Present Appertaining To Books The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

Title	:	The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce
Author	:	Paul Torday
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 308 pages
Published	:	April 1st 2008 by Weidenfeld & Nicholson (first published 2005)
Categories	:	Fiction. Contemporary. Literary Fiction

The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce Hardcover | Pages: 308 pages

Narration Concering Books The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce is the second novel by British author, Paul Torday. When Torday introduces his narrator, Wilberforce, it is 2006 and he is an enthusiastic wine drinker who owns an estate called Caerlyon Hall, the subterranean undercroft full of wine located under the Hall, and a flat in Half Moon Street, Mayfair. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Wilberforce is a virtually penniless alcoholic, a delusional widower who has alienated all his friends, squandered a fortune and is at death’s door. How Wilberforce has managed to progress to this state from being a teetotal computer nerd who owned a multi-million pound software company is gradually revealed, but in reverse, in four parts: 2006, 2004, 2003 and 2002. Torday emphasises significant incidents (and his narrator’s perception of them) with repetition of certain phrases and the retelling (with subtle differences) of certain events in each of the four parts. While it may be a dark and tragic tale, Torday manages to inject plenty of humour, and readers may well find themselves laughing out loud, at least in 2006. Torday’s characters are well developed and often familiar: the socially inept computer programmer; the hedonistic heir to the title; the well-meaning doctor; the asset-rich, cash-poor gentry; the diplomatically fawning bank manager. Eck Chetwode-Talbot’s name may ring a bell for readers of Salmon Fishing and both Eck and Ed Simmonds reappear in later Torday books, something that will appeal to fans. Although the outcome is evident from the beginning, it is a measure of Torday’s literary talent that the reader is still eager to discover the who, how and why of it. At the same time, the reader is left a mystery to speculate upon (is Wilberforce’s father among the characters?) Torday’s portrayal of an alcoholic’s behaviour and addictive personality (the denials, the rationalisations, the blame shifting, the physical and mental symptoms) is excellent and obviously well-researched. This is a brilliant offering by Torday and fans will be eager to read his next book, The Girl On The Landing.

Describe Books As The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

Original Title:	The Irresistible Inheritance Of Wilberforce: A Novel in Four Vintages
ISBN:	0297851594 (ISBN13: 9780297851592)
Edition Language:	English

Rating Appertaining To Books The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

Ratings: 3.49 From 1520 Users | 174 Reviews

Commentary Appertaining To Books The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce

I didn't love this book, because it sort of depressed me, hence the three star rating. However, it is a brilliant book, very clever, differernt, beautifully written and constructed, and at some points was definitely a page turner. It just lacked warmth and joy for me, so I will explain why. Wilberforce is in his thirties, a successful computer software developer, but he has never been in love, never really had friends, and was never truly loved by his foster parents as a child. He has thrown

A gripping read. The story of an alcoholic told in reverse chronological order. Once I'd got to the end, I wanted to start again and read it backwards. During the early part of the book, when his illness is at its worst, I couldn't put it down, and if forced to, kept thinking "wonder how Wilberforce is?"

Fantastic.It starts slowly, and I'm thinking, "Is he going to be drinking wine and visiting restaurants throughout the whole 300 pages?" But the story gets more and more interesting. Starting in the present and going back a year in each following part of the book makes for exciting reading - slowly filling the blanks in the story.The only thing I wished for was to know how the story ends for Willberforce. Could he be Francis' son? I highly recommend the book.

A much more bleak and sombre second novel from Paul Torday who debuted with the entertaining Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The main character here becomes increasingly dislikeable as his wrong-footed life choices come home to roost. Wilberforce makes for a thoroughly unreliable narrator as he seeks to justify his alcoholism and betrayal of his friends. He's a man who ventures out of his depth and sinks rather than swims. The reverse timeline structure makes the story all the more poignant and at

4.5/5 stars.

A very clever book, like a fine wine it has many layers with subtle topnotes adding complexity to a robust base.I did find that the reverse chronology to be a little frustrating, I feel cheated by not knowing what happens next, like the ending was stolen from me. However the exploration of Wilberforce's past is well done and allowed his character to be explored quite effectively.

This is a strange book, one that I don't think will ever have a consensus of approval - my rating of 5 stars probably seems like a strange choice to most people who have read this book. This is one of those novels that will simply mean different things to different people. I found it difficult to get into but very worth persisting at, and I loved the way Torday used a nonlinear structure to turn a relatively simple plot into something mesmerising account of one man's strange downfall.