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Wow, what to say? The writing is exquisite, rich, dense & precise. Waugh's ability to conjure atmosphere, emotion, mood, even quality of light so deftly & without being flowery or stuffy is extraordinary. I loved the Oxford section, loved Anthony Blanche's rant at Charles about Sebastian, loved Brideshead itself. It does drag a little in places & I wish Sebastian's story had a more certain resolution. Continued in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Truly puzzled of the adoration this novel receives. The purple prose diminishes any appreciation for a talented wordsmith. The philosophical spiel feels unbearably trifling. The springboard for colourful debate is undermined by the upper-class plight one can not muster sympathy for, until the whole novel feels nauseatingly indulgent, with a cast of interchangeable, shallow characters. Another writer churning out insipid, frivolous pieces of lit.

What a ridiculous, glorious, hilarious sentence!

I just got out of this film and am going to need TIME to process. Not only process the film but process why I am drawn to such twisted Rich White People movies 😳

I went by myself because I was scared what people would think if I invited them 🤣

Apparently this is a very twisted take slightly inspired by Brideshead Revisited I can see the connections.

This has been on my TBR since, well, since acknowledging a TBR, I suppose. The writing, though filled with melancholy, flows beautifully. I‘m so glad I read it and wondered how this author would write this story some 75+ years later - relations between Catholics with anyone not Catholic, and shhhh, homosexuality.

Sept #DoubleSpin Cat: Pub prior 21st Century @TheAromaofBooks

Why do people always think that one is quibbling when one is trying to be precise?

- Charles to Bridey, p427

“I guessed something of the kind had happened. Are you sure this is the best way of dealing with it?”

“It‘s my mother‘s way. Will you have a cocktail, now that (Sebastian‘s) gone upstairs?”
(199)

The English dealing with problems…by not dealing with them.

“Now I realize that it is possible for the rich to sin by coveting the privileges of the poor. The poor have always been the favourites of God and his saints, but I believe that it is one of the special achievements of Grace to sanctify the whole of life, riches included. Wealth in pagan Rome was necessarily something cruel; it‘s not any more”. (Lady Marchmain)

Took far too long to start this; pretty excited after reading the first third.

I am loving this so much more than I thought- there is a realness to the writing that takes my breath away.

In the 80s this was an iconic TV series so it was interesting to rd an excellent classic. Charles Ryder goes to Oxford + meets Sebastian flyte ,a charismatic student from the Marchmain aristocratic Catholic family. With S's descent into alcoholism his obsession moves to Julia the sister. No pleasant characters but a great story of religion + class.
And so with #adaptedforthesmallscreen #booked2022 ends @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @alisiakae

#alphabetgame #letterb

I remember loving this book, such a melancholic and tragic story, not at all about homosexuality, and more than an ‘Oxford‘ novel.

Tagging anyone who wants to join this fun game!

#Savvysettings #palace The Marchmains have a beautiful home that figures prominently in the novel and in the TV series. An illustrious history as well. https://www.britain-magazine.com/features/castle-howard/

Lots of reviewers call this a book about homosexuality and Catholicism, but I disagree. I think it‘s about that lost, unmoored, between-the-wars generation and the powerlessness you feel when your way of life is slipping away. A feeling we all get to some degree or other when looking back on our youth. I think I‘m glad I didn‘t read this until I had some mileage on me.

She told me later that she had made a kind of note of me in her mind, as, scanning the shelf for a particular book, one will sometimes have one‘s attention caught by another, take it down, glance at the title page and, saying “I must read that, too, when I‘ve the time,” replace it and continue the search.

“‘Light one for me, will you?‘ It was the first time in my life that anyone had asked this of me, and as I took the cigarette from my lips and put it in hers, I caught a thin bat‘s squeak of sexuality, inaudible to anyone but me.”
Enjoying a quiet snowy morning with Waugh‘s witty prose.

Although Coralie Bickford-Smith's Penguin Clothbound Edition designs are iconic for the repeating patterns of recognizable objects, she periodically employs #abstract design for these editions. Pictured are a few of my favorites. #curiouscovers @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I know a couple of movies have been made of this and I am curious to watch them. The book mainly focuses on alcoholism and catholicism and how those elements shape the Brideshead family. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. 3.5 stars rounded up to a pick.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ An intriguing time and place. Set around Oxford between the World Wars, protagonist Charles becomes slightly obsessed with the Marchmain family, and to his credit, they are an interesting enough lot, if detached and pretentious. I appreciate the social and religious commentary, specifically around catholicism. The prose is lovely, yet the story‘s generally dull. Aristocratic Brit lit is just not my jam. I‘m not impressed by their woes.

“...the light grew in strength and splendor as it neared death, drawing long shadows across the pasture, falling full on the rich stone spaces of the house, firing the panes in the windows, glowing on cornices and colonnade and dome, spreading out all the stacked merchandise of colour and scent from earth and stone and leaf...” #evelynwaugh #sundayreads

A gorgeous, depressing, incredible portrait of a generation coming of age between two world wars. The characters are so flawed, so lost as they confront a world that isn't what they've been promised by society, family, or religion. I cringe at their missteps in part because I am not at all certain I would make any better choices (different maybe, but better?). Waugh's description of the ridiculousness and tragedy of life feels very timely.

"What is it?"
"His heart; some long word at the heart. He is dying of a long word."

(Photo is dawn above the cookie-cutter skyline of suburban southern California.)

I listened to this audiobook read by Jeremy Irons who is fantastic - but wow - some of the voices he did for the old men made me cringe. I‘m sure he has more idea than I do what elderly English Marquises and Barons sound like, but they sounded odious, and were odious.
A solid 3 stars for me - it may be worth more, I‘m just getting a bit jaded with my early 20th century classics challenge. I might try the old TV series sometime.

