School Reading: A Handful of Dust

Title: A Handful of Dust

Author: Evelyn Waugh

Series: N/A

Format: Paperback

Release Date: Nov. 30, 1934

Genre(s): Literature, Fiction, (Dark) Humor

Rating:      B

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Summary

After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last has grown bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. In a novel that combines tragedy, comedy, and savage irony, Evelyn Waugh indelibly captures the irresponsible mood of the "crazy and sterile generation" between the wars.

 

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Review

Plot: The book follows the lives of many characters. However, it mainly tells the story of the couple, Brenda and Tony Last. The novel starts by showing how the two have drifted apart and it's clear their marriage is not a perfect one. Brenda begins having an affair, and Tony- whether selfish or clueless- doesn't even notice his wife's distance. We see the story progress from the point of view of Brenda, Tony, and even Brenda's lover, John Beaver. The book begins a little slow, and often has random scenes you think don't have any point to the story. In the beginning, one of the characters goes off talking about the importance of yogurt... why I don't know. But as the plot thickens, the story line gets more and more complicated and even a little ridiculous! Basically halfway through the book, the plot changes dramatically and it's almost like you're reading a completely different novel. Another cool feature of the edition I have (not all of them have it) is that the author included an alternate ending. For a book written in the thirties, I thought that was really interesting. Apparently, the public didn't enjoy the ending, so he put in a separate one "by special request."

Characters: The interesting thing about this book is that the author purposely made his characters unlikable. There isn't really a truly good character that you're rooting for. Brenda has an affair and doesn't seem to care for her family. Tony is so self-absorbed that he doesn't even really notice anything aside form his estate. John Beaver simply doesn't care about anyone but himself and is constantly trying to gain status. I want to feel bad for the misfortune that happens to these people, but I can't help but feel like they deserved it.

Cover: Since I read this for a class (British Lit.), I just bought the book from the bookstore at my school. However, something I found interesting was that almost everyone had a different edition and cover. The one I pasted in above was the cover of my book and my personal favorite. It somewhat deceived me to be honest. I looked at the cover and thought it was going to be a boring school book, but it was much funnier and darker than the cover suggests. Also, the title "A Handful of Dust," refers to the poem "The Wasteland," by T. S. Eliot. That poem is fairly dark and is similar in tone to this book.

Closing Thoughts: Overall I gave this book a B. It wasn't my favorite school book of the semester, but I didn't really get bored. It had enough plot twists to keep me on my toes and the humor- though dark- made me giggle a few times. I think the only reason I wouldn't give it an A would be because I read some other really good school books last semester. Not only that, but it is really slow at some points... and I mean really slow. I don't need to hear the benefits of yogurt or gossip that has nothing to do with the story line. Also, because of how long ago it was written, it's a little difficult to understand. Which isn't really the books fault, but it does make it harder for me to enjoy the book.

Where to find the book:

 Goodreads l Amazon

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke