[Q6F]≡ PDF Gratis A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 9780316926058 Books

A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 9780316926058 Books

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A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 9780316926058 Books

A Handful of Dust is a devastatingly funny book that gives a glimpse into British society between the wars. The book is about a man whose life falls apart. The hero of this novel is Tony Last who is a country gentleman, and things begin to go wrong for poor Tony when his wife decides that she really doesn't want live the life of a country gentleman's wife.

Evelyn Waugh published the book in 1934, and it seems to have been inspired in some way by his own divorce which happened a few years before. When his marriage fell apart, Waugh was in the process of joining the Roman Catholic Church, and both of these events seem to haunt the book. Waugh skewers the upper crust of British society for the shallow and pointless way in which they live. Religious imagery sort of lingers in the background, but none of his characters seem aware of any transcendence. Even the hero, who is the only character to regularly attend church, can't understand why religion might be of any real use.

The book takes an unexpected turn about halfway through, and many readers don't care for it. I think the first half of the book is far superior to the second half, but Waugh actually wrote the second half first. It was originally a short story, and then he wrote the rest of the novel in order to figure out how a man could fall into such a sad state of affairs. Understanding why he wrote the novel like he did helped me come to terms with the book's unexpected twist.

Waugh's prose sparkles in its spare and witty perfection, but don't expect a happy ending in A Handful of Dust.


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A Handful of Dust Evelyn Waugh 9780316926058 Books Reviews

A beautifully told tale of tragedy, deceit, and despair among the landed gentry of 1930’s English society. With all that, it might seem discouraging to read, but it is absolutely fascinating as is most of Evelyn Waugh’s work. An excellent movie with Kristen Scott Thomas and James Wilby captures the nuanced story in fine fashion and is best seen first before the book is read. The seeming epilogue in the rain forest is almost a non sequiter but defines the utter hopelessness of a once proud man.
The 126 reviews posted thus far basically say it all. An exceedingly wicked, nasty, delightful novel about a group of shallow, superficial and silly people who ruin their lives out of sheer boredom. Tony's fever dreams deep in the Brazilian jungle are the highlight of the book. Only a rank sentimentalist would opt for the alternative ending. But what rank sentimentalist would read Waugh in the first place?
Evelyn Waugh, certainly one of the foremost British novelist's of the 20th century, is famous for his satirical accounts of the British aristocracy. This is a dark and misanthropic novel from the Depression era between the wars. Tony Last is portrayed somewhat sympathetically but is at the same time pathetically trying to hold on to the old ways and his dreary, gothic estate. His frivolous and later estranged wife Brenda is very negatively portrayed--she leaves her husband for the well educated but universally disliked John Beaver. The portrayal of Brenda and John Beaver's mother and other female characters in this novel have caused some critics to call Evelyn Waugh a misogynist. He loves the dying British aristocracy but is, in the same breath, among its most caustic critics.
Followers of this blog know that I enjoy delving back among the best known authors and retrieving works that I have not read. Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust is one more example. Written in 1934, A Handful of Dust is listed as number 34 of the Modern Library's 100 Best English Language Novels of the 20th Century.

A Handful of Dust is set in 1930s Victorian England, and focuses on the breakdown of the marriage of Tony and Brenda Last. The aristocratic Tony is preoccupied with the maintenance of his family country estate, Brenda is bored with her isolation there and also with Tony. Enter John Beaver, a self-interested and impoverished social climber who invites himself to Hetton ( Tony's estate) for the weekend. The affair with Brenda, who yearns for urban excitement, begins when she takes a flat in London and "goes back to school!"

In his introduction to the Everyman's Library publication , William Boyd quotes from Waugh's Labels, a travel book Waugh wrote after his own broken marriage. "Fortune is the least capricious of deities, and arranges things on the just and rigid system that no one shall be very happy for very long." Are many great novels autobiographical? You bet!

And so the story of infidelity unfolds often reminiscent to me of Idina Sackville in The Bolter although a littler less tawdry! In an amazing twist, the reader of the Everyman's Library publication of A Handful of Dust gets the option of the two endings! When the book was to be serialized in an American magazine they determined Waugh's original ending too dreary so he wrote a new one! I like the latter the best which includes a sort of just rewards for Tony Last. I think it made Waugh feel better. Enjoy!

The best known of Waugh's novels is Brideshead Revisited ( 1945) and later Sword of Honor ( 1952-1961), his World War II Trilogy. A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited were made into motion pictures.

For reviews of more " classics" go to gordonsgoodreads.com
What did I like The Most? Any book written, almost every book, written by Evelyn Waugh Is brimming with an excellent story lines. The wit, the sarcasm related to the period that translates to any time in history, and yet historically placed, is priceless. I appreciate Waugh's use of the English language and oh, the punctuation! Horrible punctuation found in many contemporary writing (no, not simply a copy editors mistake) distracts from my enjoyment of whatever I am reading. I shamefully admit my punctuation, and the poor use of words, could be greatly improved by the use of a thesaurus and my favorite writing helper "Eats Shoots and Leaves." I am lazy today am not using either for this review.
A Handful of Dust is a devastatingly funny book that gives a glimpse into British society between the wars. The book is about a man whose life falls apart. The hero of this novel is Tony Last who is a country gentleman, and things begin to go wrong for poor Tony when his wife decides that she really doesn't want live the life of a country gentleman's wife.

Evelyn Waugh published the book in 1934, and it seems to have been inspired in some way by his own divorce which happened a few years before. When his marriage fell apart, Waugh was in the process of joining the Roman Catholic Church, and both of these events seem to haunt the book. Waugh skewers the upper crust of British society for the shallow and pointless way in which they live. Religious imagery sort of lingers in the background, but none of his characters seem aware of any transcendence. Even the hero, who is the only character to regularly attend church, can't understand why religion might be of any real use.

The book takes an unexpected turn about halfway through, and many readers don't care for it. I think the first half of the book is far superior to the second half, but Waugh actually wrote the second half first. It was originally a short story, and then he wrote the rest of the novel in order to figure out how a man could fall into such a sad state of affairs. Understanding why he wrote the novel like he did helped me come to terms with the book's unexpected twist.

Waugh's prose sparkles in its spare and witty perfection, but don't expect a happy ending in A Handful of Dust.