A #classic British novel about the upper class in Britain between the world wars. Major themes are Catholicism and, oddly enough, homosexuality. To be honest I‘m not 100% sure what I just read, but I think I enjoyed it? 🤷‍♀️

This is a book of its time so it's problematic in some ways, but if you're able to excuse those issues it's actually quite progressive and strives to support and represent homosexuality without explicitly saying so. I wanted to give most of the characters a quick “snap out of it“ slap and didn't particularly like any of them, but I suspect they will stay with me and be remembered whereas many characters from lesser novels inevitably slip away.

I loved this more than I was expecting. Such a beautiful look at nostalgia and how our memories change things and people take on different roles for us. It was a lot more than an ‘oxford novel‘ though I did think I did oxford very well it made me miss it a lot. I can imagine myself rereading this a lot and seeing how it strikes me differently when I‘m older.

Working from home lunch break with Brideshead Revisited. I‘m starting to go quite stir crazy with staying inside - I‘m trying to minimise going out as much as I can as my dad is a key worker with asthma, just mild but I don‘t want to take any chances I don‘t have to. I might have to go out for a walk today though as I feel in danger of snapping with the tension! How‘s everyone else finding working from home if that‘s what you‘re doing?

I couldn‘t let a #bookoutlet coupon go to waste. #bookstack #bookhaul #somanybooks #ithinkihaveaproblem

Number 2 of my #20in20 list.
20 books written in the 1920's to be read before 2021.

#WinterGames Team #ReadNosedReindeer @StayCurious (+5 +5 +1)

This is my response to the prompt “What is the best bookish gift you ever received“ - when I was about 11, my mom gave me her dad's 1945 edition of Brideshead Revisited, which remains one of my favorite books of all time.

(although I'm getting an eReader for Christmas this year & so that is a close second - although not nearly so sentimental!)

Third read. ❤️

And done! #Booked2019 finished, and I‘m pretty sure I saved the best until last!

Often called ‘THE Oxford novel‘ and set between the wars, both a setting and time period I adore reading about.... I was completely swept away by this gorgeously written novel. A dash of humor, and a whole lot of melancholy and nostalgia and longing for lost loves, I can‘t believe it took me until now to read this beauty. Loved it! 💕

#Weeklyforecast
What a lovely idea💕
Currently listening to Daisy Jones. Read it when it first came out in print, and loved it. Hosting a bookclub this week so doing a re-listen to the full cast audio this time. Fun!
Just starting the tagged classic. It‘s my last pick for #Booked2019 (a public domain book). I think it‘s going to be totally my jam. I love anything set at Oxford, and England between the wars, is my favorite period to read about. 🤞

Just arrived home after three days at the Liber Féria in Madrid! Exhausted from Spanish language book shopping for the library‘s collection. I forgot to bring a book to enjoy on the trip, and found this in a used book shop for €2.90. It was slim pickins for English language entertainment. Not too bad so far.

This Audible book was read by Jeremy Irons. He was fantastic, but I have no idea what the plot was in this book. Maybe I‘m not a classics kinda gal, but this one was barely so-so for me.

Replenishment today for the #BannedBooks Display 😊!

Have you read any of these?!

#LitsyLovesLibraries #MrBooksDisplays

Started listening to this. I‘ve never read Waugh. I am trying to read more.

I don‘t think I was in the mood for this book, but at least it‘s not on #MountTBR anymore.

Book 9 of #24b4Monday + #SummersEndReadathon ✔️
Time: 38h39m

#bfcr3 #smallsteppers

Just three more prompts to go to complete all of #Booked2019 so I‘ve decided on these....

22# PoC MC Paranormal-Children of Bone (not my usual jam but I‘m hoping I like it..🤷‍♀️)

23# Public Domain - Brideshead Revisited (it‘s public domain in Canada so I‘m going with it! 😉)

24# Political Intrigue - The Testaments (Can‘t wait to get my hands on this one!)

Really lovely, I understand why this has been loved by so many for so long. It feels quite current though it is set between the 2 world wars. I listened on audio and Jeremy Irons is (not surprisingly) amazing! I can‘t wait to watch the miniseries version where he was part of the cast.

Week 3 #BOOKFITNESSCHALLENGE check in. Didn‘t get a walk in everyday last week but with my daughters‘ graduation, it was an unusual week. I will try to get one in 6 out of 7 days this week, I have book club on Wednesday and will likely miss. I‘m eating better, cutting down on sugar and eating smaller portions. I‘ll keep plugging away! My favorite fitness tools are audible and my pup. Both keep me walking farther & more often. #bfc @wanderinglynn

New audiobook for #bfc ! I‘ve always meant to read this and with Jeremy Irons narrating, now was the time! #audiowalk

Sebastian is a student at Oxford and a young lord from an aristocratic family. Being #youngandbeautiful and rich, he lives comfortably, dines richly and drinks obsessively, but behind his eccentricities, he is just desperately trying to escape his problems. “I should like to bury something precious, in every place I've been happy. And then when I was old, and ugly and miserable, I could come back, and dig it up, and remember.” Poor Sebastian.

So I finished the book in a rush. A very nice read. It's beautifully written and a great work on memory, relationships and religion. As a whole it's a fantastic read and I'd recommend it to anyone, but as always with books that are more religious it is more difficult for me to relate to the decisions made - I never really know how to feel about more religious works, I can't deny it's a great story, but I guess I don't agree with where it ends up.

At the dentist which is not exactly fun, but while I wait I am making my way through this fun read and enjoying it so far! Only at the beginning, but it is keeping me interested!

Just a few more souvenirs from England in addition to my Persephone haul 😍