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The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh
For the first time, all of Evelyn Waugh's stories -- thirty-nine marvelous works of short fiction spanning his entire career -- are brought together in a single volume. The a book of brilliant entertainments.The stories range from delightfully barbed portraits of the British upper classes to one in which Waugh suggests an alternative ending to his novel "A Handful of Dust; " from a "missing chapter" in the life of Charles Ryder, the nostalgic hero of "Brideshead Revisited, " to two long, linked stories, remnants of an abandoned novel that Waugh himself considered "my best writing"; from a plot-packed morality tale that Waugh composed at a very tender age to an epistolary lark in the voice of "a young lady of leisure"; from a hilarious fantasy about newlyweds to a darkly comic tale of scandal in a remote (and imaginary) African outpost."The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh" is a dazzling distillation of Waugh's genius -- abundant evidence that one of the twentieth century's most admired and enjoyed English novelists was also a master of the short form."As a writer of satiric and comic stories, Evelyn Waugh remains unmatched among modern writers." "NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW""One of the century's great masters of English prose.... It is never too late to read or reread Evelyn Waugh." "TIME"Jacket design by Rymn MassandJacket illustration by Bill Brown
624 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1953
293 people are currently reading
2497 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Waugh
347 books2,954 followersEvelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.” He went on to Hertford College, Oxford, where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, “I drank for Hertford.”
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
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April 15, 2017
A few days ago I was surprised to get a notification informing me to add a finish date and its review on this book. At first, I didn't believe it but one morning in 2012 I noticed its unfamiliar title "The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh", verified my shelves and found this title instead. So my thanks to the observable Goodreads staff, I appreciated their timely information.
I sometime came across Evelyn Waugh's novels in the early 1970s; however, I casually picked up a copy, flipping through a few pages and left it at that because I had never read him or known his fame. Indeed, it took me a long time till the early 2000s, something has since dictated me to have a go with his seemingly unreadable novels, at least in my view then. Moreover, it's a good idea to start with our intimacy and familiarity on his life and works by reading his biography at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_... in which I took and read as an essential enticingly literary background.
As an overview, we can see that inside the book, its full title is "The Complete Short Stories and Selected Drawings" having 25 stories with dates of composition, the first three extracted:
The Balance: A Yarn of the Good Old Days of Broad Trousers and High Necked Jumpers (1925)
A House of Gentlefolks (1927)
The Manager of "The Kremlin" (1930); then followed by two subtitles: Juvenilia (6) and Oxford (7).
Juvenilia (first three stories):
The Curse of the Horse Race (1910)
Fidon's Confetion (c. 1910-14)
Multa Pecunia (1912)
Oxford (first three stories):
Portrait of Young Man With Career (1923)
Antony, Who Sought Things That Were Lost (1923)
Edward of Unique Achievement: A Tale of Blood and Alcohol in an Oxford College (1923)
All of his stories and drawings have subtly meant to be humorous from "his characteristic wit and savage irony ... These stories remind us that Waugh was not only a brilliant comedian and an acute observer of character; he also possessed a coherent and sombre vision of life which colours everything he wrote" (front flap), some to the point of hilarity I think and hope my friends find a copy to read, any title or drawing you like or prefer; some might not make it if you simply read them from Stories 1, 2, 3, ... 25; 26-31 and 32-38.
For example, we may try reading this incomplete story and try not to smile, giggle or laugh:
THE CURSE OF THE HORSE RACE
CHAP I BETTING
I BET YOU 500 pounds I'll win. The speaker was Rupert a man of about 25 he had a dark bushy mistarsh and flashing eyes.
I shouldn't trust to much on your horse said Tom for ineed he had not the sum to spear.
The race was to take place at ten the following moring.
CHAP II
The next moring Tom took his seat in the grant stand while Rupert mounted Sally (which was his horse) with the others to wate for the pistol shot which would anounse the start.
The race was soon over and Rupet had lost. What was he to do could he do the deed? Yes, I'll kill him in the night, he thought.
CHAP III THE FIRE
Rupert crept stedfustly along with out a sound but as he drew his sword it sqeeked a little this awoke Tom seasing a candle he lit it just at that moment Rupert struch and sent the candle flying
the candle lit the cuntain Rupert trying to get away tumbled over the bed Tom maid a dash for the dorr and cleided with a perlisman who had come to see what was the matter and a panic took place.
... (p. 521)
In brief, if you agree that "Laughter is the jam in life's sandwich." (p. xvii), reading his stories collected here would be a good start for further exploration, that is, his longer novels. Decisively humorous, they should be gradually appreciated and we can understand why his witticisms have been admired ever since in the literary world.
I sometime came across Evelyn Waugh's novels in the early 1970s; however, I casually picked up a copy, flipping through a few pages and left it at that because I had never read him or known his fame. Indeed, it took me a long time till the early 2000s, something has since dictated me to have a go with his seemingly unreadable novels, at least in my view then. Moreover, it's a good idea to start with our intimacy and familiarity on his life and works by reading his biography at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_... in which I took and read as an essential enticingly literary background.
As an overview, we can see that inside the book, its full title is "The Complete Short Stories and Selected Drawings" having 25 stories with dates of composition, the first three extracted:
The Balance: A Yarn of the Good Old Days of Broad Trousers and High Necked Jumpers (1925)
A House of Gentlefolks (1927)
The Manager of "The Kremlin" (1930); then followed by two subtitles: Juvenilia (6) and Oxford (7).
Juvenilia (first three stories):
The Curse of the Horse Race (1910)
Fidon's Confetion (c. 1910-14)
Multa Pecunia (1912)
Oxford (first three stories):
Portrait of Young Man With Career (1923)
Antony, Who Sought Things That Were Lost (1923)
Edward of Unique Achievement: A Tale of Blood and Alcohol in an Oxford College (1923)
All of his stories and drawings have subtly meant to be humorous from "his characteristic wit and savage irony ... These stories remind us that Waugh was not only a brilliant comedian and an acute observer of character; he also possessed a coherent and sombre vision of life which colours everything he wrote" (front flap), some to the point of hilarity I think and hope my friends find a copy to read, any title or drawing you like or prefer; some might not make it if you simply read them from Stories 1, 2, 3, ... 25; 26-31 and 32-38.
For example, we may try reading this incomplete story and try not to smile, giggle or laugh:
THE CURSE OF THE HORSE RACE
CHAP I BETTING
I BET YOU 500 pounds I'll win. The speaker was Rupert a man of about 25 he had a dark bushy mistarsh and flashing eyes.
I shouldn't trust to much on your horse said Tom for ineed he had not the sum to spear.
The race was to take place at ten the following moring.
CHAP II
The next moring Tom took his seat in the grant stand while Rupert mounted Sally (which was his horse) with the others to wate for the pistol shot which would anounse the start.
The race was soon over and Rupet had lost. What was he to do could he do the deed? Yes, I'll kill him in the night, he thought.
CHAP III THE FIRE
Rupert crept stedfustly along with out a sound but as he drew his sword it sqeeked a little this awoke Tom seasing a candle he lit it just at that moment Rupert struch and sent the candle flying
the candle lit the cuntain Rupert trying to get away tumbled over the bed Tom maid a dash for the dorr and cleided with a perlisman who had come to see what was the matter and a panic took place.
... (p. 521)
In brief, if you agree that "Laughter is the jam in life's sandwich." (p. xvii), reading his stories collected here would be a good start for further exploration, that is, his longer novels. Decisively humorous, they should be gradually appreciated and we can understand why his witticisms have been admired ever since in the literary world.
February 5, 2023
How many short stories does a writer need to produce before being considered a great practitioner of the short form?
Edgar Allan Poe wrote around 60 stories, and Guy de Maupassant 300, both renowned masters. Of my own favourites, R.K. Narayan penned 100, and Owen Marshall slightly fewer. This volume of The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh has only 25 entries, including several brumbies.
I’m now thinking that quantity is no way to judge anyway, a much better criterion is quality. By this measure, Waugh is an accomplished short story writer. I usually do not give much weigh to dust jacket assessments, but one kept resonating; ‘The man is incapable of writing a bad sentence’ (J Bottum, Washington Times). Waugh maintains this standard from first to last. But his limitations are also apparent. His early tales are somewhat hidebound and restricted to a limited milieu; a world of upper crust privilege and pretension. And the majority were written during that early period: 18 of the 25 were published between 1926 and 1939. Overall the stories vary considerably in interest and worth, rising to a peak of excellence following World War Two then falling away towards the end. But in any case Waugh’s fame will always rest on his novels.
As to the brumbies, this collection contains an alternative ending to A Handful of Dust, and a long piece Charles Ryders Schooldays, which didn’t make it into Brideshead Revisited, and published only after Waugh’s death. This bilious account brings to life the asinine rules and protocols reinforcing class distinctions within an English public school – an orgy of mindless pettiness: junior students are permitted to walk together in no more than threes; more senior students may loop arms in a line a four. No wonder they lost an empire.
There’s another story which does not really belong, called Work Suspended: Two Chapters of an Unfinished Novel, published in 1942, reducing the number of what we might properly call short stories to 22. But I’m glad it has been included: it’s a promising beginning, full of obligation: ‘From first to last the whole episode of the dinner was calamitous. It was a party of ten, and one glance round the room showed me that this was an occasion of what Lucy had been brought up to call “duty.” That is to say, we were all people whom for one reason or another she had felt obliged to ask. She was offering us all up together in a single propitiatory holocaust to the gods of the schoolroom.’ (p295)
Read chronologically the stories throw light on the author’s development as to content and approach, reflecting to some extent his circumstances at the time especially so far as his health is concerned towards the end. The bulk were written in the early to mid-thirties and we can see Waugh working his way into being a story teller. These early stories are peopled by characters used to having maids and chauffeurs at their beck and call; living in a privileged world of country houses and flats in London.
A House of Gentlefolks (1927) has an impecunious undergraduate, having been sent down from Oxford, reduced to chaperoning the ‘mad’ young heir to a castle on what passes for the grand tour. Love in a Slump (1932) concerns a new young bride arranging an ongoing affair. In Excursion in Reality (1932), quite a biting entry about Simon, invited to write for the movies, who finds the experience comes to nothing. He then needs to re-establish himself with his neglected girlfriend Sylvia: ‘he leaned over on his elbow, lifted the telephone and, asking for Sylvia’s number, prepared himself for twenty-five minutes of acrimonious reconciliation' (p92). Winner Takes All (1936) is based on the inherent unfairness of primogeniture and features one of Waugh’s true horrors, the calculating, conniving yet charming Mrs Kent-Cumberland.
My favourite story is An Englishman’s Home (1939), which has a Dahlesque twist. The landholders in the rural village of Much Malcock in the Cotswolds (within striking distance of London, Birmingham and Bristol and therefore ripe for the maleficent influence of ‘progress’), conform to a strict hierarchy governed by acreage owned, the magnificence or otherwise of the dwelling/s on said acreage, the length of occupancy of the family, sheer wealth and position in the community. All of them are in a dither because a plot of land in their midst is subject to a proposed obnoxious and unpleasant ‘scientific’, read, industrial development. Action must be taken to thwart this threat. Mr Metcalfe, the newly arrived erstwhile ‘cotton wallah from Alexandria’ hot-foots it to one of the higher status locals luminaries: ‘Lady Peabury was in the drawing room reading a novel; early training gave a guilty spice to this recreation, for she had been brought up to believe that to read a novel before luncheon was one of the gravest sins it was possible for a gentlewoman to commit. She slipped the book under a cushion…’ (p224-5).
Some of the later stories, Tactical Exercise (1947) and especially Compassion (1949) benefit from Waugh’s travel and wartime experiences (he was by some accounts an indifferent company commander who later worked in an intelligence role) and his writing gains a humanity largely absent from his earlier work. Scott-King’s Modern Europe (1947) has a distinctly Orwellian flavour, where a narrowly-focused classics master gets caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable politics of the fictitious county ‘Neutralia’.
His output declined markedly thereafter. Love among the Ruins (1953) also discloses a creative debt to George Orwell. Although the final story, Basil Seal Rides Again (1963), has a nice twist, Waugh rehashes old characters from the novels and the tale represents a final note of the author’s decline in health and output. He died in 1966.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote around 60 stories, and Guy de Maupassant 300, both renowned masters. Of my own favourites, R.K. Narayan penned 100, and Owen Marshall slightly fewer. This volume of The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh has only 25 entries, including several brumbies.
I’m now thinking that quantity is no way to judge anyway, a much better criterion is quality. By this measure, Waugh is an accomplished short story writer. I usually do not give much weigh to dust jacket assessments, but one kept resonating; ‘The man is incapable of writing a bad sentence’ (J Bottum, Washington Times). Waugh maintains this standard from first to last. But his limitations are also apparent. His early tales are somewhat hidebound and restricted to a limited milieu; a world of upper crust privilege and pretension. And the majority were written during that early period: 18 of the 25 were published between 1926 and 1939. Overall the stories vary considerably in interest and worth, rising to a peak of excellence following World War Two then falling away towards the end. But in any case Waugh’s fame will always rest on his novels.
As to the brumbies, this collection contains an alternative ending to A Handful of Dust, and a long piece Charles Ryders Schooldays, which didn’t make it into Brideshead Revisited, and published only after Waugh’s death. This bilious account brings to life the asinine rules and protocols reinforcing class distinctions within an English public school – an orgy of mindless pettiness: junior students are permitted to walk together in no more than threes; more senior students may loop arms in a line a four. No wonder they lost an empire.
There’s another story which does not really belong, called Work Suspended: Two Chapters of an Unfinished Novel, published in 1942, reducing the number of what we might properly call short stories to 22. But I’m glad it has been included: it’s a promising beginning, full of obligation: ‘From first to last the whole episode of the dinner was calamitous. It was a party of ten, and one glance round the room showed me that this was an occasion of what Lucy had been brought up to call “duty.” That is to say, we were all people whom for one reason or another she had felt obliged to ask. She was offering us all up together in a single propitiatory holocaust to the gods of the schoolroom.’ (p295)
Read chronologically the stories throw light on the author’s development as to content and approach, reflecting to some extent his circumstances at the time especially so far as his health is concerned towards the end. The bulk were written in the early to mid-thirties and we can see Waugh working his way into being a story teller. These early stories are peopled by characters used to having maids and chauffeurs at their beck and call; living in a privileged world of country houses and flats in London.
A House of Gentlefolks (1927) has an impecunious undergraduate, having been sent down from Oxford, reduced to chaperoning the ‘mad’ young heir to a castle on what passes for the grand tour. Love in a Slump (1932) concerns a new young bride arranging an ongoing affair. In Excursion in Reality (1932), quite a biting entry about Simon, invited to write for the movies, who finds the experience comes to nothing. He then needs to re-establish himself with his neglected girlfriend Sylvia: ‘he leaned over on his elbow, lifted the telephone and, asking for Sylvia’s number, prepared himself for twenty-five minutes of acrimonious reconciliation' (p92). Winner Takes All (1936) is based on the inherent unfairness of primogeniture and features one of Waugh’s true horrors, the calculating, conniving yet charming Mrs Kent-Cumberland.
My favourite story is An Englishman’s Home (1939), which has a Dahlesque twist. The landholders in the rural village of Much Malcock in the Cotswolds (within striking distance of London, Birmingham and Bristol and therefore ripe for the maleficent influence of ‘progress’), conform to a strict hierarchy governed by acreage owned, the magnificence or otherwise of the dwelling/s on said acreage, the length of occupancy of the family, sheer wealth and position in the community. All of them are in a dither because a plot of land in their midst is subject to a proposed obnoxious and unpleasant ‘scientific’, read, industrial development. Action must be taken to thwart this threat. Mr Metcalfe, the newly arrived erstwhile ‘cotton wallah from Alexandria’ hot-foots it to one of the higher status locals luminaries: ‘Lady Peabury was in the drawing room reading a novel; early training gave a guilty spice to this recreation, for she had been brought up to believe that to read a novel before luncheon was one of the gravest sins it was possible for a gentlewoman to commit. She slipped the book under a cushion…’ (p224-5).
Some of the later stories, Tactical Exercise (1947) and especially Compassion (1949) benefit from Waugh’s travel and wartime experiences (he was by some accounts an indifferent company commander who later worked in an intelligence role) and his writing gains a humanity largely absent from his earlier work. Scott-King’s Modern Europe (1947) has a distinctly Orwellian flavour, where a narrowly-focused classics master gets caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable politics of the fictitious county ‘Neutralia’.
His output declined markedly thereafter. Love among the Ruins (1953) also discloses a creative debt to George Orwell. Although the final story, Basil Seal Rides Again (1963), has a nice twist, Waugh rehashes old characters from the novels and the tale represents a final note of the author’s decline in health and output. He died in 1966.
March 22, 2023
3.5 stars. A very readable short story collection with one novella, ‘Work Suspended’. The stories were composed between 1910 and 1962. ‘Work Suspended’ is my favourite story. It is about a successful mystery writer’s plan to seduce his best friend’s wife.
Some of the stories are offcuts of the novels. For example ‘Compassion’ is mostly from the third book in Waugh’s ‘Sword of Honour’ trilogy. The bureaucratic pitfalls of endeavoring to try to help a select group of people.
A satisfying reading experience. Definitely a book for readers who enjoy Waugh’s writing style.
During Waugh’s writing career of forty years he published 26 short stories.
Some of the stories are offcuts of the novels. For example ‘Compassion’ is mostly from the third book in Waugh’s ‘Sword of Honour’ trilogy. The bureaucratic pitfalls of endeavoring to try to help a select group of people.
A satisfying reading experience. Definitely a book for readers who enjoy Waugh’s writing style.
