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The novelist Paul Bailey, who died in October aged 87, was celebrated for his witty genius, deep empathy even for his most flawed characters, and a sharpness that never felt cold. His novels often explored the power of memory on human existence, propelled by witty, staccato exchanges. Beyond novels, he also excelled as a poet, memoir writer, and additional roles—this is an overview to the volumes he authored.

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The Ones to Keep You Company

The author appeared as a gregarious individual, a master conversationalist fond of “trivial chit-chat”, as one character notes. Alongside pal author Beryl Bainbridge would watch the TV show Coronation Street and discuss it over calls. This pleasure in gossipy exchanges is evident in his fictional works the book Trespasses (published in 1970) and the title Peter Smart’s Confessions (dating to 1977). Both feature a central male figure surrounded by humorous, irritating, exaggerated personalities, frequently family members whose gravitational pull is unavoidable. “Who wants to be normal anyway?” Ralph’s mum questions in Trespasses upon his coming out. Like an evening with your smartest, cheekiest pal.

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The Ones to Make You Laugh and Cry

The novelist penned brilliantly about aging, early and late in his career. His debut novel At the Jerusalem (published in 1967) traces the journey of Faith Gadny during her transition to a nursing home, where fellow residents offer warmth absent in employees, who show interest through questions “Why aren’t you ladies watching the television?”. Within his second-last book the title Chapman’s Odyssey (from 2011), an elderly hospitalized man alternates between clashing with physicians (“I consume only fine wines”, he affirms when scolded for liver results) and experiencing a rush of recollections involving his mum, partners, classic characters like Dickens’s Pip to Austen’s Emma. Both books contain comic interactions however tinged with approaching finality. Throughout his novels, grins are unreliable. Within At the Jerusalem, “the matron beamed, then stopped suddenly”; Faith Gadny chuckles anxiously if her actions are questioned. In Chapman’s Odyssey, Harry cautions that “my smiles aren’t what they seem”. The audience’s grins, though, are real.

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To Understand the Truth Beneath the Tales

In addition to fiction, The author excelled as a skilled autobiographer, issuing two personal accounts. the memoir An Immaculate Mistake (published in 1990) stands as a masterpiece of recollection, its title derived from his parent’s remark that “You were our mistake. You ought not to be here, by rights.”. (“Aged, she was releasing her confidences,” he comments. “She understood this would captivate me.”) Within these pages appear the origins of misguided, loving, frustrating parents in his novels. Additionally, it depicts an evocative portrait of a homosexual young man during the mid-20th century, when homosexuality was illegal, and his kin viewed it as suspicious for a boy to buy his mother flowers; and of a hopeful performer (The writer was on stage preceding his literary career) who memorized Hamlet at 15. His second memoir A Dog’s Life (published in 2004) centers on days with his pet Circe, his previous lover David, his love for Romania—which inspired later novels like Kitty and Virgil, Uncle Rudolf, plus the book The Prince’s Boy—and heaps of rumors, including a tale about Iris Murdoch dubbing a participant an “idiot”.

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If You’re Pressed for Time

Bailey’s novels tend to be short—the impactful Old Soldiers (published in 1980) is just over 100 pages—however, for a more condensed choice, explore his poems from later years. The pair of volumes Inheritance (2019) and the title Joie de Vivre (from 2022) display his cleverness, sympathy, exactness in small packages. These verses are rich with mortality and existence. Two love themes recur: for his mother (“Now I’m closer—/ I have to say—/ than in life”) and for his partner Jeremy Trevathan. In Amazement, he depicts the happiness from enjoying “foolish television” side by side, concluding with: “It’s remarkable, this simple act of consuming cheese and wine as darkness falls.”

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For a Single Must-Read

It is widely accepted that Paul Bailey’s boldest work remains the novel Gabriel’s Lament, a Booker Prize finalist in 1986. (He was a Booker judge in 1982, an experience he despised.) This novel Bailey felt proudest of, despite the fact “it drained me. It took everything out of me”. It tells Gabriel Harvey’s story, whose mother vanishes while his dad transforms into an unbearable snob after inheriting wealth, with possible connections. It acts as a representation of London in the 1900s, an account of psychological collapse, and as funny and sad like his other works. To continue, it led to a subsequent book, Sugar Cane (from 1993), which Bailey researched by attending brothels to observe.