It had the wit and storytelling of Nancy Mitford and the wonderful characters of Alan Hollinghurst.

To start with, I found I got a bit lost, but as soon as you realise the story is a memoir of a friendship over many years, it all fits into place.

I loved Alexander's stories and his escapades a little more than Ben's but still found them equally as enthralling.

The author, though, does like to remind you where you are geographically and mentions the same place names again and again and again - which is a little annoying.

I requested and received an eARC ofThe Last Doorbell by William Parker via NetGalley. I was super excited to read this book, it definitely seemed like the type of story I hadn’t encountered too often. The novel itself is presented as the fictional memoir of the narrator, Ben, and opens with him attending an elderly gentleman, anticipating his death. As the story recedes into the past, exploring Ben’s history as a sex worker, the connection between the two men becomes clearer. There were many moments of humor and the novel carries an air of mystery that propels the reader forward in their reading journey. Parker’s novel shines most brightly when showcasing the tenderness between Ben and Alexander. Overall, I found this to be a thoughtful and immensely enjoyable work.

The book is a literary novel that follows the life of a young man Ben. It actually starts at the end with the death of an old man and Ben is upset to have not been with him as he passes, but then some strange magic occurs and time goes back slightly so Ben is there as the man Alexander takes his final breath.

We are then taken to the start of Ben's story. I don't think the death should be at the beginning. The death of Alexander has less impact- it could be a real tear- jerking scene towards the end of the book - and the weird magic is, well, weird.

I liked Ben's journey into becoming an escort. I really liked Aurelio and especially loved Ben and Aurelio's scene at the end of chapter 3. I also enjoyed the story of Alexander and how the relationship blossomed into something so special with both Alexander and his wife. As the old couple started losing their physical and mental capabilities I thought the story was beautifully told.

I didn't think the addition of Leon was necessary. I did like the median however and thought that was a beautiful part.

I did really like the character of Aurelio and it would have been nice if he featured more - it was as if he was forgotten until the end and I think it would have been nice to have seen his and Ben's friendship continue throughout the second half of the novel.

I also thought the story should have ended with the photo at St Mark's Square - the part after with the garden I thought unnecessary - it probably had a double meaning but that was lost on me.

Grammatically there's a few errors which I'll note below in case someone with the power to amend reads this. Overall an interesting, fluid read, written in pretty language. It isn't a page turner but with the amendments I have mentioned I think it could have a real effect on the reader.

Grammatical errors
P.6 "thirty- [new line] five years..."
P.20 "under- [new line] studying..."
P.41 "but when, [new line] years later...."
P.74 "self- [new line] assured..."
P.88 "eighteenth- [new line] century..."
P.89 "scene from a [new line] movie
P.96 same
P.101 new line mid-sentence
P.105 new line mid-sentence
P.128 "chip- [new line] pan fire..."
P.129 "one- [new line] two-three..."
P.138 "morn- [new line] ing when I get back..."
P.139 same error x2
P.140 same
P.144 same x2 and new line mid-sentence
P.145 new line mid-sentence
P.154 same
P.155 "twenty- [new line] one..."
P.213 "mid- [new line] twenties..."
P.217 "monochrome- [new line] grey..."
P.220 grammatically incorrect sentence "to be able bellow a 'Hello'..."
P.225 grammatically incorrect sentence "not able catch my imagination...."

This was a really interesting book, I enjoyed the idea of this book and how it worked with the description. I thought the characters worked with the story and glad I got to read this. William Parker writes this well and hope to read more.

A book full of wry descriptions and detail - I did enjoy the style of writing but the problem was that nothing really happened - at least twice I felt the plot was on the verge of revealing a twist or taking an interesting turn but then it quickly reverted back to plodding along.
An interesting premise but I didn’t enjoy the it as much as I would have liked.

An out of work actor embarks on a career as a rent boy. There are some quite amusing encounters as he learns his trade before the inevitable falling in with the wrong crowd at which point he decides to give it up but the last doorbell opens the way to a new life for him. A glimpse of what the future will hold is given in the first chapter of the book and makes the story seem a little predictable. But he was little bit too full of himself and I was not interested enough to go with him on that journey. The writing was sharp and snappy but the amount of bad language put me off.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I thought it was very vulnerable and bold. This story is about 2 men from 1940-1995 and how their different lives were intersected together. The first chapter tells you how it ends but of course you have to read how they got there. It was a very good read!

Many artists create their art for themselves, not the public. I feel that author William Parker here has written The Last Doorbell for himself, and if any readers like it, great. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to finish the novel. I set it down at 30%, but kept coming back to it, setting it down again, and finally giving up at 67%. The lead character did not interest me, and again, I don't think the book was written to entertain readers. Perhaps I am wrong and I do look forward to reading others reactions to the novels. Maybe I missed something that would have hooked me.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.