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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
The comedy didn't land for me because the jokes were either too dry, incomprehensible, or relied on a meanspirited delight in other peoples' suffering that I don't have.
The tragedy didn't work for me because the characters were either so reprehensible that their suffering was meaningless or so thinly drawn that I couldn't sympathize with their pain.
The end of the book included a very twisted section that read like an independent short story, and the afteword indicated that indeed it was originally published as a completely separate short story. It is also reprehenisbly racist in a way that was shocking to me as a modern reader and completely unexpected.
The tragedy didn't work for me because the characters were either so reprehensible that their suffering was meaningless or so thinly drawn that I couldn't sympathize with their pain.
The end of the book included a very twisted section that read like an independent short story, and the afteword indicated that indeed it was originally published as a completely separate short story. It is also reprehenisbly racist in a way that was shocking to me as a modern reader and completely unexpected.
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, the humour here felt dated to me, and I couldn't get interested in any of the characters or the plot - it felt widely superficial, all of it. It is somewhat of a modern version of a social novel, think Jane Austen brought into the mid 20th century, relying on gossip and acting on boredom.
The Lasts are financially stable, living in their neo-gothic mansion, in a life defined by routine. They have a son that neither of them are particularly interested in, who gets regularly shipped to the horse riding instructor or to the housekeeper for attention. Tony randomly invites Beaver from the local social club to visit them, and thus he connects with his wife, Brenda, and becomes her lover.
This isn't a bad or a boring story in itself, but I just smell the boredom of all the characters, how they're all on auto-pilot. It's so plot-oriented that beyond that I can't understand why Brenda decides to cheat on her husband. Similarly, Beaver also just puts up with her because that's the situation he's been placed in. This lack of any sort of motivation makes it very tedious to go through their movements, I don't understand why they do what they do, what they're after, even what their personality is like. This makes all the developments very low stakes.
The comedy I could see working for some readers, for me it was too old-school, based on repetition, he-said-she-said and just general gossip.
Not for me.
The Lasts are financially stable, living in their neo-gothic mansion, in a life defined by routine. They have a son that neither of them are particularly interested in, who gets regularly shipped to the horse riding instructor or to the housekeeper for attention. Tony randomly invites Beaver from the local social club to visit them, and thus he connects with his wife, Brenda, and becomes her lover.
This isn't a bad or a boring story in itself, but I just smell the boredom of all the characters, how they're all on auto-pilot. It's so plot-oriented that beyond that I can't understand why Brenda decides to cheat on her husband. Similarly, Beaver also just puts up with her because that's the situation he's been placed in. This lack of any sort of motivation makes it very tedious to go through their movements, I don't understand why they do what they do, what they're after, even what their personality is like. This makes all the developments very low stakes.
The comedy I could see working for some readers, for me it was too old-school, based on repetition, he-said-she-said and just general gossip.
Not for me.
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 out of 5 stars
What I've come to realize with these modern classics is that they're pretty hit-or-miss for me. A Handful of Dust belongs in the second category for me, although it isn't without its merit.
The writing style is easy to follow and overall the tone is humorous. I think the author successfully uses pompous expressions at certain points to exaggerate the absurdity of the characters' situation, while underlining their reactions with cool sarcasm. I liked the dialogue parts the most, because they were direct, funny and helped break up some unhelpfully long exposition passages.
As far as plot goes, this is the story of a marriage falling apart, due to infidelity and ongoing estrangement. However, more than that, it is a look on the ideological shift taking place in England at the beginning of the previous century. The backdrop is a time of changes and we follow our two main characters (mostly Tony) as they try to figure out their place in the new order of things and land themselves into exceedingly impossible situations of isolation and resentment. I especially liked the conflict involving the family house at Hetton and the resistance to modernization of which it became a symbol.
I think that in his effort to keep the tone of the story light-hearted, the author perhaps lost the essence of his characters, who instead felt like satirical caricatures at times. A good example of a story, written around the same time, exploring the difficulties and insecurities of a married couple more in depth and perhaps with less levity, would be "The Return" by Joseph Conrad. The main concept of a failing marriage is not very uncommon; it's up to the author to add nuance to it. Sadly, a solitary trip to South America and the never-ending gossip didn't do it for me. I think this type of domestic drama became increasingly popular in the following decades, but by then this genre might have had time to evolve away from the male gaze, which was painfully obvious in certain passages.
Unfortunately yet unsurprisingly, the influence of a colonist mentality was present and evident throughout the book. The usage of slurs and derogatory rascist terms, as well as the reliance on discriminatory stereotypes detracted from the story and was very bothersome to a contemporary reader like myself.
In conclusion, I admit I might have had higher expectations of this book than what it ended up delivering on. No matter though. I've already decided to give Evelyn Waugh a second chance with "Brideshead Revisited" or "Vile Bodies", which hopefully will be more to my liking.
Happy reading!
What I've come to realize with these modern classics is that they're pretty hit-or-miss for me. A Handful of Dust belongs in the second category for me, although it isn't without its merit.
The writing style is easy to follow and overall the tone is humorous. I think the author successfully uses pompous expressions at certain points to exaggerate the absurdity of the characters' situation, while underlining their reactions with cool sarcasm. I liked the dialogue parts the most, because they were direct, funny and helped break up some unhelpfully long exposition passages.
As far as plot goes, this is the story of a marriage falling apart, due to infidelity and ongoing estrangement. However, more than that, it is a look on the ideological shift taking place in England at the beginning of the previous century. The backdrop is a time of changes and we follow our two main characters (mostly Tony) as they try to figure out their place in the new order of things and land themselves into exceedingly impossible situations of isolation and resentment. I especially liked the conflict involving the family house at Hetton and the resistance to modernization of which it became a symbol.
I think that in his effort to keep the tone of the story light-hearted, the author perhaps lost the essence of his characters, who instead felt like satirical caricatures at times. A good example of a story, written around the same time, exploring the difficulties and insecurities of a married couple more in depth and perhaps with less levity, would be "The Return" by Joseph Conrad. The main concept of a failing marriage is not very uncommon; it's up to the author to add nuance to it. Sadly, a solitary trip to South America and the never-ending gossip didn't do it for me. I think this type of domestic drama became increasingly popular in the following decades, but by then this genre might have had time to evolve away from the male gaze, which was painfully obvious in certain passages.
Unfortunately yet unsurprisingly, the influence of a colonist mentality was present and evident throughout the book. The usage of slurs and derogatory rascist terms, as well as the reliance on discriminatory stereotypes detracted from the story and was very bothersome to a contemporary reader like myself.
In conclusion, I admit I might have had higher expectations of this book than what it ended up delivering on. No matter though. I've already decided to give Evelyn Waugh a second chance with "Brideshead Revisited" or "Vile Bodies", which hopefully will be more to my liking.
Happy reading!
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book feels like reading a stranger's diary
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, Antisemitism, Abandonment
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Unpredictable plot twists
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes