Reviews

Gentleman's Relish by Patrick Gale

bookcaseofdoom's review against another edition

3.0

my rating is 3.6 ⭐, so i'm rounding to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐, because Goodreads thinks "implementing half stars will complicate the rating system."

Some of these are very dark, twisted, sometimes filled with heavy sexual themes.

Individual story ratings:

The Lesson - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cookery - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fourth of July, 1862 - ⭐
Saving Space - ⭐⭐⭐.5
Petals on a Pool - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Obedience - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the Camp - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dark Cutter - ⭐⭐.5
Making Hay - ⭐⭐
Brahms and Moonshine - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Excursion - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hushed Casket - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dream Lover - ⭐⭐
Sleep Tight - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Freedom - ⭐⭐⭐
Gentleman's Relish - ⭐⭐

anna_bfd's review

emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

balthazarlawson's review against another edition

4.0

I did not realise that when I picked this book up it was a collection of short stories, so it was a welcome surprise. More so by the fact I enjoyed it so much.

fourtriplezed's review against another edition

3.0

Well that was interesting. Easy to read and an odd kind of antidote to the black arm band history that I tend to devour. I am convinced that most of these yarns and the almost rustic writing style would not have been out of place in an English (not British) high school essay writing competition. But the subject matter? Bit more high/low brow shall we say? Almost a challenge to the more conservative in society? I mean the title of the collection and also the last story in the book, Gentleman's Relish. A "a highly seasoned anchovy paste" says the google search but go look at the urban dictionary! I looked that up after finishing and I have to be honest this was all new to naïve little old me. I have to admit though that I did laugh out loud when I considered a few of these stories in hindsight. Clever writer this Patrick Gale and what an imagination. Might read him again one day.
Patrick Gale is indeed an interesting writer.

snoakes7001's review

5.0

This is an excellent collection of short stories. Many are set in my old stomping ground of West Penwith and Patrick Gale captures the essence of the place and the people perfectly.

biblio_mom's review against another edition

2.0

I always finds it hard to review short stories. The only story that I like from this book is Petals On The Pool. It would be great if there's a full story of it. The backstory on how the man died. Its very intriguing. That particular story has a paranormal element in it, which what makes it more interesting. At first, I thought he was murderered, but I was wrong. The best thing is, my country is mentioned in it with several words in bahasa. I always loved that!

bel017's review against another edition

2.0

Gale is a talented writer but I didn't realise these would get scarier and creepier as the book progressed. I'm too sensitive to read that kind of thing before bed. The rating is my own reflection of feeling tricked down a path I didn't want to go down, if you like your stories a bit vicious then you might love this collection.

haldoor's review

4.0

This is a collection of short stories by one of my very favourite British authors. All he writes is wonderful, although I wouldn't claim this as one of my favourites. I like the build-up of a longer story usually, although some of these were brilliant, especially the one about Making Hay which was a completely horrific delight, if that makes sense. Some of them had me thinking, and others just had me wanting more, so while they were good, I only give four stars because others by him have been more to my liking!