Rating: 
Summary: Faulkner could teach Swift a thing or two about style
Review: Boring. Boring. Boring. The story is boring. The writing is boring. The characterisation is boring. In a word, the book is a giant bore. I tried reading when it won the Booker. I gave up after three chapters. On seeing some of the comments here, I decided to give Last Orders a second chance. After all, I loved Waterland and if his other books don't come near to matching it, they are readable enough - although I couldn't for the life of me tell you what one of them was about.
Last Orders is told in the first person from the viewpoint of five people. This style of story telling only works if the writing is good enough to give the characters strong enough personalities to be recognisable from their own words. A voice of their own, so to speak. Swift is unable to do this. Without the names of the characters appearing on the chapter headings, it would be difficult to tell who was who. Consequently, I found myself caring little about them and nothing about their journey to Margate. In the hands of a better writer, this may work, but not with Graham Swift.
Rating: 
Summary: The English Have A Certain Way
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 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: Friendship over time
Review: Last Orders by Graham Swift is to date my favorite book. The author's ability to capture the essence of the frienship between the men is riveting. Swift explores the changes that their friendship goes through over time yet still remains strong. His brilliant command of language and unique point of view narration will make any reader rethink their relationships with all their friends.
The writing style is a bit jumpy and difficult to understand at the beginning but the reader gets used to it and the message of the book is worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Friendship over time
Review: Part way through the book, I paused and thought about these messed-up lives and unexpressed emotions, then it occurred to me that these guys are just like everyone I know. To me, this is why I found the voices so authentic. I am Vince's age and shared his attitude toward those of his father's generation. There is little narration and much stream of conscious thinking which makes the book, at times, hard to follow. Develop a score card of characters and relationships early since it does get confusing. Ultimately the four stars are for the implicit language which limits the scope of the book somewhat. Although the dialog is onviously authentic, I know that I missed some things since I am not from the neighborhood and the dialog almost assumes that a reader must be from nearby.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterfully Written Novel and Deserved Booker Prize Winner
Review: Ray, an aging punter whose wife left him years ago, sits at the bar of the Coach and Horses pub in Bermondsey. "It aint like your regular sort of day . . . That's why I'm here, five minutes after opening, for a little silent pow-wow with a pint glass." Ray is joined by his long-time friend, Lenny, and then by Vic, who arrives carrying a box. "He twists the box round so we can see there's a white card sellotaped to one side. There's a date and a number and name: Jack Arthur Dodds." These three friends are soon joined by another, Vince, to scatter the remains of a man they have known since World War II. Thus begins "Last Orders," Graham Swift's masterfully written Booker Prize winning novel about the day that four old friends carry out the final wish of Jack Dodds, scattering his remains into the surging ocean at the Margate pier. Along the way, driving from Bermondsey to Margate in a big old Mercury, with stops at a naval memorial in Chatham, the Canterbury Cathedral, and a few more pubs, we learn the intimate history of their lives, their friendships and their unfulfilled dreams. "Last Orders" is written in language that brilliantly captures the thoughts, the feelings and the unfulfilled yearnings of its characters, that vividly paints a picture of the subtle, yet profound, ways in which ordinary lives become intertwined and meaningful. It is a novel marked by humor, but also by a subdued, bittersweet melancholy. While written in the first person, the voices are ever-shifting as the narrative moves from character to character, place to place, backward and forward in time. It is a remarkable narrative achievement, but also one that demands the reader's utmost attention.
Rating:
Summary: Masterfully Written Booker Prize Winner
Review: Ray, an aging punter whose wife left him years ago, sits at the bar of the Coach and Horses pub in Bermondsey. "It aint like your regular sort of day . . . That's why I'm here, five minutes after opening, for a little silent pow-wow with a pint glass." Ray is joined by his long-time friend, Lenny, and then by Vic, who arrives carrying a box. "He twists the box round so we can see there's a white card sellotaped to one side. There's a date and a number and name: Jack Arthur Dodds." These three friends are soon joined by another, Vince, to scatter the remains of a man they have known since World War II. Thus begins "Last Orders," Graham Swift's masterfully written Booker Prize winning novel about the day that four old friends carry out the final wish of Jack Dodds, scattering his remains into the surging ocean at the Margate pier. Along the way, driving from Bermondsey to Margate in a big old Mercury, with stops at a naval memorial in Chatham, the Canterbury Cathedral, and a few more pubs, we learn the intimate history of their lives, their friendships and their unfulfilled dreams. "Last Orders" is written in language that brilliantly captures the thoughts, the feelings and the unfulfilled yearnings of its characters, that vividly paints a picture of the subtle, yet profound, ways in which ordinary lives become intertwined and meaningful. It is a novel marked by humor, but also by a subdued, bittersweet melancholy. While written in the first person, the voices are ever-shifting as the narrative moves from character to character, place to place, backward and forward in time. It is a remarkable narrative achievement, but also one that demands the reader's utmost attention.
Rating:
Summary: Modern day working class tales....
Review: seminal tale of four men: lenny, ray, vic and vince, who do a last order for a decease mate, jack dodds, which is to dump his ashes into the sea near margate. along the way, we learn about the kind of man jack was through the four characters and also through his widow, amy. definately a stark portrait of working class england in the late 20th century.swift uses his four characters to explain jack dodds, the way ralph ellison did with rhinehart in the invisible man. the other guys " flesh " jack out, showing the reader the life of a man who did the best he could with the choices he had/ made. all of the characters are great. especially vince, as jack's adopted son and lenny, a man who has a uncanny knack with winning at playing the horses. this is a faulkneresque novel that's actually easier to read. swift repeats certain phrases, words, and sentences over, as if it's all a code, giving the story a cryptic feeling. comparisons of this book to canterbury tales have piqued my curosity; i have never read the tales, so that's another title to add to my ever expanding list. the last chapter is memorable. highly reccomended.
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