Synopsis
Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last to have his ashes scattered into the sea. For reasons best known to herself, Jack's widow, Amy, declines to join them. On the surface the tale of a simple if increasingly bizarre day's outing, Last Orders is Graham Swift's most poignant exploration of the complexity and courage of ordinary lives.
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Review
From the author of Waterland and Ever After, Last Orders is a quiet but dazzling novel about a group of men, friends since the Second World War, whose lives revolve around work, family, the racetrack, and their favorite pub. When one of them dies, the survivors drive his ashes from London to a seaside town where they will be scattered, compelling them to take stock in who they are today, who they were before, and the shifting relationships in between. Both funny and moving, this won the Booker Prize in 1996.
About the Author
Graham Swift is the author of five other novels, including the acclaimed Waterland, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Guardian Fiction Award. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. He lives in London.
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Last Orders
Published by
Pan Macmillan, 1996
ISBN 10: 0330347454
ISBN 13: 9780330347457
Used
Softcover
First Edition
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. First Edition. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP8138865
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Last Orders
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR008903472
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Last Orders
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Last Orders This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780330347457
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Last Orders
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780330347457
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Letzte Runde
Published by
Bertelsmann, Rheda, 1997, 1997
ISBN 10: 0330347454
ISBN 13: 9780330347457
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Harle-Buch, Kallbach, Waddewarden Wangerland, NDS, Germany
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Sehr gut. Dust Jacket Condition: Sehr Gut. Gebundene Pappband - Ausgabe, illustrierter SchuU. 326 S. Zustand 1. .ist die Geschichte der tragikkomischen Pilgerfahrt von vier Freunden, die von London aus an die Küste fahren, um die Asche ihres verstorbenen Freundes ins Meer zu streuen. Seller Inventory # ABE-248340160
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LAST ORDERS
Seller: Ammareal, Morangis, France
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Bon. Couverture différente. Ammareal reverse jusqu'à 15% du prix net de cet article à des organisations caritatives. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Book Condition: Used, Good. Different cover. Ammareal gives back up to 15% of this item's net price to charity organizations. Seller Inventory # F-742-652
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Last Orders
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1996
ISBN 10: 0330347454
ISBN 13: 9780330347457
New
Soft cover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Peter Austern & Co. / Brooklyn Books, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket Issued. 1st Edition. Signed, limited advance reader's copy in a publishers slipcase. Last Orders is a captivating tale of English working-class families in the four decades following WW II. When Jack Dodds dies suddenly of cancer after years of running a butcher shop in London, he leaves a strange request-- namely, that his ashes be scattered off Margate pier into the sea. And who could better be suited to fulfill this wish than his three oldest drinking buddies-- insurance man Ray, vegetable seller Lenny, and undertaker Vic, all of whom, like Jack himself, fought also as soldiers or sailors in the long-ago world war. Swift's narrative start with its potential for the melodramatic, is developed instead with an economy, heart, and eye that release (through the characters' own voices, one after another) the story's humanity and depth instead of its schmaltz. The jokes may be weak and self- conscious when the three old friends meet at their local pub in the company of the urn holding Jack's ashes; but once the group gets on the road, in an expensive car driven by Jack's adoptive son, Vince, the story starts gradually to move forward, cohere, and deepen. The reader learns in time why it is that no wife comes along, why three marriages out of three broke apart, and why Vince always hated his stepfather Jack and still does-- or so he thinks. There will be stories of innocent youth, suffering wives, early loves, lost daughters, secret affairs, and old antagonisms-- including a fistfight over the dead on an English hilltop, and a strewing of Jack's ashes into roiling seawaves that will draw up feelings perhaps unexpectedly strong. Without affectation, Swift listens closely to the lives that are his subject and creates a songbook of voices part lyric, part epic, part working-class social realism-- with the ring to it of the honest, human, and true. Signed by Author(s). Book. Seller Inventory # va11
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Last Orders
Seller: Mooney's bookstore, Den Helder, Netherlands
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very good. Seller Inventory # 9780330347457-2-2
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Last Orders
Seller: Infinity Books Japan, Tokyo, TKY, Japan
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # RWARE0000062910
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LAST ORDERS.
Published by
NY: KNOPF. 1996, 1996
ISBN 10: 0330347454
ISBN 13: 9780330347457
Used
Softcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: WAVERLEY BOOKS ABAA, Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Softcover. Condition: Fine. First Edition. First American Edition. SIGNED Advance Reading Copy. Fine in printed wrappers laid-into the publisher's card slipcase. A Booker Prize winner.; Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 15835