Three Brothers

I found "Three Brothers" disappointing; Ackroyd's good ear for conversation is wasted when used for the mouths of his rather contrived characters who are forced by history and the author's vision into situations like medieval church carvings that are contorted to fit into their containing surroundings. Echoes of past times blending with and affecting the present is a recurrent theme, but whether this is a mental state or a "reality" is unresolved and doesn't work as well as in Ackroyd's earlier success, "Hawksmoor". For a much more vibrant version of the fictionalised lowlife/highlife blend of England in the 1950s/1960s, read Jake Arnott's "The Long Firm".

A strange mix of the usual Ackroyd preoccupations - London (beautiful ancient and modern grimy), visitations from the spirit world, literary pretension and coincidence. Atmospheric indeed; a subtle blend of Conan Doyle, Blake and Le Carre. Some subtle in-jokes, a contrived plot (but aren't they all) and a smoke stained love letter to a half lost world.

I found this a strange book. It contains flashes of brilliance and is a vivid portrait of aspects of London life. But none of the characters are sympathetic or attractive, with the exception of Sparkler, who is a sort of gay artful dodger. And the three brothers remained for me very two dimensional. Ackroyd brings in quite a lot of psychic phenomena, of no real credibility and I was left with the impression of a notebook of ideas which had been pasted together into a fundamentally unsatisfactory novel.

This was a book to be read at a book club. Enjoyed the time it was written as I can relate to that and some of the places mentioned in the story. It was enjoyed by the club.

Arrived quickly well packaged, very good book thoroughly enjoyed it.

Good read

having grown up in the 50's - 60's in London this brought back lots of memories and was very accurate as to descriptions and people. I am a big fan of Peter A in any case and really enjoyed this book.

I'm an Ackroyd fan - love his take on London history, his obsession with Dickens and his quirky mysticism apparent in his other stuff. Though different to other works of his that I've read, I found myself quickly drawn in by a clever plot and an accomplished writing style. I was intrigued too by the 'autobiographical' element - which has prompted me to want to find out more about Ackroyd's background.