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A review by subvino
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
4.0
This is my first story by Evelyn Waugh. I've had a few of his books sitting on my shelf for quite a while now and I liked this one enough to feel bad I never worked my way around to him sooner.
I'm nabbing the description from Amazon:
In Hollywood, at Whispering Glades, a full-service funeral home for departed greats, the mononymonous Mr. Joyboy and Aimee Thanatogenos fall in love...with each other and their work. He is chief embalmer, she a crematorium cosmetician. They spend their days contentedly prepping the loved ones for a final appearance.
Into this idyllic scene comes Dennis Barlow, aspiring poet and funerary colleague. But Dennis is downscale, his employer the Happier Hunting Ground, a pet cemetery. Dennis looks to Aimee for professional reconstruction, falls in love with her instead, and sets up a triangle that is literally more than Aimee can bear.
I'm a sucker for stories involving funeral homes and the like, and the whole attitude of this book was light and amusing. All of the characters were quite delightfully detestable, which made it all the more enjoyable (especially at the end). How hilarious is a pet cemetary called "The Happier Hunting Ground"? I've not read many satires nor have I ever thought myself a fan, but this one resounded well with me.
Overall, I couldn't put this book down and read it in a day (it helped that it rings in at a meager 164 pages). I liked it enough that I'm afraid I'll be let down by subsequent Waugh reads, which I will now likely put on higher priority.
I'm nabbing the description from Amazon:
In Hollywood, at Whispering Glades, a full-service funeral home for departed greats, the mononymonous Mr. Joyboy and Aimee Thanatogenos fall in love...with each other and their work. He is chief embalmer, she a crematorium cosmetician. They spend their days contentedly prepping the loved ones for a final appearance.
Into this idyllic scene comes Dennis Barlow, aspiring poet and funerary colleague. But Dennis is downscale, his employer the Happier Hunting Ground, a pet cemetery. Dennis looks to Aimee for professional reconstruction, falls in love with her instead, and sets up a triangle that is literally more than Aimee can bear.
I'm a sucker for stories involving funeral homes and the like, and the whole attitude of this book was light and amusing. All of the characters were quite delightfully detestable, which made it all the more enjoyable (especially at the end). How hilarious is a pet cemetary called "The Happier Hunting Ground"? I've not read many satires nor have I ever thought myself a fan, but this one resounded well with me.
Overall, I couldn't put this book down and read it in a day (it helped that it rings in at a meager 164 pages). I liked it enough that I'm afraid I'll be let down by subsequent Waugh reads, which I will now likely put on higher priority.