Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder by Evelyn Waugh
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Book Reviews of Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder
Book Review: Brideshead holds up!
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved the Masterpiece Theater production of Brideshead Revisited quite a few years ago. I made the mistake of seeing the latest film version and was aghast. I did not have a copy of the book, and Amazon came immediately to the rescue! Reading the book not only brought back the wonderful experience of the PBS version with its magnificent performances, but it was a terrific read as well. May DBook Review: excellent reading
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is an excellent choice to relax with reading. The author's style is very entertaing and the book itself is great. A must read for those who like romance.Book Review: average novel seduces critics
Summary: 2 Stars
The story has been summarized before: from an army camp, Charles Ryder reminisces about his youthful passion for a young aristocrat, Lord Flyte, and his subsequent passion for Lord's Flyte's sister, who has much in her of the young man - meaning she looks a lot like him.
Let me dispel a few misconceptions. First, that this is a masterpiece of style:
it ain't. the style is pedestrian, efficient in a workaday manner. There are no arresting phrases, no memorable scenes. When the emotional temper of the story rises, the author piles on a lot of qualifiers, but it all seems rather contrived, as if he was trying to get himself pumped up.
Second: that it is a brilliant portrayal of a declining aristocracy: yes, there is some of that. It is done, however, in passing, with rushed asides. There is no sustained exploration. In fact, the novel is laughably thin on framing a sense of the age in which it lives. Contemporary references are done by piling on lines of dialogue, mainly lines from Rex's oafish friends. That is cheap theatrical technique, done by someone who is merely trying to imply profundities, and not go into the trouble of actually writing them.
Third: that it is a deep exploration of religious faith, or the loss thereof. Phew. I have a question for those who say that: have you read Dostoevsky or even Graham Greene? Read Greene if you want a much deeper understanding of Catholicism in our world. The brief remarks on religion in this book are laughably simplistic: again, allusions, hints at a greater meaning, paths sketched but not followed through. What is the meaning of Julia's hysterical crisis? Can you read that and wonder where it came from?
About Sebastian. Of course he was gay. Why was he caring for the German? Just out of friendship? We don't know if Ryder was, but the narrator calls Sebastian the forerunner of his love for Julia. What does that mean?
As a novel, this is rather boring. Nothing much happens. There are a lot of re-tellings of events. Narration consists of a number of dialogues. It seems to be mainly about upper class and upper middle class young men who wanted to have sex with each other, but didn't. Classic.
Book Review: BORING
Summary: 2 Stars
I seldom post reviews. However this book is so tedious, that I have to say that I'm sorry I bought it, and I no idea why it is so highly rated. I didn't see the tv series, so that must have been better. Even 12 years of post high school education doesn't help me enjoy this, and although the writing is somewhat colorful and descriptive, it doesn't make me care about any of these people. A story about an alcoholic, lots of description, where not much happens for many, many pages, a very slow soap opera; Thankfully it's not too long.Book Review: over-rated
Summary: 1 Stars
I'd first of all like to know how many of the people who gave this book positive reviews are catholics or episcopalians. I'll bet the percentage is very high. I hate stories that try to push a religious (or any other) agenda; i.e., stories with a "message." The first writer who discovers the meaning of life will be qualified to write a message novel. Until then, I wish all others would desist.
Aside from that, the writing is coy and pretentious--a sort of snob's "Rebecca," though the house, the characters and the plot in DuMaurier's novel were much more interesting. Waugh should have stuck to humor and should not have tried to create great literature, which this definitely is not; what a bore he became in his old age.