Reviews

The trouble with comedy is that it relies a lot on the audience having some familiarity with the subject matter and the but of the jokes. As a result, it can age really badly. I still found parts of the book funny - after all, corrupt and ignorant government officials are still something familiar in todays world so the jokes based around that still make sense. What has lost its humour are the casually racist caricatures (peppered with equally racist epithets) that have produced most of the characters - I can't find them funny because I don't believe people are really like that, nor do I believe they ever were except in the eyes of the colonial British. Black people bear the brunt of this misrepresentation, but the Armenians, Arabs, Greeks and (to a lesser degree) French get a pretty poor portrayal as well. The focus on cannibalism is particularly telling (and trying). I've seen other reviews that describe the book as un-PC (and mean it as a compliment) but it's not like I'm offended by the lack of political correctness - the problem is a lot of the humour isn't funny unless you share a 1930's view of the world and the different people living in it. There are stupid English people in the book of course, but their flaws are described in away that makes them personal rather than a result of their race. The ending of the book is particularly indicative of the attitude of the time - the conclusion seems to be that an African nation cannot progress unless the British are in charge; throughout the books all attempts by the African leader to improve the country fail through extreme stupidity, and it's only at the end where the great European powers intervene when the streets finally start getting cleaned and order arrives in the fictional nation.

chriswright7's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Cleverly written and very amusing, Evelyn Waugh excellently satirised the modern bourgeois sensibilities of the time period with their inane ideals of how to advance the traditional Azanian society into a new age of progress.

kingfan30's review against another edition

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1.0

Was not sure about this book I have to say, did not really get into it at all and it took me quite a while to read considering it is quite a thin book. I can not pin point why I did not get on with it and did not find it funny (as it claims it is on the back of the book).

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

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2.0

This is only the second book I have read of Waugh's and I appreciated his wit and satire indiscriminate of class, colour or race. However, some parts of the novel made me slightly uncomfortable although I enjoyed his writing style.

Please see my full review at http://bibliobeth.wordpress.com

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