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June 26, 2007

Everyone remembers the first time they fell in love with a book. It's a work you can return to again and again, only to once more be astonished at what missed before and go to bed genuinely delighted that you discovered it this time around. For me this book is Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies. Then again, who could forget Brideshead Revisited? Like Waugh's other work, both of these classics still seem eerily relevant as commentaries on contemporary society.

And we now have a glimpse into the private realm of the Waugh dynasty thanks to Alexander Waugh's recent Fathers and Sons, which chronicles four generations of the Waugh family. Alexander, Evelyn's grandson, gives no quarter to the reservation that typifies British culture, allowing the reader to discover first-hand that literary genius brings both power and pain. For anyone who enjoys Waugh's literary style, his grandson's opus will be a pleasure to read. As the New Yorker's Joan Acocella remarks, "'Fathers and Sons' is witty, in the Waugh manner, but it is also poignant." I could not agree more.

Posted by Seth Zirkle at June 26, 2007 03:07 PM

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Posted by: Bridey at June 27, 2007 06:24 PM | permalink

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