Modern Classics Handful of Dust | 
pickI read this novel published in the 1930s on Ann Patchett recommendation. She is using this novel for her next novel. I enjoyed this classic. It has a huge shift in tone at about 50% through the story. I am glad I read it, and it has made me hungry for the next Patchett novel. 3 🌟
Brideshead Revisited
Affairs, Death, Divorce Pending...that‘s as far as I got. On page 243.
Update 9/5: Oh man that's a sinister ending!!
#Reading1001 #1001books
so-soI don‘t know quite what to say about this book. I‘m not generally much of a fan of satire, and the beginning did not catch my attention at all. It changed some when I was surprised by a major event and then amused and baffled by the divorce shenanigans, so that I enjoyed the middle section. Then there was a crazy ending. Sometimes I felt bad for Tony, but overall I was amused yet unimpressed.
#audiobook #1001books #Reading1001 July BotM
panI normally love Evelyn Waugh and I loved the first half, but the second half once we got into Brazil was racist in a way that wasn‘t just, well, racist (in a way that you kind of have to expect for a novel from then) it became nonsensical and cartoonish. I don‘t think it‘s possible to read a book about Machiavellian ‘natives‘ in 2020 without just going ‘what‘ every two paragraphs.
pickThe is my first book by Evelyn Waugh. I very much enjoyed it. I enjoyed the story and found the end to be fitting. Look forward to reading other works by Waugh.
Having fun with some good old ruling class satire...
Starting this today, but my kids are home from school today so might not get much reading in!
pickThis is the weekend I‘ll catch up on Litsy reviews.
#1: A Handful of Dust
I‘ve previously read Scoop and Brideshead Revisited for #modernlibrarytop100, and this was much more along the lines of Scoop. That is, it‘s biting and hilarious satire but also features some pretty uncomfortable imperialism and classism (oh, Evelyn Waugh, you old unrepentant asshole). There‘s a sudden death in this book that‘s extremely affecting, and the ending is wild.
Tell me more about your terrible life.
I can‘t wait to use this line in conversation lol
#fridayfrigesday @SpeculativeFemale
1️⃣ Tough one! I kind of love the whole Greek pantheon to be honest.
2️⃣ A Handful of Dust. Hope it‘s more like Scoop than Brideshead Revisited but we‘ll see. #modernlibrarytop100
3️⃣ Tap.
4️⃣ Neither? “Runners” would be most common here I think.
Here‘s the other one I own. The covers are amazing! @Lcsmcat I saw a bunch at the book depot a while back.
#RuinABookTitleInOneLetter. This is trending on social media. Will you play along? Comment your sullied title below. Here's mine: Handful of Bust
My 9-year-old niece picked this out for me. 😂 #readingatwork
"You've got to learn to be nicer, she said soberly. I don't think you'd find it impossible."
pickA re-read of a novel I studied at university. Satire makes me uncomfortable. Am I allowed to like any of the characters, or only laugh derisively at everyone and everything? Despite not being an ideal reader, I liked the book. And yes I liked some characters, laughed at others. Enjoyed the prose!
Makes ya want to go exploring, hey!?
Could anyone else capture a character (here, a rather insignificant one) so devastatingly in so few words?
The proper thing in the proper place: the OED 2d entry for "bitch", v., intr. With your precise quote as an illustration, to allay all doubt, @shawnmooney. ?
The upper-class boy, John, turns impish with his nanny.
pickEqual parts acerbic and hilarious, Waugh's writing exemplifies a triumph of style; the sentences are so smooth, almost aerodynamic. A Handful of Dust is razor-sharp, and I was choking on my laughter all the way through. A fantastic introduction to Waugh's writing. 👍👍👍
I could photograph this book anywhere in my messy apartment, but dust doesn't photograph well, not even a handful of it! I'm going to reread this novel after 30 years. I remember 2 lines of dialogue, the most chilling in all of literature. A free latte or kiss on the cheek if you can quote them!