During Waugh’s writing career of forty years he published 26 short stories.
November 19, 2023
Esta recopilación de 38 historias escritas por “Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh” mejor conocido como Evelyn Waugh son una muestra representativa del talento y del despliegue de sus mejores cualidades como escritor.
Siempre que veo una foto de él, pienso que parece muchas veces más el protagonista con su forma impoluta de vestir, bien parecido y ningún cabello fuera de lugar, el perfecto gentleman británico, pero también puedo ver en esos ojos, ese destello que incomodaba y taladraba, que se puede examinar mejor en sus letras.
🏫 🧑🎨 🧡 ⭐️⭐️ La balanza: es uno de los relatos más largos, no sabes si ves una película o estás ante la vida de jóvenes burgueses, Adam era un burgués pero su alma sensible lo condena a salir del círculo, lo que conlleva pérdida de estatus, de credibilidad y sobre todo de una chica, Imoge. Por este tipo de relatos es que Evelyn era odiado y amado, pues echaba mano de sus propias experiencias para exponer lo ridiculo de las convenciones de la alta sociedad inglesa.
🎩🎓💰 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Una casa de gente bien nacida: un buen ejemplo del humor británico, Ernest un joven que ha sido expulsado de Oxford encuentra empleo como tutor de un joven conde que vive con sus tíos abuelos, hay diálogos desternillantes y el final apoteósico.
🍽️🥂💸 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El gerente del Kremlin: una noche que se considera como la última, se convierte en la primera del resto de la vida de un tipo que se creía sin suerte.
🥰 💒 🌺 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amor en plena crisis: Ángela y Tom protagonizan la historia de amor más sosa y ordinaria que se tiene conocimiento, pero logra ser la más anecdótica debido a una luna de miel inolvidable, un poco ácida abajo de la aparente risa.
🇮🇳🧳💔 ⭐️⭐️ Demasiada tolerancia: durante una plática casual en un viaje de tren, un hombre comprueba que no es buena idea ser demasiado amable y tolerante.
🎬💰🎥 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Incursion en la realidad: Simon es un escritor de poco éxito cuando es contactado por un productor de cine, su suerte parece cambiar. En este relato la crítica a la industria cinematográfica subyace bajo la absurdo y desopilante de los personajes.
🌎 🗺️🥸 ⭐️⭐️ Incidente en Azania: parodia incómoda de los ingleses viviendo en alguna colonia, resguardo de convenciones, miedo a mezclarse con los habitantes originales, codicia, etc.
🎉 🥳👗 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La fiesta que dio Bella Fleace, este relato es acerca de los recuerdos, las añoranzas y sobre todo la soledad, aquí no hay risas eso sí reflexiones y un final algo inesperado.
🛳️ 🌊 🎴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Crucero cartas de una joven ociosa: relato gracioso que nos muestra cómo cambia el humor de la gente cuando anda de vacaciones, y como este se vuelve sensato cuando se vuelve a la realidad.
📚 🔪 🧔♂️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El hombre al que le gustaba Dickens: de un género diferente, en esta historia se maneja un terror que va creciendo sin darnos cuenta.
🤯🥳🥂 ⭐️⭐️Perdiendo pie: un hombre sale de una fiesta para vivir una experiencia inesperada, magia negra?
👫🎩👠 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Por petición especial: Tony y Brenda son un matrimonio inglés, han tenido un Impasse que incluye infidelidad, vemos cómo se resuelve la situación, sin gritos ni manotazos, ante todo, las maneras.
📚👫🤡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Estampa de época: Lady Amelia lee novelas pero solo a una hora decente y a veces se escandaliza con la trama, pero al revisar un poco sus recuerdos del pasado, estos pueden tener más picante que la ficción. Ironía, hipocresía, y cotilleo en este relato.
👃 🐶 🧡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Montando guardia: un joven se enamora de una hermosa chica, al verse obligado a irse por un largo tiempo, le regala un perrito para que la cuide, este cuento es maravilloso de principio a fin.
😜 🏥 ☀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La pequeña salida del Sr Loveday: donde se muestra que la locura también se guarda en frascos que se ven normales y que la reincidencia existe.
👑 💵 👩 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El ganador se lleva el bote: siempre hay un hijo favorito que es el mayor y la aristocracia lo confirma.
💵 🏴 🏡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El hogar de un inglés: el campo inglés con su tranquilidad y su snobismo son representados aquí, cuando los inversionistas pretenden afearlo e industrializarlo, que haría un buen inglés para defenderlo……. Pues aquí está la respuesta.
📻 🚙 🚂 ⭐️⭐️ El viajero compasivo: dos hombres descubren un odio en común pero afrontado de distinta manera.
🏡 📝 🧒 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Trabajo pendiente: se presentan dos capítulos de una novela a medio hacer, un hombre de mediana edad sufre la pérdida de su padre, a partir de ese evento su vida cambia, resulta raro como la vida pasa y sólo la examinas cuando un evento importante ocurre.
🏫 🏴 🧑🎓 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Tiempos escolares de Charles Ryder: un relato sobre un joven que enfrenta la vida escolar, nos adentra en ese ambiente académico inglés donde se enfatiza el amor a las reglas y tradiciones.
🌎 👨🏫 ✈️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La Europa moderna de Scott King: un profesor es invitado a un ciclo de conferencias en un país llamado Neutralia, todo parece lo común y corriente de ese tipo de ceremonias, hasta que pone el primer pie en el territorio, pasa a ser un viaje barroco, alucinante, y extremadamente peligroso, pero como adivinaran las risas tampoco faltaron. Una gran crítica a los países comunistas de Europa, plagado de situaciones absurdas pero terriblemente parecidas a lo que se cuenta de ellos.
💒 👰♀️🤵 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ejercicio táctico: relato con guiño al género de detectives, se resume en la primera frase, que es genial: “John Verney se había casado con Elizabeth en 1938, pero no empezó a detestarla con constancia y ahínco hasta el invierno de 1945.”
⛑️🔫🩸 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Compasión: el comandante Gordon lucha del lado de los aliados en la guerra mundial, se siente orgulloso de su trabajo, pero un incidente destruirá esa ilusión de estar del lado de los buenos. Una mirada crítica a los acuerdos después de la guerra que a veces significaban decisiones injustas para mucha gente, es un retrato descarnado y sin subterfugios de lo terrible de la guerra.
🧡 🔥⛑️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amor entre escombros: nos cuenta la historia de Miles un joven vándalo que después de provocar un incendio que cobró vidas es mandado a la cárcel donde se siente a gusto, pero el estado y su gran maquinaria tiene otros planes, en un mundo al revés donde se privilegian los derechos de Miles sobre las víctimas, es liberado y puesto a prueba en un mundo distopico muy bien construido.
💰 👨 👩 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Basil Seal cabalga de nuevo: en varios de los relatos aparece el personaje de Basil, un joven provocador, snob e indolente, aquí nos lo presentan ya de mediana edad, algo entrado en carnes y bien casado, es decir con una mujer adinerada, tiene una hija que quiere cometer el mismo error que la madre, aquí abunda el sarcasmo, la ironía, te hace pasar un rato delicioso.
📚 ✍️ 🧒 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Escritos de juventud: bajo este título se recopilan diversos textos escritos en la juventud del escritor, desde una Micronovela, relatos cortos, dedicatorias, etc. En ellos se entremezclan temas como la pobreza, apuestas, ambiente académico, hay una dedicatoria muy graciosa, pues el escritor se dedica a sí mismo su primera novela. En general son buenos, aunque sin pulir, se entrevé la calidad de Evelyn, pero también su inexperiencia.
🏫 🏴 🖋️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Relatos de Oxford: Condensa un tema único, el ambiente académico, la formación educativa y las dudas de los jóvenes sobre su vocación y la manera de enfrentarse a la vida, pero siempre bajo una mirada irónica despojada de hipocresía.
Para alguien que se acerca por primera vez a este escritor puede ser abrumador este compendio, pero para los que ya han leído por lo menos algún libro 📚 de relatos, podrán disfrutar en todo su esplendor y en perspectiva la obra de este autor polémico si, pero también genial.
Siempre que veo una foto de él, pienso que parece muchas veces más el protagonista con su forma impoluta de vestir, bien parecido y ningún cabello fuera de lugar, el perfecto gentleman británico, pero también puedo ver en esos ojos, ese destello que incomodaba y taladraba, que se puede examinar mejor en sus letras.
🏫 🧑🎨 🧡 ⭐️⭐️ La balanza: es uno de los relatos más largos, no sabes si ves una película o estás ante la vida de jóvenes burgueses, Adam era un burgués pero su alma sensible lo condena a salir del círculo, lo que conlleva pérdida de estatus, de credibilidad y sobre todo de una chica, Imoge. Por este tipo de relatos es que Evelyn era odiado y amado, pues echaba mano de sus propias experiencias para exponer lo ridiculo de las convenciones de la alta sociedad inglesa.
