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Before the Bombardment
Osbert Sitwell's first novel, written in 1926, was also his favorite. Set in an out-of-season seaside hotel, it studies social and psychological change when a world of obsolete values comes under the bombardment of a new and harsher era. "A nearly flawless piece of satirical
writing."-- Bystander
writing."-- Bystander
- GenresFiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 7, 2021
A seemingly quiet novel, about a rich woman and her companion in an off-season English seaside resort, that builds to a devastating conclusion AND to the very edge of World War I (whence the title). Osbert is not even the most celebrated of the Sitwells, yet I have found this book impossible to shake.
October 21, 2017
A book fascinating to read if only for its dissonance between form and content. A Victorian novel written between the wars; outdated social mores seen through the lens of modernity at the moment of their supplanting; the quaint subject matter fitting incongruously with the disillusioned, shell-shocked tone of the narrator. Though it doesn't capture the explosive entrance into the 20th century in aesthetically groundbreaking ways, as in say T.S. Eliot, this book is made all the more surreal for its modesty, its unassuming tone.
December 1, 2024
I found this book hard going, yet I was compelled to finish it. There's very little story to it; it's more of a snapshot of life in Scarborough before WW1, satirising the stuffy attitudes of the older, wealthy residents. It does this well and there are some laugh out loud moments. There are a few places in the book where it loses momentum and the introduction of characters who bring little to the overall sketch of society. However, I'm glad I stuck with it.
I enjoyed reading part of it in The Grand (Superb) Hotel in Scarborough during winter.
I enjoyed reading part of it in The Grand (Superb) Hotel in Scarborough during winter.
July 2, 2022
As we all know, I love a book about nothing, and boy-oh-boy does this one deliver! It is super dry, slyly witty and occasionally laugh out loud. However, it may have been a little too much about nothing for me as I had trouble maintaining focus. I blame me more that Osbert. He is one wacky aristo.
October 17, 2021
I feel you must cast your mind back to the 20s to really appreciate this story. Very cleverly written IMO and great epilogue
September 7, 2020
"Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not"
Sitwell is one of those first half of 20th-century novelists whose works are hard to get in print presently. He seemed to have been a literary starling of some note in his times. He along with his brother and sister formed the trio of "Sitwells" a rival camp to the more famous "Bloomsbury" group. I suppose they did salvage some pride facing the formidable artillery of the Bloomsburys enough to get mentioned prominently in the critical reviews of the period. So at first glance, one would expect a certain literary gravitas from his work, and my view is that he does not disappoint.
The novel starts out in rambling, slow-burn fashion. I doubt it gets much faster through the later chapters, but one gets attuned to its pace and tenor. It is very heavy on analysis, a good 50-60% of the time, he's commenting on the things that happened with subtle wit. Now, a less capable writer would have turned it into an overindulgent, vapid hash, but Sitwell keeps it lively with surprising observations, apt aphorisms and certain propensity to point out the absurd to the reader. I do so much like his turning to military euphemisms to describe the petty intrigues of a clique of elderly women in the seaside retirement haven where the story takes place.
The second half of the book, I would say is a long meditation on old age and death. A deep portrait of the humiliations and general bitterness of old age. Sitwell's art is most evident in that he has managed to be both insightful and humorous about it. I do think it takes some mental hardening before one can observe and depict what is perhaps the hardest stage of human life not only with perspicacity but also with levity.
It is also a novel about how time passes at different rates at different places. Also, it is Victoriana, in some ways like the "French Lieutenants Women" a few decades later; it tries to look back to a distinct and peculiar era, of people trapped in sensibilities and the guiding philosophy of that age. Without spoilers, I will just say that it has a somewhat unexpected, explosive ending. It ends in a very cinematic fashion, which contrasts sharply with the placid pacing of the rest of the novel. One can almost visualize the text cards, indicating the afterstory of the characters as credits start rolling.
He also adorns the beginning of each chapter with an unattributed verse quote that adds colour to the narrative, like the one above. I had some interesting time finding out the sources.
I do think this is so undeserving of the obscurity into which it seems to have fallen. Mine own copy seems to have passed through innumerable hands and is almost in tatters; it seems to have been minted before the second world war. If you do manage to locate a copy, it still remains an artfully crafted, and satisfying read.
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not"
Sitwell is one of those first half of 20th-century novelists whose works are hard to get in print presently. He seemed to have been a literary starling of some note in his times. He along with his brother and sister formed the trio of "Sitwells" a rival camp to the more famous "Bloomsbury" group. I suppose they did salvage some pride facing the formidable artillery of the Bloomsburys enough to get mentioned prominently in the critical reviews of the period. So at first glance, one would expect a certain literary gravitas from his work, and my view is that he does not disappoint.
The novel starts out in rambling, slow-burn fashion. I doubt it gets much faster through the later chapters, but one gets attuned to its pace and tenor. It is very heavy on analysis, a good 50-60% of the time, he's commenting on the things that happened with subtle wit. Now, a less capable writer would have turned it into an overindulgent, vapid hash, but Sitwell keeps it lively with surprising observations, apt aphorisms and certain propensity to point out the absurd to the reader. I do so much like his turning to military euphemisms to describe the petty intrigues of a clique of elderly women in the seaside retirement haven where the story takes place.
The second half of the book, I would say is a long meditation on old age and death. A deep portrait of the humiliations and general bitterness of old age. Sitwell's art is most evident in that he has managed to be both insightful and humorous about it. I do think it takes some mental hardening before one can observe and depict what is perhaps the hardest stage of human life not only with perspicacity but also with levity.
It is also a novel about how time passes at different rates at different places. Also, it is Victoriana, in some ways like the "French Lieutenants Women" a few decades later; it tries to look back to a distinct and peculiar era, of people trapped in sensibilities and the guiding philosophy of that age. Without spoilers, I will just say that it has a somewhat unexpected, explosive ending. It ends in a very cinematic fashion, which contrasts sharply with the placid pacing of the rest of the novel. One can almost visualize the text cards, indicating the afterstory of the characters as credits start rolling.
He also adorns the beginning of each chapter with an unattributed verse quote that adds colour to the narrative, like the one above. I had some interesting time finding out the sources.
I do think this is so undeserving of the obscurity into which it seems to have fallen. Mine own copy seems to have passed through innumerable hands and is almost in tatters; it seems to have been minted before the second world war. If you do manage to locate a copy, it still remains an artfully crafted, and satisfying read.
November 18, 2013
The plot is negligible but the writing is witty and sharp, gently satirising the remnants of Victorian society which persist in a Northern seaside town (based on Scarborough). This is made more poignant by the author's constant reminder that their entire way of life was soon to be obliterated by the First World War.
September 10, 2016
Rent a friend in the 1910's. About a woman who keeps a rich lady company, for money, and becomes a "friend". Didn't read it all, found it just not interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews