Susan's Reviews > Lost For Words

Before I begin this review, let me just state that I loved the Edward St Aubyn Patrick Melrose novels. When my book club chose this as a monthly choice, I was very pleased and eager to read something else by him. Unlike previous works by St Aubyn which I have read, this is a satirical look at a fictitious literary prize, the Elysian Prize; although the author barely bothers to disguise the fact that he is writing about the Booker.

We begin with a backbench MP with an ailing career, Malcolm Craig, being asked to chair the committee. Hoping for some press coverage he agrees, but is obviously only interested in pushing through the books he is backing and being generally in control. Also on the committee is an actor who virtually never appears at meetings, a well known columnist and media personality who is passionate about ‘relevance,’ an Oxbridge academic, with an anorexic daughter, who is interested in ‘good writing,’ and thriller writer, Penny, an old girlfriend of Sir David Hampshire who organised the committee.

Along with these characters are, of course, the writers. They mostly circle around the beautiful novelist, Katherine Burns, and include the neurotic Sam Black, who years for her, Sonny, an upper class Indian with designs on the Elysian Prize, his aunt who somehow finds her cook book entered by mistake and a scattered number of publishers and agents.

Although this was humorous, and is filled with excepts from the various novels either submitted or written by the characters, you cannot help but feel St Aubyn had more fun writing this than we have reading it. There are a lot of jokes that have circled around the Booker – bizarre choices, books submitted by mistake and more. However, it is full of stereotypes and did not really do more than make me smile in places. I forgive this author anything for the sublime Melrose novels, but sadly this did not really match those in any way, despite being a pleasant enough read.