Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Retour à Brideshead

I can see why this book is held as a classic, but for me it had just about everything I hate in a novel. I finished it but I greatly considered not doing so.

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jwells's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

This was a thought-provoking book for me. On one hand, I could hardly put it down - I think it's great. On the other hand, I want to violently reject everything resembling a message or theme I can detect in it.

The romantic nostalgia over the aristocracy would be tolerable (it's not like Waugh is the only one) if not paired with open scorn for people less privileged. Oh, does Hooper have unflattering glasses? Dentures, and an inadequate handshake? Clearly that's enough excuse to justify an entire exploitative class system. I mean, we wouldn't want things to be, god forbid, inelegant.

Is this supposed to be a pro-religion book, I wonder? I suspect we're meant to think that Julia makes the right choice at the end, for example. And be happy that at least the flame is burning in the chapel again?

It's pretty difficult, when we've already seen Christianity make her brother's life miserable. Presumably it's the reason Sebastian can't stand his family.

Because he has to stay closeted. Otherwise there's a fine out and proud role model in Anthony... not that he's not persecuted, but he's also not drinking himself to death.

Apparently there are critics who favor a platonic interpretation of BR. Having not read them, I hope they just mean that they think Charles is straight. Not that Sebastian is.

Anyway, can't blame religion for everything; Charles manages to screw up his life without its help, with a choice of life partner as lukewarm as his drink order (whiskey with tepid water).

Celia is like a warm up spouse, marrying the sister of the friend he didn't care about (Boy), instead of the sister of the friend he maybe cared about too much. It's almost like even marrying Julia sounded too dangerous or too close to real passion.

I sound rather cranky in this review, but I also read BR twice in January, though I'm not a big re-reader as a rule. I don't know how, but Waugh gets me invested in these people, even when they are annoying, and even when I dislike what he's using them to convey.

Still, I can hardly stop turning pages.

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autiquarian's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I felt that this was a perfectly entertaining book, well-written too, but just cannot understand why it’s labelled by critics as ‘the Oxford novel’; I fortunately did not read it expecting a campus novel, but if you are I would put it aside unless you also enjoy the novel’s other, more prevalent, themes.

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trying_might_succeed's review against another edition

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3.5

Quite racist, and I quite often lost track of the plot. I enjoyed it though.

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odrib's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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karlo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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