Dear Lupin...: Letters to a Wayward Son

Review: Dear Lupin... Letters to a Wayward Son by Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer

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Read the full article. Start your free trial. Want to read more? Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month. It is unlikely that any of his advice wil I read the majority of this book on flights back and forth across the Atlantic, and it proved to be perfect entertainment.

It is unlikely that any of his advice will ever sink in. Nevertheless, he perseveres, and gives it anyway.

The interspersion of comments from the recipient make it even clearer that the paternal advice will never have a positive effect. Lupin believes that his family are middle class, but they are definitely towards the upper end of middle class, straying into upper class. The circles in which they mix are certainly in the upper echelons of English society. What made this book even more interesting for me was that I have lived, on and off, in the area of most of the events for the past 35 years, so I know all of the places very well.

Without spoiling the read for you, I conclude this review with some amusing tidbits that I highlighted on my way through.

See a Problem?

I hope that they tempt you into reading the whole book. A comment from the son which is tacked to a letter that he received when he was in hospital - My mother sometimes known as the Bureau of Misinformation is desperately worried and following my liver biopsy calls a distant cousin who is a doctor for advice: He tried out a new hearing aid there, switched it on to a maximum volume and has been stone deaf ever since.

He had worked there for twenty-five years and the girl, whom Nidnod knew well, is thirty years younger than he was! I hope he will follow the example of Bernard Norfolk and John A. My reviewer's mother-in-law was housekeeper to the Bengough family - 1st lady: My dog did very well. He got a first, a second and was Highly Commended.

Mine did all right too. He had a fight, a fuck and was highly delighted. You have to understand English geography to get this one! He has all the qualities of a saint bar saintliness Hugh Kingsmill.

Dear Lupin: Letters to a Wayward Son by Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer: review

He always gets out of the bath to do a pee Anon. Those with some understanding of the British class system. This is a VERY funny, yet deeply wistful book. The son guaranteed to have any parent tearing their hair out in frustration. The son who tested unselfish parental love and devotion to the utmost limits.

Dear Lupin by Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer - review

The Prodigal Son, whose remarkable father responded with heroic forbearance. Roger Mortimer is a role model and an inspiration to all who are, or would be, parents. Did he, I wondered, collect that example on active service in World War 2? Roger never, ever, gives up his genuine and heartfelt attempts to win over and bring his son back into a proper relationship with the family. The strength of his desire to forgive his son and welcome him back into the fold barely wavers; even though he knows within himself that he needs at least some minor outward sign of contrition and repentance?

Therein lies an endearing sorrow within the terrific observational humour of this book. Did Roger write with a pre-determined long term view of providing his son with a highly publishable, though one-sided, correspondence; a financial nest egg? Jun 07, Judy rated it really liked it. Letters by a father to a son who, some 40 years later, still does not seem to have reached an acceptable state of existence.

That the son has kept the correspondence all this time says something in itself. Love, hope, hurt and exasperation feature in strong measure. Eventually there is a degree of acceptance However, the over-riding characteristic is one of irreverent, outrageous, delicious humour in describing middle-class English country life that stretches eccentricity beyond A great read.

However, the over-riding characteristic is one of irreverent, outrageous, delicious humour in describing middle-class English country life that stretches eccentricity beyond extreme. I was interested to learn that Roger was father-in-law to author Paul Torday and it occurs that Torday did not have far to go to find the characters which feature in his novels. I was given a copy of this book free by Waterstone's to read and review.

The book isn't something I would normally read, but after looking at the inside cover I thought it sounded interesting. However, my gut instinct was correct. I didn't manage to get past page 30 and I tried twice. I just didn't get it. I don't know why we've been given these letters to read.

They're not insightful or interesting. Maybe it's because the book is classified as humour and I didn't get it. I didn't find any of the le I was given a copy of this book free by Waterstone's to read and review. I didn't find any of the letters funny. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone I know that reads. Jul 24, Helen Stanton rated it it was ok. Mildly amusing for the first half View all 5 comments. Dear Lupin is a series of letters from a father Roger Mortimer to his son Charlie over a twenty five year period.

