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Old Filth

Today $10.07
1% off - Amazon $10.17
Item #: 10166166
    The recently widowed septuagenarian Sir Edward "Filth" Feathers seemingly lived a dutiful and dull life as a judge in British Hong Kong. (His nickname "Filth" is an acronym for Failed In London, Try H......more

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The recently widowed septuagenarian Sir Edward "Filth" Feathers seemingly lived a dutiful and dull life as a judge in British Hong Kong. (His nickname "Filth" is an acronym for Failed In London, Try Hong Kong.) But as, in fits and starts, Filth`s childhood experiences flash through his weakening brain, the reader begin to realize the hidden traumas, passions, and secrets buried in the old man`s mind. Abandoned by his drunken father at an early age, Filth was raised in Malaya by a loving girl, but at the age of four, he was shipped to England to live under the sadistic rule of a foster mother Ma Didds. Roused by his memories, Filth begins an expedition to find his foster sister Babbs, who has gone half-mad; along the way, the novel reveals the dark secret of how Filth and Babbs ended the tyranny of Ma Didds. Jane Gardam, two-time Whitbread winner and Man Booker finalist, has, in her 15th novel, created a masterpiece of character: a lost soul trapped beneath the wreckage of age and the stifling mores of the British Empire. The numerous and colorful people populating Filth`s life are as rich, profound, and tragic as the old man himself.

Author:
Gardam, Jane
ISBN:
9781933372136
Format:
Paperback
Pages:
289
Publish Date:
06/01/2006
Publisher:
Europa Editions Inc
Language:
English

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

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  • British novelist Gardam has twice won the Whitbread and was shortlisted for the Man Booker. This, her 15th novel, was shortlisted in Britain for the Orange Prize; it outlines 20th-century British history through the life of Sir Edward Feathers, a barrister whose acronymic nickname provides the title: "Failed in London, Try Hong Kong." At nearly 80, Feathers, retired in Dorset after many years as a respected Hong Kong judge, is a hollow man with few real friends and a cold, sexless marriage that has just ended with the death of his wife, Betty. For the first time, "Filth" (as even Betty called him) delves into the past that produced him: a "Raj orphan" raised by a series of surrogates while his father worked in Singapore, Filth served briefly in WWII (guarding the Queen) and had a lackluster stint as a London barrister before emigrating. The flashbacks contrast British privilege and the chaos that ensues when the empire (especially Filth's childhood Malaya), starts to crumble. As Filth undertakes chaotic visits to his Welsh foster home and other sites, Gardam's sharp, acerbic style counterpoints Feathers's dryness. Well-rounded secondary figures further highlight his emptiness and that of empire. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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