This fourth volume in the Patrick Melrose quintology (or as Douglas Adams used to say, "a trilogy in five parts") seemed a bit more directionless than the previous three installments.

That, and the hyper-intelligent children who speak like 40-year-old men lessened the enjoyment of this one for me, as well as the affair that went nowhere.

But then, in the last quarter, the book fell into its true purpose—Patrick's relationship with his ailing mother—and the book slapped me hard right between the eyes, likely because I'm in a very similar situation with my own mother.

I truly believe some books find you when you need them, and this was the book I needed to find right now.

For that, it earns 4-stars. ( )

I've been impressed throughout by the honesty of these stories. They go places you wouldn't expect. The world in Mother's Milk is rather bleak, with each adult caught up in their own dramas and old patterns of behaviour, or else getting worn down by the dramas of others. I could see little bits of myself in each character, which gave pause for thought. The portrayal of the various mothers in the story was brilliant, giving rise to a number of achingly sad moments. ( )

I came across this book as it has a place on the 1001-list. I liked listening to it. But because it is part 4 of a series, it was quite hard in the beginning to get hold on the circumstances, characters and what was going on. Why were people reacting the way they were.
Nevertheless it was an ibteresting book to read, put a finger on some sore spots, was at times quite recognizable in terms of situations and reactions :-) ( )

Big disappointment! Lost completely the drive that made the first three novels such an enjoyable read. Starts with the boring telling by Patrick's son, only to continue with Patrick's which also lost the power it had before. Superfluous novel. ( )

This is another book I read because it was on the 1001 list. It was also short-listed for the Booker. While it's a somewhat enjoyable book, and competently written, I'm not sure why it deserves either of those honors.

It's the story of a British family, father Patrick, mother Mary, their two young sons, and Patrick's mother. Each August, Patrick, Mary and their sons spend August at Patrick's mother's villa in the south of France. Unfortunately for them, his mother is in the process of donating the villa (and indeed almost all of her fortune) to a New Age guru to use as a spiritual retreat. As a barrister, Patrick carries out his mother's request to effect the transfers. His actions are against his better judgment, and against his own self-interest as her son. We follow the family through three summers in the south of France, and a fourth summer in America.

The book is told in four parts, one for each summer. The first is narrated by the older child, who is 5 or 6 at the time. Ensuing narrations are from the pov of Patrick and of Mary.

The book is satirical--particularly of America and Americans and New Age adherents. It's sometimes funny, but I felt a lot of anger and bitterness underneath the humor. As one reviewer on Amazon said, "If you dislike your spouse and regret having children and really hate your mother, you might enjoy it." ( )