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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
A slow, slice of life plot. I read it on recommendation by an author I enjoyed a book of this summer and I think I just wasn’t in the space for a slow relationship drama, domestic life novel. The adventure bit didn’t even really excite either.
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really like this book even though the characters were spoiled rotten and often clueless. It was a quiet read....not huges peaks & valleys but enough action for me.
I've always known that Waugh had a deft touch at sketching out horrid, self-centred characters, but even I was surprised with the sheer horror that is Brenda Last. A more vile woman you'd struggle to find.
I quite liked the book, even as it careered into some very odd territory at the end (I'd not envisaged our Tony in the deepest, darkest jungles of the World).
I quite liked the book, even as it careered into some very odd territory at the end (I'd not envisaged our Tony in the deepest, darkest jungles of the World).
i want the tony fate to happen to every billionaire guy
The mixture of humorous satire with the depressing plot did not work for me. The satire was amusing, but the plot itself was not satire, it was just a downward spiral. That disconnect left me tossing the book aside with some level of disgust when I finished the last page.
I'm getting a little ahead of Ann for the moment, but I'm sure she will catch up in no time. For now, we forge ahead into the unknown, into Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust.
This was another intriguing book, one of those whose final act seems so incongruous with those that preceded it, like A Passage to India. We begin as a comedy of English city society and end in the jungles of Brazil. I felt like I tumbled into the surreal as Tony and Dr. Messinger struck out into the jungle, like Waugh had been reading Heart of Darkness and decided to give that a go for a while. Then I started to wonder, which came first in the creation of the story: the jungle or the city? So I looked it up on Wikipedia and there was a quote by Waugh saying that he had had an experience in which he was far from culture reading to an older gentleman when it occurred to him that the man could keep him hostage if he wanted to. So that is where this book began for him. He worked back from there, he said, to play out further "civilized man's helpless plight among [savages]." Tony is of course our civilized man and Brenda, Beaver, and the lot are the savages. You can probably take it all from there.
The thing that I actually thought of most when I finished this book was how similar it was to Brave New World by Huxley. In both stories we follow a man who shares our sensibilities about the world and how people and society ought to behave while struggling in a world that actively works against him. Brave New World even has that section in it where the protagonist goes to live amongst the savages, which struck me as being similar to the jungle section in Waugh's book. And of course, both protagonists are beaten down in the end. Curiously enough, Brave New World was published in 1932, just before Waugh would have been writing his book. Whether or not there was any influence, it is clear that there is something of a zeitgeist here that both authors are tapping into about the fears of where contemporary society was headed. The Great War was a ways behind them, but more turmoil was brewing and the modern political machinery was churning away.
This is a book that I have enjoyed thinking about after I finished it more than I enjoyed the actual reading of it, although I did find the characterization of John Jr. very funny and greatly enjoyed the fake affair scene with Tony and Milly and her daughter. This is my first exposure to Waugh and I would be delighted to read more.
This was another intriguing book, one of those whose final act seems so incongruous with those that preceded it, like A Passage to India. We begin as a comedy of English city society and end in the jungles of Brazil. I felt like I tumbled into the surreal as Tony and Dr. Messinger struck out into the jungle, like Waugh had been reading Heart of Darkness and decided to give that a go for a while. Then I started to wonder, which came first in the creation of the story: the jungle or the city? So I looked it up on Wikipedia and there was a quote by Waugh saying that he had had an experience in which he was far from culture reading to an older gentleman when it occurred to him that the man could keep him hostage if he wanted to. So that is where this book began for him. He worked back from there, he said, to play out further "civilized man's helpless plight among [savages]." Tony is of course our civilized man and Brenda, Beaver, and the lot are the savages. You can probably take it all from there.
The thing that I actually thought of most when I finished this book was how similar it was to Brave New World by Huxley. In both stories we follow a man who shares our sensibilities about the world and how people and society ought to behave while struggling in a world that actively works against him. Brave New World even has that section in it where the protagonist goes to live amongst the savages, which struck me as being similar to the jungle section in Waugh's book. And of course, both protagonists are beaten down in the end. Curiously enough, Brave New World was published in 1932, just before Waugh would have been writing his book. Whether or not there was any influence, it is clear that there is something of a zeitgeist here that both authors are tapping into about the fears of where contemporary society was headed. The Great War was a ways behind them, but more turmoil was brewing and the modern political machinery was churning away.
This is a book that I have enjoyed thinking about after I finished it more than I enjoyed the actual reading of it, although I did find the characterization of John Jr. very funny and greatly enjoyed the fake affair scene with Tony and Milly and her daughter. This is my first exposure to Waugh and I would be delighted to read more.
I just can’t get enough of British wit. There’s something both elegant and scathing in it that North Americans don’t seem to be able to reproduce. And when it comes to biting British wit, no one can outdo the great Evelyn Waugh.
I’m not sure that I would have been interested in this book if I hadn’t read and loved “Brideshead Revisited” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1353344039?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1); stories about bored people having affairs is usually not something that interests me because it feels like a subject that’s been explored to death. But Waugh’s gorgeous prose, his fascinating yet deeply unlikable characters had kept me entranced before. If anyone could make the tale of a failing marriage and estate something I’d want to read, it would be him.
