September 17, 2013

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Review)

Title: Brideshead Revisited
Author: Evelyn Waugh
First published: 1945
Add it: Goodreads, The Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★

Waugh is a very clever writer. He can be hilariously funny and in the next moment really heartbreaking. And then both at the same time. Brideshead Revisited is a mourning for pre-war high society life in England, which was swept away by the calamities of the early 1940th. The protagonist, Charles Ryder, who is now an infantry commander, finds his platoon relocated to a big country house, which happens to belong to a family he had a lot of connections with and where he has spent some of the most memorable moments of his life.

The first part of the novel tells about the happier days in Oxford, full of parties, drinking and friendly feelings. Charles gets close with Sebastian Flyte, whose family resides in Brideshead, and so his visits there begin. Sebastian's family can't be called ideal: his mother and his father live separately, children feel oppressed, and all these problems are aggravated with religious discord. Religion is much discussed in the novel, and although I usually don't like plunging into this controversial topic, Waugh made it interesting and avoided preaching. Over time, Charles meets all the members of this curious family and is able to observe how family influence and personal decisions collapse in each of them to form their futures.

Comparing with Decline and Fall, which we read at the University, Brideshead Revisited is much darker and much more philosophical. War has irrevocably changed English society, and this of course has in its turn changed Waugh's writing dramatically. But I think I liked Brideshead even more for its seriousness and melancholy. Its mood is unforgettable, and I really enjoyed it.

In my book:
A true classic of the 20. century British literature. I'm not sure if I can say anything which can surpass this.


11 comments:

  1. This one is on my classics club list, along with my current read, Vile Bodies. It's my first Waugh, and I'm really enjoying it so far. Can't wait to get to this one.

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    1. Vile Bodies is on my classic club list too! Looking forward to your review :)

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  2. It's on my CC list too. I have never read ANY Waugh, which is terrible I'm pretty sure. Thanks for the review--I will have to get to this soon!

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    1. You are cheating yourself of quite some pleasure by not reading Waugh :) I hope you'll enjoy him!

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  3. Surprise surprise - it's on my CC list too ;) I have no previous experience with Waugh, so this is going to be interesting experience, once I get there.

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    1. You guys need to have a read-a-long together :) Waugh is awesome, I hope you'll like him!

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  4. Now I'm rethinking my decision to pass on Brideshead. Hmmm....

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  5. I studied The Loved One at school (and kind of loved it, but was probably too young to really get it).
    I didn't actually read Brideshead until after seeing the wonderful, glorious, if-you-haven't-seen-it-go-out-and-find-it-now BBC series from the 1980's. Therefore my reading of the book is forever influenced by the series. The characters speak, act and look like the actors in the series.
    I'm glad you've joined the I love Brideshead club :-)

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    1. Oh, I'm going to find the series right now! I haven't realized they existed, and now I really want to watch them!

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