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chalkletters's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? No
2.75
Like Moab is My Washpot, Brideshead Revisited seemed wonderfully romantic to me when I read it at 23, having bought it because a boy I liked was reading it. Over ten years later, I remembered the relationship between Charles and Julia, but had forgotten that they were both married to other people, and that they don’t even get a happy ending. While I’d like to think this second reading was more objective, the truth is that it’s probably just as subjective, but in a different way.
While I found all the characters in Brideshead Revisited interesting, none of them struck me as particularly true to life. The whole book has the dreamy, unreal tone of a Neverland — where the characters never grow up, or at least where Charles’ perspective of them and his worldview never really changes. He’s always looking back on history through a particular lens, and the story ends where it began, so that each scene has the same kind of feeling.
Even with very little understanding of Catholicism, I found the theological discussions interesting. Like everything else, there’s a lot that goes unspoken, and I probably missed a great deal of context which would’ve helped me understand what the characters were struggling with. On the other hand, Charles is also an outsider to the Marchmains’ religion, and to some extent their social class, so maybe feeling a distance from it all is the intended effect.
Although I didn’t love the romance, or the characters, this time around, I still appreciated the prose, and found plot interesting, if rather sad.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, and War
myantigone's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
mmefish's review against another edition
reflective
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
2.0
I was going to give this book 3.5 starts but then part 3 happened. Ugh. How can I even explain my frustration without ranting? In short, characters’ personalities do 180; people cheat and divorce and then suddenly everyone converts to Catholicism. Sebastian (and their romance with MC) gets completely forgotten, and it simply feels like you’re reading a completely different book. What was the point? I don’t know but I want my wasted hours back.
“I regard writing not as investigation of character but as an exercise in the use of language, and with this I am obsessed. I have no technical physiological interest. It is drama, speech and events that interest me.” – E. Waugh
“I regard writing not as investigation of character but as an exercise in the use of language, and with this I am obsessed. I have no technical physiological interest. It is drama, speech and events that interest me.” – E. Waugh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Infidelity
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
odrib's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism, Homophobia, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Racism
eliza_flamingo1's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I would die for Sebastian Flyte
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Racial slurs
the_endless_void's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Racial slurs
readerinthedale's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Unlikeable characters but in the painful way where they just point out all of your own personal flaws and then don't grow from them at all. Made me sad and not in the way I want to be sad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
cheekybritlit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness
ellaisntreading's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
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