A novel about religion and belief, love and loyalty.
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Waugh, in my opinion, is probably the finest British writer of the 20th century. I well remember the surprise and delight I felt when I first read one of his books (The Loved One); the economy and beauty of the language, the wit, the sophistication. So it is with some disappointment that I have to say I did not really enjoy Brideshead. It seems to me to be a reflection of Waugh's internal struggles with religion and belief acted out through the pages of a novel and its characters who, by the way, I found unsympathetic. This is a novel with serious themes but without the depth or the wit of the Sword of Honour Trilogy which is by comparison a masterpiece.
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Ought we to be drunk all the time?
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I shan't be as verbose as other reviewers, save to say that Waugh's writing style brings immense pleasure - the way in which the phrases are constructed and adjectives used - it's a beautiful way of writing which we should all embrace. A truly beautiful story, although I for one finished the book and thought Charles really rather wet...
A thoroughly recommended read for anyone who has interest in life.
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"Where can we hide in fair weather,we orphans of the storm?"
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Published in 1945, this novel, which Waugh himself sometimes referred to as his "magnum opus," incorporates its themes in its subtitle--the sacred grace and love from God, especially as interpreted by the Catholic church, vs. the secular or profane love as seen in sex and romantic relationships. The tension between these two views of love--and the concept of "sin"--underlie all the action which takes place during the twenty years of the novel and its flashbacks. When the novel opens at the end of World War II, Capt. Charles Ryder and his troops, looking for a billet, have just arrived at Brideshead, the now-dilapidated family castle belonging to Lord Marchmain, a place where Charles Ryder stayed for an extended period just after World War I, the home of his best friend from Oxford, Lord Sebastian Flyte. The story of his relationship with Sebastian, a man who has rejected the Catholicism imposed on him by his devout mother, occupies the first part of the book. Sebastian, an odd person who carries his teddy bear Aloysius everywhere he goes, tries to escape his upbringing and religious obligations through alcohol. Charles feels responsible for Sebastian's welfare, and though there is no mention of any homosexual relationship, Charles does say that it is this relationship which first teaches him about the depths of love. The second part begins when Charles separates from the Flytes and his own family and goes to Paris to study painting. An architectural painter, Charles marries and has a family over the next years. A chance meeting on shipboard with Julia, Sebastian's married sister, brings him back into the circle of the Flyte family with all their religious challenges. Three of the four Flyte children have tried to escape their religious backgrounds, and this part of the novel traces the extent to which they have or have not succeeded in finding peace in the secular world. "No one is ever holy without suffering," he discovers. Dealing with religious and secular love, Heaven and Hell, the concepts of sin and judgment, and the guilt and punishments one imposes on oneself, the novel also illustrates the changes in British society after World War II. The role of the aristocracy is less important, the middle class is rising, and in the aftermath of war, all are searching for values. A full novel with characters who actively search for philosophical or religious meaning while they also search for romantic love, Brideshead Revisited is complex and thoughtfully constructed, an intellectual novel filled with personal and family tragedies--and, some would say, their triumphs. Mary Whipple
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Waugh! What is it good for? Well...
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Forgive the flippancy of the title, as this is, without a doubt the greatest novel I have ever read. The central theme is that of stringent religious values and breaking away from, or returning to them. I am an extremely committed atheist and Waugh was a fervent Roman Catholic. This surely proves Waughs sublime vision, insight and, above all, his splendidly non-preachy way of writing. Beyond that, it is one of the greatest love stories ever written. We may not mention Ryder and Flyte in the same breath as Rmeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, or Dido and Aeneas, but as a study in humanity (in my humble opinion) they exceed them all. The sheer beauty of Waugh's prose which is, at times, scarcely believable (see 'A blow, expected, repeated, falling on a bruise') is coupled with the outright hilarity of many passages (see the Belgian who feels as if it is his duty to oppose the lower classes everywhere). Amazon also sells (at a rather decent price) the 1981 BBC adaptation of the novel, starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, which is unusual in that it is faithful to the letter and the spirit of the novel, and is really rather splendid. The novel, however, remains a towering acheivement, a heart-rending tale of loss and rejection, as well as acceptance and redemption. The finest novel of the Twentieth Century. You owe it to yourself to read it.
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Charles, Sebastian, Cordelia and Bridey
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I don't understand Julia so i will pass no comment on her motives and wishes in the world of Brideshead. The scene on the boat is so moving I was moved to tearss by the eventual outcome. Why does it have to be so? So much pain inside her. Charles left to his art and to become an ageing army officer, cut off from three families, his own now have a new father, his father must be long snce dead and Sebastian's. Throughout i was desparate for it to be different. Please Sebastian, I emplored, show that verbal brilliance and sparkling character you had at the start. His descent into the vortex is so worrying, one can see it early and one yearns for a recovery. But to what? His faher has left them, his mother tries to keep such atavistic control over them that the children all disapoint her and he appears to have no other friends. His finding of the sickly German in Morocco is odd but i think we are meant to see him for the first time in his life living unselfishly, doing menial tasks because he wants to help make someone else happy. Cordelia is blessed perhaps by not being so beautiful and makes the best attemppt at a real life, integrating herself into the world and caring for others. As for Bridey, he strolls ponderously in and out of the book. His father despises him and that has marked him. His dsister laughs at him when he becomes engaged, but so does the reader. We laugh at his marriage to someone fronm the middle classes and Waugh appears to give Bridey little sympathy. But on reflection why on earth shouldn't he marry a widow from Portsmouth, he loves her, why can't we accept that? So what if he collects matchboxes, it's not harming anyone. It might be a futile and obsessive hobby but he causes no pain to anyone. Why should Julia protest at his wife having her mother's jewellry, their refusal to accept outsiders is limitless. This book is so wonderfully writtren that it would be nonsensical to try and describe it, only Waugh's prose itself is sufficient. The early scenes draw one in, it is majestically funny, Charles' father is wonderful. The dinner table scenes ("their battleground") are unforgettable. But what are we to make of such a cantankerous old man, who delights in not knowing his only son's age and invites guests to spite him. Humour is used delicately to expose the faultlines in their outdated society and opinions. Rex's conversations with the Catholic priest are very funny, but say a great deal about the congregatoion of the average Catholic church and Rex with his ambitions.
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