This is one of the most literary books I have ever read.Sebastian is a schizophrenic being treated by Dr Carr.Olivia , is the adopted daughter of Dr Carr. do not want to give any spoilers,it is not for everybody but I loved it.Could be rambling at something but concentrate and you will get there. thank you to PRH vintage for the proof copy.

I liked this book in part but it felt a bit disjointed. I struggled to get into it and didn’t realise that it was actually a sequel. It makes it difficult then to empathise and relate to the characters. I did find the relationship between the twins interesting and I got into it but it was too clever at times. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

NO SPOILERS: The opening chapter of Edward St Aubyn’s Parallel Lines had me hooked and I loved all Sebastian’s chapters. His free thought, his wit, his word play – all are brilliant. However, for me, the other characters’ chapters did not match up, mostly because I had very little interest in them as people. Those chapters felt like conversations which excluded the reader, a platform for social comment which was dry and self-indulgent. But Sebastian was everything. In all the words, in all the chapters though, this perfect, genius sentence stands out: “…and she had a face like a court summons you’d scrunched up angrily and then fished out of the bin ands tried to flatten, but her eyes were as soft and blue as a summer afternoon.” It’s not a book for me but I know many of you will love it. St Aubyn is a skilled writer and some time spent in his company is time well spent.

Parallel Lines is the second in what looks to be the next series of books by Edward St Aubyn. Having read the Patrick Melrose novels, I was keen to pick up a new one from Aubyn. I had read a couple PM novels out of synch, so I was expecting I could do the same here too. How wrong I was! We are immediately introduced to Sebastian and his troubled mental health. The first few pages are a challenge to read, but they certainly reflect his state of mind. The rest of the story revolves around those he is connected to, including Olivia (his "Bio Sis"), his psychotherapist Dr Carr (also Olivia's adopted dad) and a host of others connected to them. As I have highlighted above, you really need to read the first book in series as no background is provided on these characters, which is quite discombobulating. For a book seemingly so character driven (there's not much of a plot), some back story would have helped, as I kept forgetting who was who and how they related to each other. Some characters don't seem to add much to the (thin) plot, so I assume it is backgrounding for future books (PL is obviously part of an ongoing series, as evidenced by the massive signposting at book's end). As well as the lack of plot and character back stories, the book seemed far too clever for its own good at times, with Aubyn seemingly wanting to show off what he knows on various esoteric topics. Some lines of dialogue seem somewhat unbelievable. Do the "chattering classes" really talk like that during a family dinner? All of this meant I nearly stopped reading about four times in the first half of the book. It all seemed like such a slog with nothing much of note really happening. However, it did pick up for me as the book trudged on. I was drawn to Sebastian the most and wanted to see how his character developed. My favourite parts of the story were the gallery show and when Olivia invites Seb to the park and her home (into her life, basically), both towards the end of the book. This provided enough intrigue and affection (for Seb) that I would probably read the next book in series - and likely go back to read the first one!

Parallel Lines by Edward St Aubyn Meet Sebastian,a young man undergoing long term psychiatric care. Then Olivia, journalist, documentary maker, her husband Francis,environmentalist,and their son Noah. They inhabit their own worlds; timelines in parallel,until circumstances and people cause a tilt to potential convergence. This is a cerebral, intellectual book where in depth philosophical discussions, clever wordplay and reflections on life, elaborate a fairly simple story, though with equally challenging questions. #docs.reading.room