REVIEW OF #57 OLD FILTH

LIKE A FAVOURITE WOOLEN PULLOVER WITH HOLES IN THE ELBOWS

Don’t be seduced by the title. It has nothing to do with Ancient Porn. Though of course there is the obligatory sex, though this time a post-war liaison with a Bletchley Park lesbian, befriending an old enemy, and a barren marriage. No, this is about England. Not the stylised version of a green and pleasant land, but of the emotionally stunted orphan refugees of the Raj, of the war, of drafty public schools, of poor food, poor teeth, and a weekly bath, if lucky. Of the Inner Temple. And Malaya. And Hong Kong (hidden in the title, but I won’t ruin it for you.) Of how it was. For a man with a long life, a stammer, and a secret. The writing is spare and delectable. It would have been perfect to read curled up in front of a fire. But even though it is summer, it is still England, and in between a heat wave there are ample opportunities to gratefully put on this old pullover with the holes in the elbows and hunker down. 

5 stars

ERIC