Brideshead Revisited was on my spin list for the Classics Club but I wasn't able to finish it in time. It was interesting n some parts but other parts I found it a slog. This would cause me distraction and I'd read something else. Hence my lengthy reading time with a 400+ page book.
The book starts in the WW II time period with Captain Charles Ryder moving his troops along the English countryside. When his company comes upon an estate to set up their camp it's revealed to be Brideshead, a vast property and mansion owned by the wealthy Flyte family. Charles is very much familiar with the home and property as he spent a good deal of time there, in what seems to him, a lifetime ago when he was a student at Oxford.
Immediately after arriving at Brideshead Captain Ryder, as the narrator, recollects how he met fellow student Lord Sebastian Flyte at Oxford roughly twenty years earlier. It's a very rude introduction as Charles is hosting a party in his rooms and Sebastian walks by, drunk, leans into the window to speak and vomits all over the floor. To make amends he invites Charles to his home for a lunch and apologizes. This ignited a deep friendship between Charles and Sebastian. As they spent more time together Charles was embraced by the Flyte family and became close to Sebastian's sisters - Lady Julia and Lady Cordelia.
As Evelyn Waugh embraced Catholicism in the 1930s it influenced his writing, making religion a prominent theme with this particular book. As you read about Charles' relationships with Lady Marchmain, Julia and Sebastian you'll see how Catholicism becomes rather it's own character, a cape of guilt for Julia when her father suggests she is living in sin. The sin was her leaving the church to marry Rex and then her affair with Charles. There are many other instances where faith, guilt and life styles are explored.
“I've always been bad. Probably I shall be bad again, punished again. But the worse I am, the more I need God. I can't shut myself out from His mercy. ... Or it may be a private bargain between me and God, that if I give up this one thing I want so much, however bad I am, He won't quite despair of me in the end.”
There are many sections to this book. The Oxford years, Sebastian leaving England for Venice, his alcoholism, Charles and the Flyte family and of course the war.
Overall, I wasn't crazy about the book but I am most likely in the minority. 3.5 stars
Linking up with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and The Classics Club.
I've never been a fan of historical fiction. The one exception is Danielle Steele. For years I bought every book she wrote as soon as it was released. My favorite book that she wrote is '88's Zoya. I loved it so much that I ended up buying another hardcopy of it and still have it. I haven't read any of her books in a long time and now I want to check out her more recent books.
ReplyDeleteVicki, I like some historical fiction but this one, classic or not, didn't make me want to watch tghe mini series or read anything by him soon. He's a good author but this one wasn't what I'd hoped for. Have not read Danielle Steele.
DeleteYou wrote a good review. And I wonder about the affair part and war too. Even though you didn't like it (for good reasons), I hope to return to it sometime after Ferrante. I don't like to read slogs, or religious overtones, but i need to see if anything comes of it or if I can make anything of it. It might be painful though, lol. Perhaps even Jeremy Irons can't make it rise from the dead.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. I wasn't sorry I finished it but I think I expected something else with this book. Probably won't watch the tv version.
DeleteI enjoyed the miniseries but it didn't make me want to read the book.
ReplyDeleteJoy, I won't watch the mini series. Did it have overtones about the Catholic faith in their decision making?
DeleteI've always wanted to read this one and got it out of the library once years ago but couldn't get into it. I think I might give this one a pass - or at least plan on it being a slow read so I'm only reading a little at a time.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, good plan. It gets high marks for the writing, guess I am in the minority :-)
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