray his friend (in this case our curiously unnamed narrator) without a thought when it suited him but it is he who finally becomes disgustingly rich and successful with a vast fortune to leave behind to his sprog...provided he or she can be identified. The search for his biological heir becomes the motor that would drive the plot of the novel. What happens to the huge cast of Damien's social betters ? They become - as our narrator would discover - sad and failed parodies of their past. Isn't life ironic ? Damien the anti-hero whom we should despise gets to cock a snook at the snobs.

Fellowes writes like a dream. His characters are cut outs from late period dramas but aren't remotely stereotypical. There are shades of Daisy Buchanan (heroine of "The Great Gatsby") in Lady Serena Gresham - one of Damien's many female victims and our narrator's one true love - her lack of moral courage, a quality the privileged classes never needed - damned her among the callous and morally bankrupt. Fellowes too understands suspense like a mystery writer, leaving the unveiling of the infamous "Estoril incident" to the last act which while hardly novel or surprising still packs a decent punch. A little overlong perhaps but Fellowes' gorgeous prose, cunning humour and splendid characters make "Past Imperfect" a highly entertaining read.