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A review by reinhardt
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
5.0
I Say, Up for a bit of Sarcasm, Eh?
Within one page sarcasm has already drenched the page in Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust. After a few pages, its easy to think you have the book slotted and there is not much point in going forward. Soon the sarcasm slips to the background and social commentary takes center stage. A group of vacuous, self-centered elites, who are easy to hate, engage in all manner of indulgence.
Tragedy grows from the Seeds of Comedy
Brenda, the adulterous wife puts on the sincere front that she cares for the husband she is betraying. The cuckold, Tony, wears a facade of deferring to the wishes of his wandering wife while in fact having only one true love, his estate, Hetton. As you read, you hope that they will get their just deserts. And more suddenly than you can brace for, tragedy strikes. The comedy dissolves and the tragic precipitates. It is not what you hoped for. Sympathy overrides any sense of Schadenfreude you want to feel.
It’s All Quite Economical you Know
Waugh is a classic stylist. The words all flow downhill, dialogue is natural and charming. My favorite sentence in the book is made up of a single word, “American.” It is used by one character to describe another. He sets it up elegantly and the intended tone is crystal clear. You hear Waugh’s misanthropic sneer. I nearly burst out laughing when it came up. Talk about economy of words.
Caught in the Act of Peering
Characters are clearly drawn nearly to a Dickensonian level – unique just past the point of reality, but devastatingly interesting. Each character fills a space of personality that segregates him or her from the cast, but they share the same self-centered banality – charming, yet dull. We join the cast of characters mutually peering down their noses. We revel in the mockery and Waugh catches us in it.
Lessons in FUTILITY
The second half of the book is a lesson in futility, for the characters that is. No one gets what they want. Everyone, in the single minded pursuit of self interest and fulfillment reaps a handful of dust. They all come within scent of their prize. Their happiness slips right under their nose, but their myopic focus on their own navel blinds them to the good that is right in front of them.
Adventures in the English Language
I say, you really must read this book. It would be a dreadful pity if you missed out. Jolly good show, you know.
Boldlyasserted.com
Within one page sarcasm has already drenched the page in Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust. After a few pages, its easy to think you have the book slotted and there is not much point in going forward. Soon the sarcasm slips to the background and social commentary takes center stage. A group of vacuous, self-centered elites, who are easy to hate, engage in all manner of indulgence.
Tragedy grows from the Seeds of Comedy
Brenda, the adulterous wife puts on the sincere front that she cares for the husband she is betraying. The cuckold, Tony, wears a facade of deferring to the wishes of his wandering wife while in fact having only one true love, his estate, Hetton. As you read, you hope that they will get their just deserts. And more suddenly than you can brace for, tragedy strikes. The comedy dissolves and the tragic precipitates. It is not what you hoped for. Sympathy overrides any sense of Schadenfreude you want to feel.
It’s All Quite Economical you Know
Waugh is a classic stylist. The words all flow downhill, dialogue is natural and charming. My favorite sentence in the book is made up of a single word, “American.” It is used by one character to describe another. He sets it up elegantly and the intended tone is crystal clear. You hear Waugh’s misanthropic sneer. I nearly burst out laughing when it came up. Talk about economy of words.
Caught in the Act of Peering
Characters are clearly drawn nearly to a Dickensonian level – unique just past the point of reality, but devastatingly interesting. Each character fills a space of personality that segregates him or her from the cast, but they share the same self-centered banality – charming, yet dull. We join the cast of characters mutually peering down their noses. We revel in the mockery and Waugh catches us in it.
Lessons in FUTILITY
The second half of the book is a lesson in futility, for the characters that is. No one gets what they want. Everyone, in the single minded pursuit of self interest and fulfillment reaps a handful of dust. They all come within scent of their prize. Their happiness slips right under their nose, but their myopic focus on their own navel blinds them to the good that is right in front of them.
Adventures in the English Language
I say, you really must read this book. It would be a dreadful pity if you missed out. Jolly good show, you know.
Boldlyasserted.com