Just as with « Brideshead », it’s hard not to feel like you have just landed in the middle of an episode of « Downton Abbey » : everyone has dressing rooms, frequents clubs and seems to have not a care in the world besides their own amusement. Brenda and Tony have been married for seven years, and while they give the impression of being happy, Brenda is dissatisfied. Most of their money goes into the upkeep of Tony’s estate, a huge and rather ugly Gothic manor named Hetton Abbey, and their son John is more trouble than either of them would like him to be, even when his antics are entertaining. Enter John Beaver, an impoverished socialite from Belgravia. He’s a smooth-talking social climber and when he sets eyes on Brenda, he knows exactly what to do to get to the booty (pun intended). It’s easy to see how fast that situation can go downhill, so it comes as no surprise when the rather pathetic comedy of manners turns into tragedy, which then turns into melodrama.
I read that Waugh included a very liberal amount of autobiographical details in “Handful of Dust”, as his own divorce was a nasty affair and that the withdrawal of his wife’s affection had traumatized him badly. If it’s true, then my heart breaks for him because this book is so profoundly sad. Not just because of what happens to Tony, who is clearly Waugh’s alter ego, but also because of the emptiness of all those characters’ lives and feelings. Everyone is as shallow as a birdbath, and their incapacity to care for and to connect to other people also makes them brittle. Does Brenda really think that throwing another woman in her husband’s arms will make up for her own indiscretions? What did she really think would happen with John, if she didn’t manage to get any money from her husband? Gee, lady!
I didn’t like it was much as “Brideshead” because I found the characters less compelling. Sure, both novels are about human trainwrecks, but I thought Charles, Sebastian, Julia and even Lady Marchmain were more nuanced and multilayered than Tony, Brenda and that silly Mr. Beaver. They explored a deeper side of human nature. That being said, “A Handful of Dust” was a still a good read, like a really beautiful car accident that you can’t look away from. Too bad the last part felt so disconnected from the first half; that feeling of rushed resolution was rather disappointing considering the novel's strong start. Oh well...
I’m not sure that I would have been interested in this book if I hadn’t read and loved “Brideshead Revisited” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1353344039?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1); stories about bored people having affairs is usually not something that interests me because it feels like a subject that’s been explored to death. But Waugh’s gorgeous prose, his fascinating yet deeply unlikable characters had kept me entranced before. If anyone could make the tale of a failing marriage and estate something I’d want to read, it would be him.
Just as with « Brideshead », it’s hard not to feel like you have just landed in the middle of an episode of « Downton Abbey » : everyone has dressing rooms, frequents clubs and seems to have not a care in the world besides their own amusement. Brenda and Tony have been married for seven years, and while they give the impression of being happy, Brenda is dissatisfied. Most of their money goes into the upkeep of Tony’s estate, a huge and rather ugly Gothic manor named Hetton Abbey, and their son John is more trouble than either of them would like him to be, even when his antics are entertaining. Enter John Beaver, an impoverished socialite from Belgravia. He’s a smooth-talking social climber and when he sets eyes on Brenda, he knows exactly what to do to get to the booty (pun intended). It’s easy to see how fast that situation can go downhill, so it comes as no surprise when the rather pathetic comedy of manners turns into tragedy, which then turns into melodrama.
I read that Waugh included a very liberal amount of autobiographical details in “Handful of Dust”, as his own divorce was a nasty affair and that the withdrawal of his wife’s affection had traumatized him badly. If it’s true, then my heart breaks for him because this book is so profoundly sad. Not just because of what happens to Tony, who is clearly Waugh’s alter ego, but also because of the emptiness of all those characters’ lives and feelings. Everyone is as shallow as a birdbath, and their incapacity to care for and to connect to other people also makes them brittle. Does Brenda really think that throwing another woman in her husband’s arms will make up for her own indiscretions? What did she really think would happen with John, if she didn’t manage to get any money from her husband? Gee, lady!
I didn’t like it was much as “Brideshead” because I found the characters less compelling. Sure, both novels are about human trainwrecks, but I thought Charles, Sebastian, Julia and even Lady Marchmain were more nuanced and multilayered than Tony, Brenda and that silly Mr. Beaver. They explored a deeper side of human nature. That being said, “A Handful of Dust” was a still a good read, like a really beautiful car accident that you can’t look away from. Too bad the last part felt so disconnected from the first half; that feeling of rushed resolution was rather disappointing considering the novel's strong start. Oh well...
Can one decision you make change the course of another person's life or does the other person retain freewill in how they choose to react (or not to react)? The tone of the book is light and funny, but the underlying premise is stormy.
I've seen the movie half a dozen times so the book held no surprises, but the book still sucked me in as if I didn't know the entire plot. Waugh's ability to sum up a personality through a short conversation is amazing.
I've seen the movie half a dozen times so the book held no surprises, but the book still sucked me in as if I didn't know the entire plot. Waugh's ability to sum up a personality through a short conversation is amazing.