🎩🎓💰 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Una casa de gente bien nacida: un buen ejemplo del humor británico, Ernest un joven que ha sido expulsado de Oxford encuentra empleo como tutor de un joven conde que vive con sus tíos abuelos, hay diálogos desternillantes y el final apoteósico.
🍽️🥂💸 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El gerente del Kremlin: una noche que se considera como la última, se convierte en la primera del resto de la vida de un tipo que se creía sin suerte.
🥰 💒 🌺 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amor en plena crisis: Ángela y Tom protagonizan la historia de amor más sosa y ordinaria que se tiene conocimiento, pero logra ser la más anecdótica debido a una luna de miel inolvidable, un poco ácida abajo de la aparente risa.
🇮🇳🧳💔 ⭐️⭐️ Demasiada tolerancia: durante una plática casual en un viaje de tren, un hombre comprueba que no es buena idea ser demasiado amable y tolerante.
🎬💰🎥 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Incursion en la realidad: Simon es un escritor de poco éxito cuando es contactado por un productor de cine, su suerte parece cambiar. En este relato la crítica a la industria cinematográfica subyace bajo la absurdo y desopilante de los personajes.
🌎 🗺️🥸 ⭐️⭐️ Incidente en Azania: parodia incómoda de los ingleses viviendo en alguna colonia, resguardo de convenciones, miedo a mezclarse con los habitantes originales, codicia, etc.
🎉 🥳👗 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La fiesta que dio Bella Fleace, este relato es acerca de los recuerdos, las añoranzas y sobre todo la soledad, aquí no hay risas eso sí reflexiones y un final algo inesperado.
🛳️ 🌊 🎴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Crucero cartas de una joven ociosa: relato gracioso que nos muestra cómo cambia el humor de la gente cuando anda de vacaciones, y como este se vuelve sensato cuando se vuelve a la realidad.
📚 🔪 🧔♂️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El hombre al que le gustaba Dickens: de un género diferente, en esta historia se maneja un terror que va creciendo sin darnos cuenta.
🤯🥳🥂 ⭐️⭐️Perdiendo pie: un hombre sale de una fiesta para vivir una experiencia inesperada, magia negra?
👫🎩👠 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Por petición especial: Tony y Brenda son un matrimonio inglés, han tenido un Impasse que incluye infidelidad, vemos cómo se resuelve la situación, sin gritos ni manotazos, ante todo, las maneras.
📚👫🤡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Estampa de época: Lady Amelia lee novelas pero solo a una hora decente y a veces se escandaliza con la trama, pero al revisar un poco sus recuerdos del pasado, estos pueden tener más picante que la ficción. Ironía, hipocresía, y cotilleo en este relato.
👃 🐶 🧡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Montando guardia: un joven se enamora de una hermosa chica, al verse obligado a irse por un largo tiempo, le regala un perrito para que la cuide, este cuento es maravilloso de principio a fin.
😜 🏥 ☀️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La pequeña salida del Sr Loveday: donde se muestra que la locura también se guarda en frascos que se ven normales y que la reincidencia existe.
👑 💵 👩 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El ganador se lleva el bote: siempre hay un hijo favorito que es el mayor y la aristocracia lo confirma.
💵 🏴 🏡 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ El hogar de un inglés: el campo inglés con su tranquilidad y su snobismo son representados aquí, cuando los inversionistas pretenden afearlo e industrializarlo, que haría un buen inglés para defenderlo……. Pues aquí está la respuesta.
📻 🚙 🚂 ⭐️⭐️ El viajero compasivo: dos hombres descubren un odio en común pero afrontado de distinta manera.
🏡 📝 🧒 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Trabajo pendiente: se presentan dos capítulos de una novela a medio hacer, un hombre de mediana edad sufre la pérdida de su padre, a partir de ese evento su vida cambia, resulta raro como la vida pasa y sólo la examinas cuando un evento importante ocurre.
🏫 🏴 🧑🎓 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Tiempos escolares de Charles Ryder: un relato sobre un joven que enfrenta la vida escolar, nos adentra en ese ambiente académico inglés donde se enfatiza el amor a las reglas y tradiciones.
🌎 👨🏫 ✈️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ La Europa moderna de Scott King: un profesor es invitado a un ciclo de conferencias en un país llamado Neutralia, todo parece lo común y corriente de ese tipo de ceremonias, hasta que pone el primer pie en el territorio, pasa a ser un viaje barroco, alucinante, y extremadamente peligroso, pero como adivinaran las risas tampoco faltaron. Una gran crítica a los países comunistas de Europa, plagado de situaciones absurdas pero terriblemente parecidas a lo que se cuenta de ellos.
💒 👰♀️🤵 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ejercicio táctico: relato con guiño al género de detectives, se resume en la primera frase, que es genial: “John Verney se había casado con Elizabeth en 1938, pero no empezó a detestarla con constancia y ahínco hasta el invierno de 1945.”
⛑️🔫🩸 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Compasión: el comandante Gordon lucha del lado de los aliados en la guerra mundial, se siente orgulloso de su trabajo, pero un incidente destruirá esa ilusión de estar del lado de los buenos. Una mirada crítica a los acuerdos después de la guerra que a veces significaban decisiones injustas para mucha gente, es un retrato descarnado y sin subterfugios de lo terrible de la guerra.
🧡 🔥⛑️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amor entre escombros: nos cuenta la historia de Miles un joven vándalo que después de provocar un incendio que cobró vidas es mandado a la cárcel donde se siente a gusto, pero el estado y su gran maquinaria tiene otros planes, en un mundo al revés donde se privilegian los derechos de Miles sobre las víctimas, es liberado y puesto a prueba en un mundo distopico muy bien construido.
💰 👨 👩 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Basil Seal cabalga de nuevo: en varios de los relatos aparece el personaje de Basil, un joven provocador, snob e indolente, aquí nos lo presentan ya de mediana edad, algo entrado en carnes y bien casado, es decir con una mujer adinerada, tiene una hija que quiere cometer el mismo error que la madre, aquí abunda el sarcasmo, la ironía, te hace pasar un rato delicioso.
📚 ✍️ 🧒 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Escritos de juventud: bajo este título se recopilan diversos textos escritos en la juventud del escritor, desde una Micronovela, relatos cortos, dedicatorias, etc. En ellos se entremezclan temas como la pobreza, apuestas, ambiente académico, hay una dedicatoria muy graciosa, pues el escritor se dedica a sí mismo su primera novela. En general son buenos, aunque sin pulir, se entrevé la calidad de Evelyn, pero también su inexperiencia.
🏫 🏴 🖋️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Relatos de Oxford: Condensa un tema único, el ambiente académico, la formación educativa y las dudas de los jóvenes sobre su vocación y la manera de enfrentarse a la vida, pero siempre bajo una mirada irónica despojada de hipocresía.
Para alguien que se acerca por primera vez a este escritor puede ser abrumador este compendio, pero para los que ya han leído por lo menos algún libro 📚 de relatos, podrán disfrutar en todo su esplendor y en perspectiva la obra de este autor polémico si, pero también genial.
June 28, 2015
Waugh's work is shocking and hilarious. I only wish he could return briefly and leave us something on the politically correct. But as that will surely not come to pass, I must say, that this volume is a great footnote, to the god of caustic disdain, to be read in bits and pieces – and again and again. I began reading these short stories months and months ago, then the book got packed for moving and I just recently unpacked it and began reading it again. Of course, I had to reread the stories I had already read so long ago!
For anyone who enjoys the taste of elegant prose laced with sparkling wit, "The Complete Short Stories of Evelyn Waugh" deserves a place that is both prominent and permanent in one's well-stocked storehouse of vintage literature – this coming from someone whose library does not particularly “like” short stories!
For anyone who enjoys the taste of elegant prose laced with sparkling wit, "The Complete Short Stories of Evelyn Waugh" deserves a place that is both prominent and permanent in one's well-stocked storehouse of vintage literature – this coming from someone whose library does not particularly “like” short stories!
August 31, 2020
ENGLISH: In this collection of 26 stories by Evelyn Waugh, I liked specially the following:
"Love in the slump" about a very strange honeymoon.
"Incident in Azania" where Waugh invents the name of a country by mixing those of two real countries (Abyssinia and Zanzibar), in this way forecasting Tanzania (Tanganyika&Zanzibar) over 30 years before it was created. The story deals with a pretty girl who swindles her wooers (except one) by simulating her own abduction.
"The man who liked Dickens," a cruel story about the survivor of an ill-fated expedition who gets trapped by a lover of Dickens.
"Mr. Loveday's little outing," written in 1935, accurately foretells an unhappy incident that has made first-page news in Spanish media just now, related to an ex-murderer who was given a job as an orderly in a hospital.
"Winner takes all" about two brothers, one of which is the winner in the title, the other one the loser. Their mother is one of the most Machiavellian characters in these English upper class stories.
