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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Without good knowledge of the era or the historical-cultural context (that is, I don't have them), I suppose it is difficult to see what Waugh is satirising about. Nonetheless, the story on its own is quite good, it is indeed comical (though not necessarily in the jokey way) and tragic.
I wasn't sure if A Handful of Dust would be my type of book but I was happily surprised to find I really enjoyed it.
La alta burguesía inglesa de entreguerras retratada con ironía y una pizca de mala idea; una historia que en algunos momentos resulta cruel y en otros, absurda y delirante.
So, mostly I wished I was reading some Wodehouse, who has such a light and fluffy and fundamentally optimistic mood about human meaninglessness instead of Waugh who was here writing a humorous book that is secretly in despair over the meaninglessness of his characters' lives. But on the other hand, such an appalling thing happens to Tony at the end that I kept thinking about it for days.
A book of two halves. I thoroughly enjoyed the slow deterioration of married life between Tony and Brenda in the first half. Tony ignorantly staying his ancestral pad, while Brenda tries to insert some rather dubious excitement to her life in London. And the twist, it really did make me gasp. Brenda was appalling at this point.
The second half was a little odd, though engaging. The adventures of Tony didn't seem to fit with the character we'd met previously. Looking forward to reading more Waugh.
The second half was a little odd, though engaging. The adventures of Tony didn't seem to fit with the character we'd met previously. Looking forward to reading more Waugh.
I had forgotten how pleasurable reading Evelyn Waugh is, this is an enjoyable classic. A Handful of Dust is funny in a biting, satirical way (this is not Jeeves) but with surprising empathy and sinister twists, in turn.
this book was so absurd but honestly i liked it. the satire made it ridiculous and a bit campy honestly. sometimes i had to set my kindle down and just laugh because the craziest things happen to these characters and they hardly bat an eye!! that’s the whole point tho, so that’s half the fun. love some good social commentary via humor. rip evelyn waugh, SNL would have loved to have you.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
adventurous
dark
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:
No