Rating: 
Summary: Swift's intimate world expands to include a bit of us all.
Review: Graham Swift takes the reader into the lives and minds of his characters so completely that we find ourselves at first judging, then understanding and experienceing empathy. He allows us to see each of his well drawn individuals through both their own perceptions and those of their companions, wives and lovers. There are jolts and there is humor, but what lasts is the feeling that you have lived with these people, you know them and you understand them. The insights of the author also illuminate the reader's own life and one finds oneself lowering the book momentarily to examine one's own experience
Rating: 
Summary: Poignant and graceful
Review: Graham Swift's "Last Orders" is a beautifully written novel about how the life-long friends of a recently deceased come together to carry out his last wishes to have his ashes scattered at a seaside town. Told through the eyes of his wife and buddies, the vantage point shifts from one to the other, as family secrets, private pains, hopes and aspirations are revealed through their alternating rumination. The dialogue (if you can describe the barely literate half slurred half spat sentences that spew from their mouths as dialogue) is authentic and evocative of the working class milieu. There is also a gentleness and grace about the reflections of the ensemble cast that lend a special poignance to this "boys tale". Though their talk centre on drinking and betting and male bonding type activities, it is the revelation of their domestic lives and their problems with wives and children that shape the novel. In as much as I derived great reading pleasure and would recommend the book highly to friends, I also found certain aspects of it frustrating. If Swift had been less obscure and more directly explanatory about some of the characters, it would have made for a tighter and more satisfying read and deserved a full five-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant and graceful
Review: Graham Swift's "Last Orders" is a beautifully written novel about how the life-long friends of a recently deceased come together to carry out his last wishes to have his ashes scattered at a seaside town. Told through the eyes of his wife and buddies, the vantage point shifts from one to the other, as family secrets, private pains, hopes and aspirations are revealed through their alternating rumination. The dialogue (if you can describe the barely literate half slurred half spat sentences that spew from their mouths as dialogue) is authentic and evocative of the working class milieu. There is also a gentleness and grace about the reflections of the ensemble cast that lend a special poignance to this "boys tale". Though their talk centre on drinking and betting and male bonding type activities, it is the revelation of their domestic lives and their problems with wives and children that shape the novel. In as much as I derived great reading pleasure and would recommend the book highly to friends, I also found certain aspects of it frustrating. If Swift had been less obscure and more directly explanatory about some of the characters, it would have made for a tighter and more satisfying read and deserved a full five-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: A Touching Tale of Life and Death
Review: Graham Swift's Booker Prize winning novel would be interesting even if it only dealt with the basic premise of the novel- Four aging men journey to the sea in hopes of scattering their deceased friend's ashes. However, Mr.Swift goes beyond that and sets it above other literary works by intricately weaving together the collective memories and voices of the seven major narrators. The text is simple, the language is beautiful, and the abiding truths concerning life and death are symbolic. Last Orders is an exquisitly written, touching tale depicting the importance of life, love and friendship that all readers can relate to and learn a thing or two from.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner
Review: Graham Swift's impressive use of the first person point of view throughout the story, with a central voice (Ray Johnson) and a number of other characters assuming the narrative voice in quick succession, in a sort of revolving point of view, succeeds in giving the story vibrancy and the characters believability. This device, along with the short sometimes clipped chapters, contributes to the feeling of forward movement that characterizes the story of four men from Bermondsey on a journey to carry out a deceased friend's last wishes (orders). Having once lived in Bermondsey , I easily recognized its people in Swift's characters, I was able to identify my day-to-day life there with their descriptions of their own day-to-day lives there, and I heard their distinctive voices loud and clear throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Did not meet high expectations
Review: Graham Swift's novel Last Orders has a marvelous premise: a group of elderly gentlemen -- all veterans of the Second World War -- travel from London to scatter in the sea the ashes of a recently deceased comrade. The dearly departed's son, a car dealer, is also with them. On the way, they reflect on their lives, wives, triumphs and disappointments. At one point, two of the men get into a fight. All of this is meant to be both funny (it is) and poignant (it is, sometimes) Swift's novel has reveived marvelous reviews, so I started with great anticipation after it became available at our local library. I must disagree with the universal critical acclaim. To me, Swift just misses in many of his scenes (his characters, in contrast, are jems). As I read, I kept thinking, "this is supposed to be a wonderful book, yet my mind keeps wandering. What's wrong with me?" After reading some of the other Amazon.com reader comments, I must conclude that the flaw is Swift's.
Rating: 
Summary: A marvelous premise imperfectly executed
Review: Graham Swift's novel Last Orders has a marvelous premise: a group of elderly gentlemen -- all veterans of the Second World War -- travel from London to the sea to scatter the ashes of a recently deceased comrade. The dearly departed's son, a car dealer, is also with them. On the way, they reflect on their lives, wives, triumphs and disappointments. At one point, two of the men get into a fight. All of this is meant to be both funny (it is) and poignant (it is, sometimes). Swift's novel has received marvelous reviews, so I started it with great anticipation when it became available at our local library. I must disagree with the universal critical acclaim. To me, Swift just misses in many of his scenes (his characters, in contrast, are gems). As I read, I kept thinking, "this is supposed to be a wonderful book, yet my mind keeps wandering; what's wrong with me?"
Rating:
Summary: A moving insight into the intertwining of old friends' lives
Review: I also had trouble keeping track of the characters at first, and I made a chart. Then I got to know them, and I realized that Mr. Swift was not just telling a story - he was providing us a window on their thoughts, fears, doubts, and struggles. I was very moved and touched by the lives of quiet desperation they led, and I was bouyed by the promise of the ending.
This was a finely crafted book, and I would very much enjoy hearing it read aloud by a person who would recreate the language of the characters. I hope an audio version is published.
Rating:
Summary: a glancing gut punch
Review: I am shocked by the failure of mainstream critics to address the indebtedness of Last Orders to Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, a debt thankfully pointed out by several reviewers on this site. That said, Swift is a stunningly accomplished writer (Waterland is a masterpiece) and this work is an affecting tour de force. A whiff of sentimentality occasionally hovers about the characters here, but it always seems to ramify into something edgier and more complex, like a good scotch. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Technically good but left me unsatisfied
Review: I bought this book to read on a long plane trip but soon put it down in favour of another book. Having won the Booker Prize I thought it would be a good read. While it's technically very well written I found the characters in the novel did nothing for me. In fact I became so confused about who was who I had to draw up a list of who everyone was - and there aren't that many characters! If you enjoyed the film Secrets and Lies then you'll like this book - and vice versa
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