"Work suspended," the best of all for me. It reminds me a lot of Waugh's master work ("Brideshead Revisited"). Written one year before, rather than a short story this is actually a short novel or novella, having about 70 pages.
"Tactical exercise" is a mystery story told from the point of view of the possible murderer.
"Love among the ruins" is a distopy located in future England, dominated by atheism and determinism, where people put up with long queues to be euthanized.
ESPAÑOL: En esta colección de 26 cuentos de Evelyn Waugh, los siguientes me gustaron especialmente:
"Amor en la depresión", que cuenta una luna de miel muy extraña.
"Incidente en Azania", donde Waugh inventa el nombre de un país mezclando los de dos países reales (Abisinia y Zanzíbar), lo que parece un pronóstico de Tanzania (Tangañika y Zanzíbar) realizado más de 30 años antes de su creación. El cuento trata sobre una chica guapa que estafa a sus pretendientes (excepto a uno) simulando su propio secuestro.
"El hombre al que le gustaba Dickens", un cuento cruel sobre el único superviviente de una expedición catastrófica, atrapado por un amante de Dickens.
"La pequeña excursión del Sr. Loveday", escrito en 1935, predice con precisión un incidente desgraciado que ha sido noticia de primera página reciente en los medios españoles, en relación con un asesino excarcelado al que le dieron trabajo como ordenanza en un hospital.
"El ganador se lo lleva todo", sobre dos hermanos, uno de los cuales es el ganador del título, el otro es el perdedor. Su madre es uno de los personajes más maquiavélicos de estos cuentos sobre la clase alta inglesa.
"Trabajo suspendido," la mejor de todas, para mí. Me recuerda mucho la obra maestra de Waugh ("Retorno a Brideshead"). Escrita un año antes, más que un cuento esta es una novela corta, pues tiene unas 70 páginas.
"Ejercicio táctico" es un cuento contado desde el punto de vista de un hombre que está tramando un asesinato.
"Amor entre las ruinas" es una distopía en la Inglaterra del futuro, dominada por el ateísmo y el determinismo, donde la gente hace cola para que le apliquen la eutanasia.
"Love in the slump" about a very strange honeymoon.
"Incident in Azania" where Waugh invents the name of a country by mixing those of two real countries (Abyssinia and Zanzibar), in this way forecasting Tanzania (Tanganyika&Zanzibar) over 30 years before it was created. The story deals with a pretty girl who swindles her wooers (except one) by simulating her own abduction.
"The man who liked Dickens," a cruel story about the survivor of an ill-fated expedition who gets trapped by a lover of Dickens.
"Mr. Loveday's little outing," written in 1935, accurately foretells an unhappy incident that has made first-page news in Spanish media just now, related to an ex-murderer who was given a job as an orderly in a hospital.
"Winner takes all" about two brothers, one of which is the winner in the title, the other one the loser. Their mother is one of the most Machiavellian characters in these English upper class stories.
"Work suspended," the best of all for me. It reminds me a lot of Waugh's master work ("Brideshead Revisited"). Written one year before, rather than a short story this is actually a short novel or novella, having about 70 pages.
"Tactical exercise" is a mystery story told from the point of view of the possible murderer.
"Love among the ruins" is a distopy located in future England, dominated by atheism and determinism, where people put up with long queues to be euthanized.
ESPAÑOL: En esta colección de 26 cuentos de Evelyn Waugh, los siguientes me gustaron especialmente:
"Amor en la depresión", que cuenta una luna de miel muy extraña.
"Incidente en Azania", donde Waugh inventa el nombre de un país mezclando los de dos países reales (Abisinia y Zanzíbar), lo que parece un pronóstico de Tanzania (Tangañika y Zanzíbar) realizado más de 30 años antes de su creación. El cuento trata sobre una chica guapa que estafa a sus pretendientes (excepto a uno) simulando su propio secuestro.
"El hombre al que le gustaba Dickens", un cuento cruel sobre el único superviviente de una expedición catastrófica, atrapado por un amante de Dickens.
"La pequeña excursión del Sr. Loveday", escrito en 1935, predice con precisión un incidente desgraciado que ha sido noticia de primera página reciente en los medios españoles, en relación con un asesino excarcelado al que le dieron trabajo como ordenanza en un hospital.
"El ganador se lo lleva todo", sobre dos hermanos, uno de los cuales es el ganador del título, el otro es el perdedor. Su madre es uno de los personajes más maquiavélicos de estos cuentos sobre la clase alta inglesa.
"Trabajo suspendido," la mejor de todas, para mí. Me recuerda mucho la obra maestra de Waugh ("Retorno a Brideshead"). Escrita un año antes, más que un cuento esta es una novela corta, pues tiene unas 70 páginas.
"Ejercicio táctico" es un cuento contado desde el punto de vista de un hombre que está tramando un asesinato.
"Amor entre las ruinas" es una distopía en la Inglaterra del futuro, dominada por el ateísmo y el determinismo, donde la gente hace cola para que le apliquen la eutanasia.
November 28, 2009
I love Evelyn Waugh's novels, I wallow in his satiric novels: "Scoop", "Vile Bodies", "A Handful of Dust" and in my search for more of the above, I came across this collection and what a lucky find! He is sharp and stinging and hilarious! I don't think I would ever want him as a relative or wish him as a father upon my worst enemy (quote Mr. Waugh: "My stories are more dear to me than my children. If a child dies, I can just have another."), but his biting edge and insight to the frailties of human nature are so spot-on. I am thankful that the British Army could find no use for him because he was so despised by his fellow soldiers, obviously the desk job allowed him to fine tune his craft--much to my great enjoyment. I do not tire of these stories.
August 13, 2017
Waugh isn't famous for the short story form, and I can see why. The stories are certainly accomplished, but they don't have a lot of zip and zing to them. They aren't the sort that I'll be coming back and rereading or that greatly made me think or feel.
The collection runs in roughly chronological order starting in 1926, and then has two sections in the back, one of juvenilia and one of college stories. The latter are interesting to read in terms of seeing his development. I've sometimes wondered, reading classic stories from decades before my birth, whether I'd be as unimpressed by the unpublished stuff from the era as I often am by most amateur stories now.
Waugh is not known for being experimental, but the first story in the collection is a foray into that. It feels quite modernist in what it tries to do, which is essentially translate silent film into writing, while also focusing on a couple of audience members. I found it difficult to follow--and unfortunately not interesting enough to really want to try to parse it apart.
From there, we move to more traditional faire. "A House of Gentlefolks" focuses on a man who is hired to be a tutor to an idiot and to accompany him abroad, but once we meet the idiot's parents and family, we have reason to question who in the family is the real dolt.
"The Manager of 'The Kremlin'" is backstory about a man who runs a bar that is reminiscent of Russia. We learn how he was in the army and fell into poverty and the lucky break that got him where he is today. The real power of this story, however, comes in its last line. He's lived a good life, but you come to realize that it is still a life of loss.
The next two stories seem to be somewhat veiled explications of Waugh's first marriage. As such, they are both quite accomplished.
"Love in the Slump" focuses on a marriage between two friends--a couple who decide to try out marriage because they are getting toward the end of their marrying years and haven't found anyone. Alas, one gets the feeling that as companionable as they are, they still act and feel single, which does not bode well for the future.
Just as "Love in the Slump" seems in part a commentary on Waugh's first marriage, so too on some level does this one, "Too Much Tolerance," which is about a very happy man who lets himself be taken advantage of by his business partner, son, and (ex-)wife. But all is good in his book. Something was odd about this piece to me insofar as I didn't really feel bad for the man--perhaps because even though he had much to complain about, he was so happy despite it all. Maybe there's something to being a Penelope.
One of the better tales Waugh tells is "Excursion in Reality"--or perhaps I'm just a sucker for Hollywood stories. In this one, a novelist is recruited to rewrite Hamlet for the motion pictures--but to update it in terms of language. In the process, of course, with studio committees what they are, the play loses much of its actual being. Meanwhile, the novelist's fickle relationship with his girlfriend is put on hold, as he becomes wrapped up in a completely other affair. Methinks Waugh uses the term reality ironically.
"Incident in Azania" draws from the same characters as Waugh's novel Black Mischief. As such, it is in part about colonialism. In this tale, the daughter of a colonial authority comes to live in the colony and is thus the heartswell of most of the other men who have come from overseas. Her presence proves to be very disruptive, until she disappears, as happens in "these kind of places."
"Bella Fleace Gives a Party" is about a ninety-something woman who decides to throw a ball. Not knowing any of her neighbors and rarely leaving her mansion, the venture brings new life to her. There's a certain sadness at the end of the story, with Fleace's seeming lack of success, but Waugh cuts it down by mostly playing it for irony rather than pity. I could see the tale being something truly cry-worthy in the hands of another master.
"Cruise: Letters from a Young Lady of Leisure" is notable mostly for its voice, that of a young girl who falls in and out of love most ficklely, as people are wont to do on overseas cruises to Egypt. One gets the sense she is about twelve, at an age when understanding the viccisitudes of adult relationships is just beginning to don on her.
