- Title:
- The Final Cut (Francis Urquhart #3)
- By:
- Michael Dobbs
- Pages:
- 478
- Rating:
- 5
FRANCIS URQUHART’S EVENTFUL CAREER AS PRIME MINISTER COMES TO A SPECTACULAR END IN THE FINAL VOLUME IN THE NO 1 BESTSELLING TRILOGY
In a few months, Francis Urquhart will take his place in the history books as the longest-serving Prime Minister this century.
And yet . . . the country appears to he tiring of him. The movement to force him from power is gathering irresistible momentum. But F.U. is not ready to retire, still less to be driven from office. If the public are demanding new blood.,then that is precisely what he will give them – the blood of critics, Cabinet rivals, any man or woman who stands in his way. . .
“Who is to tell? All I am sure of is that these are contrary winds, and some boats will be quite swamped before the gale has blown itself out.”
This novel really impressed me. It’s surely unfathomable to feel for Urquhart, after the previous titles, and yet I did. The cocktail of melancholy versus drive, of age pushing ambition, of journalism abutting discretion, and seeing cultural upheaval writ amidst beautifully-depicted landscapes even if they are arid and dry was a powerful censorious mix indeed
I’ll admit, I thought the prologue an excess, at least at the beginning. But the hostage situation which developed was a riviting read, and I paused to make a note at the end of the chapter to see if Dobbs had written anything more action or military-based: although it was woven into the politics, it was still a fine thumper of an extraction.
There were a few extraordinary scenes for me. The “crossing of the floor”, even for the most lackadaisical parliamentarian, was extreme and brilliant. The court case after the marching arrest was excellent legal stuffAnd then, the final scene – indeed, the final cut. What more can I add? Bravo.