One of the most interesting and least patronising accounts of cockney life in the late 19th century

A picture of such squalor and deprivation that it caused an uproar and made Maugham famous

He evolved a quality possessed only by master story-tellers - that of making the reader greedy for more

He shrewdly spun the raw material of human suffering into a brutal tale. Maugham pushed the limits of acceptability and gained a following for it

This is one achievement among several for Blake Morrison, who has written a novel that is at once artful and naturalistic, restrained and yet suggestive, and faithful to a perspective from which the readers wants to recoil

The story is beautifully crafted, astutely observed and peopled with believable characters

Morrison handles the elements of his novel with impeccable control

An insidiously gripping tale

This is a seriously good novel and it deserves to overtake a few more loudly trumpeted false favourites in the popularity and prize stakes

Gripping...a masterpiece of pacing and revelation

A compelling thriller

A terrific thriller, a page-turner of impressive literary skill

It is the assuredness of Morrison's portrayal of Ian's descent which makes The Last Weekend compelling - and lifts a familiar...story skilfully above the commonplace

His truly sensational latest novel, which places him at the forefront of British novelists writing today

Creepy and compelling, but also often extremely funny. Blake Morrison has inhabited the world of a deeply flawed character with unforgettable results

Tautly written and tightly structured, this is a novel that explores jealousy, rivalry, deceit and manipulation

Warner navigates the comic, the philosophical and the socially acute like no other writer we have

Played refreshingly uncliched games with the device of the unreliable narrator

Blake Morrison's examination of the dark heart of male rivalry makes foe a gripping read

Pacy and gripping...wonderfully atmospheric

Morrison's compelling study of male competitiveness offers a discomforting account of the amoral excuses and self-deception of the compulsive gambler: "I don't have a problem. I could stop tomorrow"; "gambling is the basis of our whole economy". You reckon you could put it down at any point - though you'd be kidding yourself

The Bank Holiday weekend from hell is the subject of Blake Morrison's entertaining new novel - a dark little tale about middle-class rivalry and midsummer meltdown. With an ear attuned to metropolitan pretension - modern parenting skills are sent up with gusto - Morrison succeeds in weaving a murderous melodrama that is grounded in the most recognizable of human impulses and desires

A tense chamber piece about a twisted friendship...the author's skilful choreography of unsympathetic characters and a menacing tone make for a sharply intelligent novel that is both unnerving and enjoyable

The Last Weekend isn't really a thriller though its well-paced, tight and gripping narrative has you reaching for the same adjectives that you would use to describe one

For those holidaying with old friends…the book tells the chilling story ofa rivalrousfriendship…leaving Alex Clark to conclude that Morrison “keeps the reader constantly intrigued