I must really like dark and twisted stories because one of my favorites in this collection reminds me much of other stories I like so much. "The Man Who Liked Dickens" is in the realm of many of Paul Bowles's stories; it's about a man who goes overseas and finds himself in a situation far beyond what his own cultural understanding will allow him to deal with. It's a kind of kidnapping story, a story about a trap, a story that takes something we usually love and makes it dreary and scary. In a sense, one could read it as a tale about the dangers of illiteracy and about the even greater dangers of cultural illiteracy.
That story also ended up being the ending of Waugh's novel A Handful of Dust. "By Special Request" brings back the characters of Brenda and Tony Last, giving a separate and happier ending to that Waugh's novel. Having just finished the novel a day earlier when I read the story, it was hard for me to read the story as a piece on its own. Rather, I kept putting it into the context of "alternate ending." As an alternate ending, it did not leave the novel with much in the way of gravitas, as Brenda's horrid actions come to be merely a fun and temporal diversion. The story then hints at Tony's conceivable revenge, though one that is hard to fathom given his ultimate loyalty to his wife. Good it is that the other story became the novel's climax.
"Out of Depth" is a science fiction story of sorts, one that plays with ideas related to black magic. The main character meets a magician, wishes nothing to do with him, but then somehow ends up being pulled into his orbit. Said magician hurtles him into a future five hundred years hence in which London society has been turned upside down. We get the sense that some kind of devastating war has taken place and society has been propelled backward centuries in technological innovation.
"Period Piece" is a forgettable tale about woman who in old age has taken up reading novels in zest. When confronted with how they are so "made up" and ridicilous, she goes on a long diatribe about how life was actually "like that" in the old days. It is the diatribe that makes up most of the story.
"On Guard" is an enjoyable romp through the vagaries of love. Milly is a woman whose nose is so beautiful that it attracts many suitors, each of whom she fancies for a short time before spurning. One suitor leaves her a little dog to which she becomes devoted. The dog is to guard her from others suitors so that when this suitor returns, he can marry Milly. The tale is mostly the story of how this dog tries to keep other men away. It has a cruel ending, but in other ways, the story seems a kind of exploration on the way that some people waste their youthful years in flirtatiousness to end up alone once beauty wains.
"Mr. Loveday's Little Outing" is similarly cruel in its ending, with that ending being its seeming main purpose. Years earlier, Loveday was committed to an asylum for a murderous crime. A woman visiting her father notices how seeming sane Mr. Loveday is. In fact, the asylum director says that the man helps out the staff constantly and would greatly miss the man, who has no desire to leave, though he clearly doesn't need to be locked up anymore. So the woman sets about to free the man, who does not wish to leave save to do one little last thing he greatly desires.
"Winner Take All" is another rather cruel story, one that seems to be something of a recurring theme in Waugh's work: of a passive man taken advantage of by others, most especially by women. Here, that man is the second son of a noble family who sees every piece of good fortune that comes his way redirected to his older brother by his ever-dominating and -interfering mom.
Another of the better stories in the collection is "An Englishman's Home." Save for the trick ending, this story is one the riles the emotion and the brain with its discussion of the dynamics of village life and local politics. Mr. Metcalfe owns a small villa that normally includes about sixty-six acres. But he doesn't really need or want the other sixty and so doesn't buy the adjoining farmland. All is fine on his six acres until a developer one day buys the other sixty, putting the entire community at risk of seeing itself changed overnight. Of course, it being land that normally adjoins Metcalfe's property, the community believes Metcalfe should buy the developer out; meanwhile, Metcalfe, who neither needs nor wants the extra sixty acres, thinks the community should bind together to buy the extra land, that he should only pay about one-fifth of the total property. Fights ensue. Selfishness threatens all.
"The Sympathetic Passenger" is a silly short piece about a man who hates radios but whose hate is compromised when he meets yet another man who hates them to a great, insane degree more.
"Work Suspended: Two Chapters from an Unfinished Novel" isn't really a story but rather exactly what it says it is. In another way, it is about the way that war interrupts life, for it is war that essentially draws the novel to its close, suspends it. The novel itself is about a writer of thrillers who is having a hard time writing, having grown tired of formula. This writer also loses his father in an accident, the man who caused the accident becoming something of an acquaintance and a drain. Meanwhile, the writer falls for a married woman named Lucy, the wife of a friend. He builds a new country home. The two spend much time together, but she has a baby and that's where it ends. And also, there is a sycophantic young woman who is in love with the writer and his work who chases him around until she realizes he loves Lucy. It is a rather great start to a book and a shame in some ways to have come to an abrupt end.
Another story that feels more like a work not completed is "Charles Ryder's School Days," perhaps an unpublished excerpt from Brideshead Revisited or a character study for the work. The story recounts the early years of Ryder, during the First World War, when his mother is killed. Off at boarding school, he is granted a certain sympathy. But the real focus of the story is the pecking order among the boys and the faculty's effect on it. Though three kids are ahead of him (including Ryder) in seniority, O'Malley is chosen to monitor the dorm, because, as the headmaster explains, O'Malley needs discipline. He has less character than the other boys. Ryder is asked to support O'Malley numerous times, both by O'Malley himself and by the teacher. As children (really, teens) refuse to go to bed on time "Tacitor to participate in prayer at the chosen moment, O'Malley is faced with choosing between loyalty to his friends and doing his job, the latter generally being his ultimate decision. But the story does not seem to go beyond that; Ryder is the same kid at the start as at the end, and there doesn't seem to have been any moment of decision or chance to change, which is why this piece ultimately feels less like an independent story to me and more like a descriptive background study.
A long but gorgeous story is "Scott-King's Modern Europe." This piece reminded me a bit of Nabokov's writing. It's about a middle-aged man who teaches classics at a public school, a job that is becoming more obsolete with each passing school year, as fewer students sign up to Greek, Latin, and the classics. Scott-King has taken an interest in an eighteenth-century writer named Bellorius and studies him in his spare time. One day, he receives an invitation from the fictional country of Neutralia, Bellorius's nation, which is to hold a grand festival in the writer's honor. As it turns out, most of the invitees know little of the writer, and as the festivities continue, it becomes clear that the country is in the midst of a civil war of sorts. A scholarly trip to nostalgia turns into a nightmare attempt to escape. Ironically, it is just such escape that moves Scott-King to embrace older times rather than the modern ones.
"Tactical Exercise" is another of Evelyn Waugh's exercises in the clever and macabre. Here, Waugh explains how a couple marries later in life (by mid-twentieth-century standards) and grows to hate one another. Finally, tired, they head off to vacation. Here, the husband plots to kill his wife, setting up rumors about her sleep walking and feeding her drugs, only to find that the circumstances are not as they seem.
"Compassion" reads like a magazine puff piece in parts more than as a story. It is about a military officer who sees his job primarily as one involving military missions but who is slowly won over to aiding displaced Jewish persons in the Yugoslavic areas of Europe as World War II draws to a close. In that conversion, he runs into many a military man who thinks as he once did, and he finds that a lack of success, of being unable to stop suffering, is also a means of learning.
"Love among the Ruins" is a sci-fi story that reads like any other number of works about technologically advanced societies verging on totalitarian: Brave New World and The Clockwork Orange being two that come most readily to mind. Here, people get new faces, get sterilized or have abortions to maintain careers, go through prison reformatory systems, and get free euthanizations by the state because they are bored, bored, bored. Among these people is Mile Plastic, an orphan with a penchant for starting fires who has been sent to prison and reformed. The sole graduate of the program, the state has much interest in touting his successes. But much like the people around, he finds very little meaning to his existence and longs for a return to prison, until love provides something that at least seems real.
"Basil Seal Rides Again" returns to the character of Basil, who figures prominently in the very first story of the collection and who also plays a role in many of Waugh's novels (alas not anything more than a mention in any of the novels that I've read). Here, Basil is concerned about a certain young man named Charles Albright, who seems to be up to no good: he borrows shirts, plays guitar, has little wealth, and so on--in other words, he's like Basil was at an earlier age. The most interesting passages have to do with Basil's going away to a resort to lose weight, however, as his daughter covorts with an unknown suitor. The cruel and self-interested ending, I suppose, is standard behavior for Basil.
The book ends with a collection of Waugh's juvenalia and college stories. The juvenalia supposedly is to show what a genius he was for storytelling at a young age (twelve), but I didn't find the stories all that unusual for a child that age with a literary bent: a heavy emphasis on action, unnecessary details when provided. However, by the age of twenty, Waugh's stories start to take on a certain panache. The start of a novel, while beginning with the cliché of a character waking up, displays a mastery of language and actually reminded me a bit of Brideshead Revisited--lop off the slow beginning, and the tale had potential. "An Essay" is a great display/description of a character with something of a twist at the end. Such stories got me thinking about when/how writers bloom, and I think there's something to be said for the maturing that begins to take shape in the early twenties; arguably, it's possible one doesn't advance much beyond the skills one builds by age twenty-five, assuming some good instruction.
