The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

As a general rule I don't give daytime television's Richard and Judy the luxury - no, any such opportunity luxurious or otherwise - to inform or affect any of my lifestyle choices. Except the one about not watching daytime television, upon which they have had a significant and perhaps even defining input.

But, last week, shame upon shame I picked up a novel which was recommended by them - The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday. An interesting book - written almost completely back-to-front, with the final defining moments of the eponymous tragi-hero being at the beginning of the book, and the seeds of his journey downward being sown towards the end of the book.  It almost works, but there are points where the reader knows too much and it feels a little bit laboured in explaining some of the genesis of the tale.  It's basically a story of a lonely man at the end and at the beginning, sandwiching a middle section where Wilberforce seems to be adjusting and enjoying newly-found sociability and likeability until he becomes too embroiled in one particular obsession - wine.  Apart from that middle section, Wilberforce is an addict and sociopath and it's a task to find any sympathy for him, although he's certainly less offensive and therefore inevitably more likeable a character at the end of the book, where he is more-or-less a geek rather than a drunkard.

A very enjoyable and easy read - it's not taxing or laboured in terms of readability - however, and one that provokes a lot of discussion and thought about the nature of sociability, of addiction, and the fine line between interest and obsession. I particularly liked the discussion notes at the end of the book suitable for book clubs.  I will certainly keep an eye out for Paul Torday's forthcoming novel and also his first, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen.