- Published: 1 July 2011
- ISBN: 9780099542346
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 272
- RRP: $22.99
The Last Weekend
- Published: 1 July 2011
- ISBN: 9780099542346
- Imprint: Vintage
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 272
- RRP: $22.99
This is a seriously good novel and it deserves to overtake a few more loudly trumpeted false favourites in the popularity and prize stakes
The Lady
A compelling psychological thriller that, in parts, will cause you to actually flinch
Ben Felsenberg, Metro
Delightfully twisted
David Mills, Esquire
This is one achievement among several for Blake Morrison, who has written a novel that is at once artful and naturalistic, restrained and yet suggestive, and faithful to a perspective from which the readers wants to recoil
Stephen Abell, Times Literary Supplement
The story is beautifully crafted, astutely observed and peopled with believable characters
David Robson, Sunday Telegraph
Morrison handles the elements of his novel with impeccable control
Stephanie Merritt, Observer
The fascination is horrible, the prose addictive, the situation magnificently claustrophobic, the denouement shocking
Glasgow Herald
Morrison has created far more than a sinister take on the country-house novel... This is a suspenseful thriller, but more importantly it succeeds as an exceedingly clever investigation into the strangeness of lies
Christian House, Independent on Sunday
The fascination is horrible, the prose addictive, the situation magnificently claustrophobic, the denouement shocking
Alan Taylor, Herald
An insidiously gripping tale
Country Life
Gripping...a masterpiece of pacing and revelation
Irish Times
A compelling thriller
Metro
A terrific thriller, a page-turner of impressive literary skill
Sunday Business Post
It is the assuredness of Morrison's portrayal of Ian's descent which makes The Last Weekend compelling - and lifts a familiar...story skilfully above the commonplace
Matthew Dennison, The Independent
His truly sensational latest novel, which places him at the forefront of British novelists writing today
Sunday Express
Creepy and compelling, but also often extremely funny. Blake Morrison has inhabited the world of a deeply flawed character with unforgettable results
Mark Bostridge, Financial Times
Tautly written and tightly structured, this is a novel that explores jealousy, rivalry, deceit and manipulation
Mail on Sunday
Warner navigates the comic, the philosophical and the socially acute like no other writer we have
Independent
Played refreshingly uncliched games with the device of the unreliable narrator
Jonathan Coe, Daily Telegraph, Christmas round up
Blake Morrison's examination of the dark heart of male rivalry makes foe a gripping read
Aminatta Forna, Sunday Telegraph, Christmas round up
Pacy and gripping...wonderfully atmospheric
Good Book Guide
Morrison's compelling study of male competitiveness offers a discomforting account of the amoral excuses and self-deception of the compulsive gambler: "I don't have a problem. I could stop tomorrow"; "gambling is the basis of our whole economy". You reckon you could put it down at any point - though you'd be kidding yourself
Alfred Hickling, Guardian
The Bank Holiday weekend from hell is the subject of Blake Morrison's entertaining new novel - a dark little tale about middle-class rivalry and midsummer meltdown. With an ear attuned to metropolitan pretension - modern parenting skills are sent up with gusto - Morrison succeeds in weaving a murderous melodrama that is grounded in the most recognizable of human impulses and desires
Emma Hagestadt, Independent
A tense chamber piece about a twisted friendship...the author's skilful choreography of unsympathetic characters and a menacing tone make for a sharply intelligent novel that is both unnerving and enjoyable
Financial Times
The Last Weekend isn't really a thriller though its well-paced, tight and gripping narrative has you reaching for the same adjectives that you would use to describe one
Paul Dunn, The Times
For those holidaying with old friends…the book tells the chilling story ofa rivalrousfriendship…leaving Alex Clark to conclude that Morrison "keeps the reader constantly intrigued
Guardian