Brideshead Revisited: The sacred & profane memories of Captain Charles Ryder by Evelyn Waugh

3.87 AVERAGE

marijana's review against another edition

5.0
Fantastic.

carolina_pereira's review against another edition

4.5
emotional reflective slow-paced

lucyaughney's review against another edition

Took me three reads to realise it was an allegory of Catholicism. I'm quick like that.

olivia_donahue's review against another edition

4.0
the first half of this book was delightful. sebastian is a wonderful character i wish we got to know throughout the whole story. it had many gay undertones which i wish could have been explored, but i understand this wasn’t written in a time people could be explicit about those things. charles essentially moved from sebastian to his sister julia, which felt somewhat strange as if she were a placeholder for his one true love. i wish sebastian and charles could have reunited in the end, the last half was overall disappointing.
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scottjeffe's review against another edition

4.0
Second time around on this book. Charles and Sebastian’s interwar years begin at Oxford and end in the depths of the Second World War. Charles spends these years looking in on the strange Flite family - the Marquises of Marchmain. I had forgotten the degree to which Waugh delves into the weird issues of British Catholics. All in all a pretty dim portrayal of the British aristocracy.

hiccyup's review against another edition

3.75
medium-paced

bmk215's review against another edition

4.0
Set at the interwar period, Evelyn Waugh describes the decline of the British aristocracy, explores family live and faith through the eyes of Charles Ryder and his complex relationships with the aristocratic Flyte family.

joeba_fett's review against another edition

5.0
emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I do find it sad that Charles could not end up with Julia. Ultimately religion drives the two of them apart, with Julia unable to reconcile her belief in god with a second "good" in Charles. But surely Charles knew that going in? Surely both of them would struggle with it? . 

And what of Sebastian himself?Surely he has the same religious conflict inside him, which Charles had ample opportunity to reconcile?

I'm unsure as to whether the book presents a wholly negative view of religion. There is certainly a beauty to it that Charles finds, possibly as a painter looks for that beauty. But it ultimately drives a wedge between the Flytes themselves.

amotley's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH
That was a weird book

santiagogonzalesheller's review against another edition

4.0
A great book of WASP Ryder subsumed into a Catholic aristocratic English family in the intra war years. The character of Sebastian is a true literary great, but he fades into the background. As Sebastian predicts his friend Charles is stolen from him by his family. Explorations of Catholicism are interesting in it's no compromise lifestyle versus the do what you want to do.

The start of the book is great, but it fades a bit. Charles' marriage seems incompatible with how his character could ever get into this relationship, but I guess it serves as a plot device.