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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
A few thoughts about this book:
(1) I forgot how fun Waugh is to read. His books are mostly dialogue, and fly along. The humor is quick, and even though its subject is, for me, unrelatable and expected (always ridiculing the English aristocracy), it's still funny and clever. In the years between reading this book and the last Waugh book I read ("The Loved One"?), I've been introduced to another, albeit later, dark satirist of English culture, J.G. Farrell. Farrell says more with his books, and is a more thoughtful, broader-thinking novelist, I think (he had the benefit of a few decades' perspective). But, Waugh is an easier read, and has something for everybody (his books are, at their core, about relationships).
(2) At the same time, Waugh can get pretty dark. Tony Last is likable character, with terrible luck. The people he loves leave him (Brenda--whom Waugh makes incredibly unlikable--cuckolds him; John Andrew--whom Waugh makes bratty, but at least fun--dies); his one true passion, Hetton, teeters between disrepair and gaudiness; promising romances are sadly not pursued; and, when he finally gets away from it all, he becomes trapped by a weird, older man in the Amazon. It's a very strange, but fittingly sad and funny, ending for Tony.
(3) The book felt slightly disjointed, with the last 80 pages suddenly shifting to describe Tony's venture to Brazil. But, this twist is enjoyable and different--it certainly is a nice change to see Waugh write about someplace besides England or its colonies, and a group other than its dense, superficial aristocracy. Even so, as weird as this last part, and its ending, are, they seem to somehow make sense.
(1) I forgot how fun Waugh is to read. His books are mostly dialogue, and fly along. The humor is quick, and even though its subject is, for me, unrelatable and expected (always ridiculing the English aristocracy), it's still funny and clever. In the years between reading this book and the last Waugh book I read ("The Loved One"?), I've been introduced to another, albeit later, dark satirist of English culture, J.G. Farrell. Farrell says more with his books, and is a more thoughtful, broader-thinking novelist, I think (he had the benefit of a few decades' perspective). But, Waugh is an easier read, and has something for everybody (his books are, at their core, about relationships).
(2) At the same time, Waugh can get pretty dark. Tony Last is likable character, with terrible luck. The people he loves leave him (Brenda--whom Waugh makes incredibly unlikable--cuckolds him; John Andrew--whom Waugh makes bratty, but at least fun--dies); his one true passion, Hetton, teeters between disrepair and gaudiness; promising romances are sadly not pursued; and, when he finally gets away from it all, he becomes trapped by a weird, older man in the Amazon. It's a very strange, but fittingly sad and funny, ending for Tony.
(3) The book felt slightly disjointed, with the last 80 pages suddenly shifting to describe Tony's venture to Brazil. But, this twist is enjoyable and different--it certainly is a nice change to see Waugh write about someplace besides England or its colonies, and a group other than its dense, superficial aristocracy. Even so, as weird as this last part, and its ending, are, they seem to somehow make sense.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes