It's official: the internet has fallen in love with Benedict Cumberbatch's new role:
Patrick Melrose.
So what's it all about?
The show follows Patrick Melrose through different stages of his life growing up
from his severe drug addiction in his twenties into his own experience of parenthood
all the while traumatised by years of sexual abuse by his father.
The show has been billed as hilarious, but given that description,
you'd be forgiven for questioning that adjective.
So to really understand the comic genius and the emotional impact of the show, where better
to start than with the source material: the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn,
which Benedict Cumberbatch described as 'the most exquisite achievements in 21st-century
prose.'
That is quite some praise.
The novels are largely autobiographical.
Edward St Aubyn started writing them at one of the lowest points of his life as an alternative
to suicide, so as you can imagine they're incredibly emotionally
powerful.
But they're also bitingly funny satires of the British upper class that Edward St Aubyn,
and his alter-ego Patrick Melrose, were born into.
And we're talking seriously posh people here.
Even Benedict Cumberbatch said that he had to 'posh up' to play this role - and his name
is Benedict Cumberbatch.
Patrick Melrose's father David is a member of the Cavalry & Guards club in London,
which is where I am today, so this is a little glimpse into Patrick's
world.
Reading the books, you're constantly thrown between these harrowing scenes describing
Patrick's trauma and his mental state, and these wonderful satires of the upper class
that wouldn't seem out of place in an Evelyn Waugh novel.
There are five books total in the series, but they work really well split up into these
two volumes, and as each individual book in the series
is actually very short, you can catch up with the show in no time.
Take one of these volumes with you over the long weekend,
you'll be up to date.
So, to give you an idea of what to expect when you read these books,
Volume 1 contains the first little trilogy of the series.
These were written in the 90s, and Edward St Aubyn intended them to be a trilogy in
their own right.
Each one covers just a roughly 48 hour period in Patrick Melrose's life, several years apart.
So the first one, which is called Never Mind, we see Patrick as a five year old, at his
family home in the south of France, while they have guests gathered for a dinner
party.
This novel does contain the moment where the sexual abuse first begins,
but the rest of the novel is devoted to satirising the other guests at the house.
And also we meet Patrick's mother, who we see writing cheques to Save the Children and
seeing herself as a philanthrope, while totally ignoring the distress of her
own child in the house.
The second novel is called Bad News, and this is the one where the TV show starts.
This one is particularly intense, because we see Patrick going to New York to collect
his father's ashes, while he is deep in the throes of a severe
heroin addiction.
Unlike the first book, we don't spend much time with other characters.
This one is largely told from Patrick's perspective, and it makes for very intense and uncomfortable
reading.
And then finally, moving on to book 3, which is called Some Hope.
This sort of works as a mirror of the first book.
So many of the guests from the first book are back for another dinner party,
Patrick now in his thirties.
And it includes some of the most hilarious scenes of Princess Margaret attending this
dinner party.
This is Edward St Aubyn's satire at its absolute best.
These scenes make for some much-needed comic relief after the last book,
and they're wonderfully woven through this gently hopeful narrative of Patrick finally
opening up to a friend for the first time about what happened to him as a child
and beginning the healing process.
So that's Volume 1.
And then some years later, Edward St Aubyn revisited these characters
and wrote two more books in the series.
Mother's Milk is the first one, and that was actually shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker
Prize.
And the last is called At Last, which apparently was an in-joke with his publisher.
Where the first three books in the series were about Patrick's relationship with his
father, these are about his mother, and him moving on to his own experience of
parenthood.
So the TV show is slightly different.
As I mentioned earlier, episode 1 actually covers book 2 of the series.
So the first thing we see in the TV show is an adult Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Melrose,
in New York collecting his father's ashes.
So it's really throwing you into some of the most intense scenes.
And Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely fantastic in this role.
He was made for it.
But if you're squeamish like me, do brace yourself for a few scenes that will be rather
hard to watch.
Throughout the episode, we also see flashbacks to the events of the first book.
So they are taking a slightly different narrative technique here.
So just in case you're still somehow not convinced to read these books, they have had some seriously
high praise from some of your other favourite authors.
Alice Sebold calls them 'a masterwork for the 21st century'.
Bret Easton Ellis says he is 'in love' with them.
Alan Hollinghurst calls St Aubyn 'the most brilliant English novelist of his generation'.
And Zadie Smith says that 'nothing about the plots can prepare you for the rich, acerbic
comedy of St Aubyn's world - or more surprising - its philosophical density'.
So do give this video a thumbs up if you're planning to read these books now,
and leave a comment below if you've been enjoying the show.
And of course, do hit that subscribe button below so you don't miss next week's episode,
which will be all about books about sisters from classics like Sense & Sensibility to
brand new thrillers like The Favourite Sister.
See you next time!