By chance this, the first novel Evelyn Waugh wrote, was also the first Waugh novel I read, and I was hooked on the writer. As it was, again serendipitously, I went on to read his later novels more or less in the sequence in which they were written, and my appreciation of the writer and his work could ‘grow’ as he ‘grew’.
Decline And Fall is a gem. It’s not long and it’s not ‘deep’, but it demonstrates the essence of Waugh and his style. He had a unique world view, partly a cynical one engendered, I think, by a disappointed idealism, partly seeing the world as essentially absurd and cruel. But what could simply have been a long, dull rant against ‘the world’ is redeemed and then some by his delightful sense of humour.
When we are alone we rarely laugh out aloud, but that’s exactly what I did — and do as I still read this novel again and again — with Decline And Fall. But there is far more to it than just ‘funny bits’.
Waugh draws you in to the ever more absurd course of his hero’s life, and the world view he shares, combined with an economic writing style in which no word is ever out of place or redundant, make every page of this novel a joy to read. If anyone has heard of Waugh’s reputation and wants to understand what it is all about, I urge them to start reading his work with Decline And Fall as I did.
Highly recommended.
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