Honestly I was quite excited by this book as it was the first book that a publishing company asked me to read as I had left a favourable review for another novel that was similar. The synopsis sounded good, the first 10% of the book was good. Sebastian is a brilliant character and so well developed and wonderfully written, he made me laugh reading it. Which made it surprising that the other characters were a bit bland, there wasn’t really any personality there, it was a bit more like one long droning on conversation amongst elitists that even the reader was outside of the group. I found it very difficult to engage with and unfortunately couldn’t finish the book. The author is a talent writer that is undeniable and the book is thoroughly researched. However unfortunately it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC for my honest review.

This is my first Edward St Aubyn novel - I hadn't read double Blind which is an earlier book that introduces several characters This is a tale of siblings - identical twins separated at birth and the story of their different paths that lead to a reunion. the book starts from the perspective of Sebastian- the brother and schizophrenic- receiving treatment from Dr Martin Carr. Dr Carr's adoptive daughter Lucy is navigating life with young son and a husband who re-wilding the world! This is a 'clever' book- clever in the sense of word play but also in relation to satirising the 'chattering' classes of the London elite/wealthy- but sometimes it feels every sentence is a bit of an' in-joke' - that Mr St Aubyn is on a mission to take an ironic view of the world in such a way that nothing is truly real and it becomes a Guardian article.- so much virtue signalling it became exhausting The mindset of Sebastian is beautifully constructed as he navigates his understanding of modern life but it is the final quarter of this book that redeems the novel with a sense of warmth as stories are linked and new relationships are made. It would seem from the final line that a sequel may one day appear... Personally this is a 3.5 for the final part but will give 3 overall - I just felt that wasn't truly into the mindset of the author enough although I can imagine many will be.

While the whole concept and packaging were highly engaging, I felt I needed to have read the first book “Double Blind "to fully appreciate the plot. For this reason, I couldn't quite get to grips with some of the characters who appeared somewhat randomly. Having said that I warmed to the character Sebastian and his unconscious outbursts as he suffered another breakdown. There was a sense of humour and realism with his development, Olivia also held my interest as we delved into her mindset having realised that she is Sebastian’s twin sister and now his therapist's adopted daughter. We witness how the two have developed according to their environment. I enjoyed St Aubyn’s style of writing, and he is evidently extremely talented which is why I will read the first book and revisit this one again. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

I just have to conclude, given the literary praise St. Aubyn has been showered with, and the general appreciation of many of his readers, that his is a voice which just does not connect with this reader. I tried, some years ago, when his first novel came out, to read that, attracted by the admiring reviews in the book review pages I look at, often by other whom I connect with, and whose books do speak to me. I tend to read mainly ‘literary fiction’ which was the genre St. Aubyn seems to be classified under And seriously thought we were not reading the same book. Which I abandoned, some way through This particular book sounded interesting, and again, it was being hugely praised by some wonderful writers of literary fiction. Unfortunately, this book mainly seems to consist of a series of heavyweight talking heads, most of whose voices are (in my opinion) undifferentiated. They spout across supper tables and gatherings about theories of psychotherapy. Several of them are psychotherapists. There are also long explanations about the tie ups between colonialisation, empire and the climate crisis. Histories of voyages of discovery, including Darwin’s, the depredations in the South American rain forests, and so on and so on. Fine, informative, interesting. Or, at least I may have found all the theorising and analysis of issues and presenting of factual information interesting in non-fiction books on the issues. But, in a novel, without character or voice differentiation, just endless telling? This was like being lectured at by a very dry academic, with a somewhat monotonous voice The only voice and character I got engaged with, and actually got glimmers of appreciation for what the writer might be appreciated for, was Sebastian, the schizophrenic, who is one of the major players within such narrative as might be discerned. There were wonderful streams of consciousness, verbal games, rhythm, images, weavings in of random, surprising, witty, profound and playful connections. Sebastian’s voice was absolutely alive and present. But unfortunately, almost half way through the slog of the rest of it, waiting for characters to properly connect and engage and be in relationship with each other, for any sense of narrative and urgency to develop, and finding none, I gave up.