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It was picked as part of the Waterstones Book Club for this summer, and I was intrigued enough to add it to my must-read list. The letters themselves are witty and insightful, giving readers the sense of a close and loving relationship between a father and his son. Charlie himself comes across as a typical young lad, getting into a number of sticky situations which he always seems Dear Lupin is a series of letters from a father Roger Mortimer to his son Charlie over a twenty five year period.

Charlie himself comes across as a typical young lad, getting into a number of sticky situations which he always seems to pull himself out of, with a considerable amount of support from his father. Roger himself was obviously an incredibly funny, intelligent and loving individual, and a terrific father to his wayward son, and the book itself is very short — less than pages so it is a quick read, but just not satisfying for me on a personal level. Please see my full review at http: Aug 22, Karina rated it it was amazing.

She was given the sack because her playing made the butler over-excited Talk about doing things the hard way! Chronicling 20 years of a "My mother once had a dwarf kitchen maid called Minnie who played jazz rather well on the piano.

Chronicling 20 years of a seemingly one way relationship, we are treated to an inside look at the zany, ironic and stoic wit of Roger Mortimer as he relates every day life of a genteel British family in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Such a delightful book. It makes one yearn for the days of letter writing and wayward sons! A gem of a read.

Dear LupinLetters to a Wayward Son by Roger Mortimer

Sep 23, Promobon rated it really liked it. I read this book on an airplane and by the end was literally howling with amusement. My fellow fliers most likely thought I was daft. With the taciturn yet heady style that only the British upper crust can muster, these letters to a "fuck-up" son from a disapproving father just get more amusing with each year. That Roger saved every letter makes him not a mess after all, but one very wise son. I fear with email that books such as these, love letters and new correspondence will be lost forever, s I read this book on an airplane and by the end was literally howling with amusement.

I fear with email that books such as these, love letters and new correspondence will be lost forever, so grab this book and enjoy the hilarious look at love, disgust and judgement as only a father can provide a son he truly cares about. Jul 04, Rhys A Jones rated it it was amazing. Found myself laughing out loud on many occasions and empathizing the rest of the time. As a father of 3 boys, I got this totally. Easy to read in letter sized chunks, what comes off the page is the genuine warmth of a man's love for his son.

As is so often the case with boys, here, Roger Mortimer's words are those of a parent watching a car-crash happen and hoping that the driver has remembered to wear his seat belt. Often, as a father, he is the seat Definitely a winner. Often, as a father, he is the seat-belt. Written in an acerbic style full of brilliant rude and quite often non PC euphemisms and reserved wit, I would highly recommend this book. Mar 08, Nell rated it really liked it. Chronicling the various scrapes and escapades Charlie finds himself in, Roger is always a source of sound advice, humorous anecdotes and world weary remonstrations in the vain attempt to keep his errant son in check.

Much of this stems from the generation gap between father and son, with Charlie more at leisure to peruse the fruit "Dear Lupin" is the collection of delightfully witty and wry letters sent to Mortimer Jr. Much of this stems from the generation gap between father and son, with Charlie more at leisure to peruse the fruits of life more flagrantly than his father would like.

Holidaying with deplorable friends or else dabbling in drink and drugs is at odds with the more mundane chagrins of Roger's life, including dull acquaintances at dinner parties, the excessive drinking habits of Charlie's' mother and the ever salient fact of growing old. Getting old is revolting and I hate it. Despite the numerous allusions to his disappointment towards Charlie's foibles and shortcomings, including many a failed or lack thereof attempt at respectability, Roger's affection for his son is never in doubt. As Charlie flits erractically from one job to the other, Roger is the steadfast guardian, never failing to be the constant in his son's life.

Surprisingly, Dear Lupin doesn't include replies from Charlie or Lupin, the moniker handed to him by his father after the erstwhile son in Diary of a Nobody. Instead Charlie provides small footnotes letting us know what points in his life Roger is alluding to. These too are a small source of laughter, as Charlie plays the part of the hapless, wayward son with real life panache. The collection also incorporates a handy go to list of people and places mentioned throughout the correspondence.

Dear Lupin is a unique, heartwarming vignette of the relationship between a father and son spanning from the late s onwards.

Not only are we granted an intimate look at one family's idiosyncratic life, but also the social context in general. Roger Mortimer has a wonderfully acerbic and eloquent way of writing, infusing Dear Lupin with a sepia toned melancholy for the lost art of letter writing. Originally posted at And Nell Writes Dec 14, Rebecca rated it liked it Shelves: These quaint family letter collections have been a surprise hit in the UK; has the buzz reached America yet?

Roger Mortimer, born in and raised in London, was a soldier at Dunkirk and a POW and later became horse racing correspondent for the Sunday Times and authored a few books on the topic. With a manor home near Newbury, Berkshire, Roger and Cynthia belong to a fading class of upper-crust country types: Roger is occasionally morbid in these letters; he was both a pessimist and an atheist, and he took a rather unseemly interest in sudden deaths and murders.

And yet the Hungerford massacre a rare UK mass shooting in Mortimer must have been part of the last generation to rely entirely on letters.

He exhibits a touching nostalgia for the simpler days of his childhood: No one had flown the Channel and middle-class families had six indoor servants. Letters to a Disobedient Daughter form a relic of a bygone era as well as a relaxing read. This review formed part of an article about letter writing for Bookkaholic. Jun 17, Griselda Heppel rated it really liked it. What a delightful book. Any parent wondering if their adolescent offspring will ever amount to anything will be cheered by this collection of letters from the sports journalist Roger Mortimer to his - by his own admission - feckless son Charlie.

Spanning decades, the letters begin with career advice, swiftly adapted to the trail of abandoned jobs Charlie leaves in his wake, go on with increasing exasperation at his son's butterfly concentration span before settling on a general tone of affection What a delightful book. Spanning decades, the letters begin with career advice, swiftly adapted to the trail of abandoned jobs Charlie leaves in his wake, go on with increasing exasperation at his son's butterfly concentration span before settling on a general tone of affectionate resignation.

Throughout we are treated to hilarious views of Charlie's horsemad mother, visits from cantankerous elderly relations and dinners with retired regimental colleagues and eccentric, not to say bonkers, friends and neighbours. I gather Charlie's 2 sisters have since published their own collections of letters from this wonderful, witty man; how amused Roger Mortimer would be if he knew that his clever, teasing, affectionate scrawls were comfortably supporting his family well into their middle age.

Jun 11, Melissa Kane rated it it was ok. The rave reviews and 'funniest book of the year' accolades this book has had in the British press led me to believe it would be side-splittingly funny, and it was, on occasion, but ultimately I found it a rather melancholy read. The author of the letters is witty, waspish and gossipy, but also, on occasion, racist and misogynistic. His letters are mostly about his family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances, an endless list of Lord this and Lady that and plenty of old military types and women The rave reviews and 'funniest book of the year' accolades this book has had in the British press led me to believe it would be side-splittingly funny, and it was, on occasion, but ultimately I found it a rather melancholy read.

His letters are mostly about his family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances, an endless list of Lord this and Lady that and plenty of old military types and women described as 'old trouts'. There are plenty of passages about bodily functions, both human and canine, and moans and gripes about growing old.

In addition, almost everyone described sounds like an alcoholic, including the wife of the author, who seems to spend her entire life ill, drunk, drink-driving or fox-hunting, so I can't say I warmed to her. The receiver of these epistles is Charles, or Lupin, only son of the author, and he's not a likeable character. The words feckless, irresponsible, spoilt and selfish come to mind. But his father's letters betray his love for his son, despite the son's many short-comings. Admittedly, I did find the letter about the train journey with Lord Wigg extremely funny - but funniest book of the year?

I can't help thinking that the reviewers in The Sunday Times need to read more funny books. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

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