Review: French Exit

French Exit by Patrick deWitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud.

This is a hilarious tale of bankruptcy as experienced by an Upper East Side mother and son whose lives are defined by corporeal charms like fresh flowers on the table and a full time driver.

Frances seems as incapable of despair as she is unable to face the facts of her life, and her son Malcolm is an incurably polite narcissistic man-boy. Oh, and the cat ... it houses the spirit of her late husband - father of Malcolm.

It is a darkly comic tale of demise, fall from grace, complete failure, whatever you want to call it -- they had everything; then they had nothing. And they care very much what others think. Oh, it is rich.

Because they are amoral to the core, they say the things we all think but would never dare say. That's its magic.

I thought it could have ended better but this author has my full attention. I'm looking for more Patrick DeWitt books now.

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