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btaylorb 's review for:
Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I honestly don't know how to rate this one. I did not enjoy most of it, despite the fact that it is beautifully written and beautifully narrated by Jeremy Irons. I think I was constantly frustrated by the characters, who almost all came across as unbearably nihilistic and seem to have no character arc or experience no change. I think I need my tragedy with a small thread of hope or humor, or even absurdity, and there's very little of either in this book. That being said, I have to imagine this books is considered groundbreaking, having been published in the 1940's and to present a story of a tortured gay man whose struggle has less to do with his sexuality and more to do with his family, faith, and the way that those both converge to make him feel like a moral failure.
I read up a little about Evelyn Waugh while reading this, and I find it super interesting that he was a devout Catholic, but there's so much about this book that comes across as highly critical of Catholicism. In the book a lot of that criticism perhaps reflects some of Waugh's frustration with how it impacted his own marriage, because the issue of divorce becomes a significant part of the story later on. But I also see it extending into how Sebastian's alcoholism is viewed by his family and Charles' frustration with the Flytes' halfhearted attempts to help Sebastian before they wash their hands of him.
I read up a little about Evelyn Waugh while reading this, and I find it super interesting that he was a devout Catholic, but there's so much about this book that comes across as highly critical of Catholicism. In the book a lot of that criticism perhaps reflects some of Waugh's frustration with how it impacted his own marriage, because the issue of divorce becomes a significant part of the story later on. But I also see it extending into how Sebastian's alcoholism is viewed by his family and Charles' frustration with the Flytes' halfhearted attempts to help Sebastian before they wash their hands of him.