stellamcvey 's review for:

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

3.5

challenging dark 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

---

Waugh is in his element here and I felt all the things he intended me to - frustration at the silliness of some of the characters, increasing despair for Tony,

sadness for John Andrew, legend that he was.

Bit of an unfortunate turn into racism that is so of its time it’s almost a satire of itself.

I couldn’t tell if the introduction of Mr Todd was deliberately meant to skewer paternalistic colonialist attitudes, but seeing as though he was mixed race and this was directly tied to his illiteracy and villainousness I’m pretty sure it was just incredibly racist.

Anyway not as good as Brideshead Revisited but I was actually able to finish this one unlike Vile Bodies so… it was fine.