A wonderful piece of writing—witty, creative, surprising, funny enough to elicit a laugh out loud, and absolutely full of wonderful and lovable characters.  Read it in a disjointed fashion over several weeks which was not wise given the twists, turns, and loops in the plot, but managed to get most of it after all.  Old Filth (Failed in London Tried Hong Kong) is an 89 year old retired distinguished, even legendary, barrister who has returned to rural England only to have his wife die and find that his neighbor is his ‘hated’ rival Terence Veneering (see Dickens’ Our Modest Friend).  The book tells the tale of Sir Edward Feather’s adjustment to his wife’s and friend’s deaths—motor trips to visit his old cousins, Claire and Babs,  from their days as Raj orphans, a trip to the old judge’s hotel, a visit to the Gloucestershire area where as a young soldier he guarded Queen Mary, and so forth.  Memories abound but loss overwhelms.  Gardam is a masterful story teller weaving Feather’s life history into the current happenings.  Especially wonderful is the tale of Albert Ross, the albatross who dies on 9/11 but only 60 years after launching Feathers on his career in the East after they met on a boat carrying evacuees to Colombo.