Reviews with content warning for Death - The Loved One

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

8 reviews

bethpaws's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A beautifully and acerbically written short satirical book. The story centres around English poet Dennis Barlow who works at the pet cemetery Happier Hunting Grounds. While arranging a funeral at Whispering Glades he starts a relationship with Thanatogenos the cosmetician. She is torn between Dennis and the senior mortician Joyboy and seeks advice from a very un-bothered advice columist Guru Brahmin. The discovery that the poems Dennis is quoting to her are not his own, and learning where he works (facilitated by Joyboy) results in Thanatogenos seeking and taking more (rather awful) advice from Guru Brahim. Dennis and Joyboy find a grim solution and the English Dennis ends the story one up on the Americans.

So much more social commentary that I have missed as I am unaware of the social backgrounds to the other themes in the book of Hollywood and the death culture Waugh despised in America. But I read for pleasure not analysis.

Content Warnings

emily_britton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Too clever by far.

Content Warnings

cousinrachel's review against another edition

Go to review page

DNF but I read the ending. How does such a goofy book end up this tedious?

I would have thought I’d at least enjoy being annoyed at the characters but the way it’s written is so BORING. He did this. She did that. Then he said XYZ. I guess it’s supposed to be dry humor but I didn’t connect with the one-dimensional, self-absorbed characters at all.

And the end was wacky… by that point I’d lost interest though.

Content Warnings

_mineru's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

lulotteum's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

so actually brideshead revisited is my favorite book ever. and one of my goals is to read a bunch of other books written by evelyn waugh.
actually i didn‘t enjoy reading this particular book. i know about irony and humor and all other things that are related to his other works. but this was too much. (thankfully) dark humor isn‘t my thing.

and one of the last lines where a dead woman is being compared to a dead dog… shit i know that it shows the stupidity of the main character but actually TF.

i‘ve read vile bodies and liked it way more. so it‘s not about the style. it‘s about the plot.

Content Warnings