That said, the stories in the section of Waugh's college years, while displaying a better mastery of language than the early juvenalia, often (too often) display an overwhelming interest in killing and murder: something rather common, I found, among writers who are young adults when I taught college English. In "Portrait of a Young Man with Career" the protagonist fantasizes about killing a man who has come to visit with him. "Edward of Unique Achievement" is a rundown of how a college man kills his tutor and gets away with it. "Conspiracy to Murder" is a Poe-like story about a man who goes insane thinking his neighbor wants to kill him. "Unacademic Exercise" is about some sort of ritualistic cannibalism cult.
The collection runs in roughly chronological order starting in 1926, and then has two sections in the back, one of juvenilia and one of college stories. The latter are interesting to read in terms of seeing his development. I've sometimes wondered, reading classic stories from decades before my birth, whether I'd be as unimpressed by the unpublished stuff from the era as I often am by most amateur stories now.
Waugh is not known for being experimental, but the first story in the collection is a foray into that. It feels quite modernist in what it tries to do, which is essentially translate silent film into writing, while also focusing on a couple of audience members. I found it difficult to follow--and unfortunately not interesting enough to really want to try to parse it apart.
From there, we move to more traditional faire. "A House of Gentlefolks" focuses on a man who is hired to be a tutor to an idiot and to accompany him abroad, but once we meet the idiot's parents and family, we have reason to question who in the family is the real dolt.
"The Manager of 'The Kremlin'" is backstory about a man who runs a bar that is reminiscent of Russia. We learn how he was in the army and fell into poverty and the lucky break that got him where he is today. The real power of this story, however, comes in its last line. He's lived a good life, but you come to realize that it is still a life of loss.
The next two stories seem to be somewhat veiled explications of Waugh's first marriage. As such, they are both quite accomplished.
"Love in the Slump" focuses on a marriage between two friends--a couple who decide to try out marriage because they are getting toward the end of their marrying years and haven't found anyone. Alas, one gets the feeling that as companionable as they are, they still act and feel single, which does not bode well for the future.
Just as "Love in the Slump" seems in part a commentary on Waugh's first marriage, so too on some level does this one, "Too Much Tolerance," which is about a very happy man who lets himself be taken advantage of by his business partner, son, and (ex-)wife. But all is good in his book. Something was odd about this piece to me insofar as I didn't really feel bad for the man--perhaps because even though he had much to complain about, he was so happy despite it all. Maybe there's something to being a Penelope.
One of the better tales Waugh tells is "Excursion in Reality"--or perhaps I'm just a sucker for Hollywood stories. In this one, a novelist is recruited to rewrite Hamlet for the motion pictures--but to update it in terms of language. In the process, of course, with studio committees what they are, the play loses much of its actual being. Meanwhile, the novelist's fickle relationship with his girlfriend is put on hold, as he becomes wrapped up in a completely other affair. Methinks Waugh uses the term reality ironically.
"Incident in Azania" draws from the same characters as Waugh's novel Black Mischief. As such, it is in part about colonialism. In this tale, the daughter of a colonial authority comes to live in the colony and is thus the heartswell of most of the other men who have come from overseas. Her presence proves to be very disruptive, until she disappears, as happens in "these kind of places."
"Bella Fleace Gives a Party" is about a ninety-something woman who decides to throw a ball. Not knowing any of her neighbors and rarely leaving her mansion, the venture brings new life to her. There's a certain sadness at the end of the story, with Fleace's seeming lack of success, but Waugh cuts it down by mostly playing it for irony rather than pity. I could see the tale being something truly cry-worthy in the hands of another master.
"Cruise: Letters from a Young Lady of Leisure" is notable mostly for its voice, that of a young girl who falls in and out of love most ficklely, as people are wont to do on overseas cruises to Egypt. One gets the sense she is about twelve, at an age when understanding the viccisitudes of adult relationships is just beginning to don on her.
I must really like dark and twisted stories because one of my favorites in this collection reminds me much of other stories I like so much. "The Man Who Liked Dickens" is in the realm of many of Paul Bowles's stories; it's about a man who goes overseas and finds himself in a situation far beyond what his own cultural understanding will allow him to deal with. It's a kind of kidnapping story, a story about a trap, a story that takes something we usually love and makes it dreary and scary. In a sense, one could read it as a tale about the dangers of illiteracy and about the even greater dangers of cultural illiteracy.
That story also ended up being the ending of Waugh's novel A Handful of Dust. "By Special Request" brings back the characters of Brenda and Tony Last, giving a separate and happier ending to that Waugh's novel. Having just finished the novel a day earlier when I read the story, it was hard for me to read the story as a piece on its own. Rather, I kept putting it into the context of "alternate ending." As an alternate ending, it did not leave the novel with much in the way of gravitas, as Brenda's horrid actions come to be merely a fun and temporal diversion. The story then hints at Tony's conceivable revenge, though one that is hard to fathom given his ultimate loyalty to his wife. Good it is that the other story became the novel's climax.
"Out of Depth" is a science fiction story of sorts, one that plays with ideas related to black magic. The main character meets a magician, wishes nothing to do with him, but then somehow ends up being pulled into his orbit. Said magician hurtles him into a future five hundred years hence in which London society has been turned upside down. We get the sense that some kind of devastating war has taken place and society has been propelled backward centuries in technological innovation.
"Period Piece" is a forgettable tale about woman who in old age has taken up reading novels in zest. When confronted with how they are so "made up" and ridicilous, she goes on a long diatribe about how life was actually "like that" in the old days. It is the diatribe that makes up most of the story.
"On Guard" is an enjoyable romp through the vagaries of love. Milly is a woman whose nose is so beautiful that it attracts many suitors, each of whom she fancies for a short time before spurning. One suitor leaves her a little dog to which she becomes devoted. The dog is to guard her from others suitors so that when this suitor returns, he can marry Milly. The tale is mostly the story of how this dog tries to keep other men away. It has a cruel ending, but in other ways, the story seems a kind of exploration on the way that some people waste their youthful years in flirtatiousness to end up alone once beauty wains.
"Mr. Loveday's Little Outing" is similarly cruel in its ending, with that ending being its seeming main purpose. Years earlier, Loveday was committed to an asylum for a murderous crime. A woman visiting her father notices how seeming sane Mr. Loveday is. In fact, the asylum director says that the man helps out the staff constantly and would greatly miss the man, who has no desire to leave, though he clearly doesn't need to be locked up anymore. So the woman sets about to free the man, who does not wish to leave save to do one little last thing he greatly desires.
"Winner Take All" is another rather cruel story, one that seems to be something of a recurring theme in Waugh's work: of a passive man taken advantage of by others, most especially by women. Here, that man is the second son of a noble family who sees every piece of good fortune that comes his way redirected to his older brother by his ever-dominating and -interfering mom.
Another of the better stories in the collection is "An Englishman's Home." Save for the trick ending, this story is one the riles the emotion and the brain with its discussion of the dynamics of village life and local politics. Mr. Metcalfe owns a small villa that normally includes about sixty-six acres. But he doesn't really need or want the other sixty and so doesn't buy the adjoining farmland. All is fine on his six acres until a developer one day buys the other sixty, putting the entire community at risk of seeing itself changed overnight. Of course, it being land that normally adjoins Metcalfe's property, the community believes Metcalfe should buy the developer out; meanwhile, Metcalfe, who neither needs nor wants the extra sixty acres, thinks the community should bind together to buy the extra land, that he should only pay about one-fifth of the total property. Fights ensue. Selfishness threatens all.
"The Sympathetic Passenger" is a silly short piece about a man who hates radios but whose hate is compromised when he meets yet another man who hates them to a great, insane degree more.
"Work Suspended: Two Chapters from an Unfinished Novel" isn't really a story but rather exactly what it says it is. In another way, it is about the way that war interrupts life, for it is war that essentially draws the novel to its close, suspends it. The novel itself is about a writer of thrillers who is having a hard time writing, having grown tired of formula. This writer also loses his father in an accident, the man who caused the accident becoming something of an acquaintance and a drain. Meanwhile, the writer falls for a married woman named Lucy, the wife of a friend. He builds a new country home. The two spend much time together, but she has a baby and that's where it ends. And also, there is a sycophantic young woman who is in love with the writer and his work who chases him around until she realizes he loves Lucy. It is a rather great start to a book and a shame in some ways to have come to an abrupt end.
Another story that feels more like a work not completed is "Charles Ryder's School Days," perhaps an unpublished excerpt from Brideshead Revisited or a character study for the work. The story recounts the early years of Ryder, during the First World War, when his mother is killed. Off at boarding school, he is granted a certain sympathy. But the real focus of the story is the pecking order among the boys and the faculty's effect on it. Though three kids are ahead of him (including Ryder) in seniority, O'Malley is chosen to monitor the dorm, because, as the headmaster explains, O'Malley needs discipline. He has less character than the other boys. Ryder is asked to support O'Malley numerous times, both by O'Malley himself and by the teacher. As children (really, teens) refuse to go to bed on time "Tacitor to participate in prayer at the chosen moment, O'Malley is faced with choosing between loyalty to his friends and doing his job, the latter generally being his ultimate decision. But the story does not seem to go beyond that; Ryder is the same kid at the start as at the end, and there doesn't seem to have been any moment of decision or chance to change, which is why this piece ultimately feels less like an independent story to me and more like a descriptive background study.
A long but gorgeous story is "Scott-King's Modern Europe." This piece reminded me a bit of Nabokov's writing. It's about a middle-aged man who teaches classics at a public school, a job that is becoming more obsolete with each passing school year, as fewer students sign up to Greek, Latin, and the classics. Scott-King has taken an interest in an eighteenth-century writer named Bellorius and studies him in his spare time. One day, he receives an invitation from the fictional country of Neutralia, Bellorius's nation, which is to hold a grand festival in the writer's honor. As it turns out, most of the invitees know little of the writer, and as the festivities continue, it becomes clear that the country is in the midst of a civil war of sorts. A scholarly trip to nostalgia turns into a nightmare attempt to escape. Ironically, it is just such escape that moves Scott-King to embrace older times rather than the modern ones.
"Tactical Exercise" is another of Evelyn Waugh's exercises in the clever and macabre. Here, Waugh explains how a couple marries later in life (by mid-twentieth-century standards) and grows to hate one another. Finally, tired, they head off to vacation. Here, the husband plots to kill his wife, setting up rumors about her sleep walking and feeding her drugs, only to find that the circumstances are not as they seem.
"Compassion" reads like a magazine puff piece in parts more than as a story. It is about a military officer who sees his job primarily as one involving military missions but who is slowly won over to aiding displaced Jewish persons in the Yugoslavic areas of Europe as World War II draws to a close. In that conversion, he runs into many a military man who thinks as he once did, and he finds that a lack of success, of being unable to stop suffering, is also a means of learning.
"Love among the Ruins" is a sci-fi story that reads like any other number of works about technologically advanced societies verging on totalitarian: Brave New World and The Clockwork Orange being two that come most readily to mind. Here, people get new faces, get sterilized or have abortions to maintain careers, go through prison reformatory systems, and get free euthanizations by the state because they are bored, bored, bored. Among these people is Mile Plastic, an orphan with a penchant for starting fires who has been sent to prison and reformed. The sole graduate of the program, the state has much interest in touting his successes. But much like the people around, he finds very little meaning to his existence and longs for a return to prison, until love provides something that at least seems real.
"Basil Seal Rides Again" returns to the character of Basil, who figures prominently in the very first story of the collection and who also plays a role in many of Waugh's novels (alas not anything more than a mention in any of the novels that I've read). Here, Basil is concerned about a certain young man named Charles Albright, who seems to be up to no good: he borrows shirts, plays guitar, has little wealth, and so on--in other words, he's like Basil was at an earlier age. The most interesting passages have to do with Basil's going away to a resort to lose weight, however, as his daughter covorts with an unknown suitor. The cruel and self-interested ending, I suppose, is standard behavior for Basil.
The book ends with a collection of Waugh's juvenalia and college stories. The juvenalia supposedly is to show what a genius he was for storytelling at a young age (twelve), but I didn't find the stories all that unusual for a child that age with a literary bent: a heavy emphasis on action, unnecessary details when provided. However, by the age of twenty, Waugh's stories start to take on a certain panache. The start of a novel, while beginning with the cliché of a character waking up, displays a mastery of language and actually reminded me a bit of Brideshead Revisited--lop off the slow beginning, and the tale had potential. "An Essay" is a great display/description of a character with something of a twist at the end. Such stories got me thinking about when/how writers bloom, and I think there's something to be said for the maturing that begins to take shape in the early twenties; arguably, it's possible one doesn't advance much beyond the skills one builds by age twenty-five, assuming some good instruction.
That said, the stories in the section of Waugh's college years, while displaying a better mastery of language than the early juvenalia, often (too often) display an overwhelming interest in killing and murder: something rather common, I found, among writers who are young adults when I taught college English. In "Portrait of a Young Man with Career" the protagonist fantasizes about killing a man who has come to visit with him. "Edward of Unique Achievement" is a rundown of how a college man kills his tutor and gets away with it. "Conspiracy to Murder" is a Poe-like story about a man who goes insane thinking his neighbor wants to kill him. "Unacademic Exercise" is about some sort of ritualistic cannibalism cult.
August 7, 2011
Well - now I've finished -- better than I had expected, and a very wide range: from surprisingly poignant and sad to quite "out-there" (Love Among the Ruins is an amazing story!). Quite good and I recommend it.
just trying this out - Waugh's work in this form isn't as well as the novella/novels - about 1/2 way through - I'm finding these wry and intelligent, gently pointing out foibles and the ridiculous in the upper-class's attitudes about all others - very nicely wrought and efficient, compact prose - no wasted words here
just trying this out - Waugh's work in this form isn't as well as the novella/novels - about 1/2 way through - I'm finding these wry and intelligent, gently pointing out foibles and the ridiculous in the upper-class's attitudes about all others - very nicely wrought and efficient, compact prose - no wasted words here
July 9, 2008
What can you say about Evelyn Waugh except, except....there are always going to be people who think he's a woman.
Next on to "The Loved One."
Next on to "The Loved One."
July 5, 2009
While I am loving Evelyn Waugh's short stories almost almost almost as much as Edith Wharton's (same initials - coincidence?), there is something to the despairing nature of them that hits me a little lower below the belt. Perhaps it is the fact that it has been raining incessantly here in Boston, but after some of the stories I just set the book aside and stare into space for a couple of minutes before I go on. Other than that, Waugh is delightful in every way. His characters are alternately vapid and faux-serious or thoughtful and serious, as an good jazz-age/wartime/post-war writer's ought to be. Despair aside, I have been utterly immersed in Waugh's stories for the past few days and cannot tear myself away. . . but it's beginning to feel like I am watching a spectacular car wreck.
October 9, 2008
Most of the complete stories are brilliant, of course. It's amazing how well he mingled deep misery and hilarity: most of these pieces make you laugh while you're reading, then afterwards you feel extremely sad. I'm rating it only three stars simply because at least half of the book is unfinished work or juvenilia, and as a result it was a bit of a chore to finish.
June 12, 2018
with an archaeological brush, one can unearth the remnants of an ancestor of Hitchens .
January 3, 2022
Es un magnífico libro de colección para releer una y otra vez a Evelyn Waugh.
No todos los cuentos son excepcionales, claro, pero la genialidad del autor aflora en las páginas. La edición cuenta con una la lista separada de textos de sus épocas de estudiante, lo que permite identificar el contexto de algunas lecturas, aunque omite otras referencias cronológicas que podrían ser útiles. Por otra parte, incluye textos inacabados muy interesantes: baste citar el breve "Fragmento de una novela", precedido por una auto dedicatoria llena de simpática ironía.
El muy británico humor de Waugh es satírico y a veces oscuro. A mi entender, practica el mejor humor posible cuando describe aquello que conoce y la sociedad a la que pertenece. Su análisis de costumbres, identidades de clase y relaciones es punzante y sin excusas. La empatía, como en el caso de personajes femeninos o extranjeros, sería en él un ejercicio insincero. Cruel e imparcial, no deja de ser divertido.
La amplitud de escritos permite ver el grado de impacto real de una época y sus cambios sobre la mentalidad de las personas, como los momentos en los que Waugh se mantiene bastante fiel al dandi de principios de siglo XX o cuando la vida de sujetos que pasaron la guerra no solo gira en torno a la guerra. Pero, por otra parte, el autor también es capaz de un relato distópico que se adelanta a La naranja mecánica.
Finalmente, cabe aclarar que no todo es una mueca sonriente en esta compilación. Como el autor nos advierte en una última ironía:
"Incluso para la Musa de la Comedia, la inquieta callejera, [...] hasta para ella existen lugares prohibidos".
No todos los cuentos son excepcionales, claro, pero la genialidad del autor aflora en las páginas. La edición cuenta con una la lista separada de textos de sus épocas de estudiante, lo que permite identificar el contexto de algunas lecturas, aunque omite otras referencias cronológicas que podrían ser útiles. Por otra parte, incluye textos inacabados muy interesantes: baste citar el breve "Fragmento de una novela", precedido por una auto dedicatoria llena de simpática ironía.
El muy británico humor de Waugh es satírico y a veces oscuro. A mi entender, practica el mejor humor posible cuando describe aquello que conoce y la sociedad a la que pertenece. Su análisis de costumbres, identidades de clase y relaciones es punzante y sin excusas. La empatía, como en el caso de personajes femeninos o extranjeros, sería en él un ejercicio insincero. Cruel e imparcial, no deja de ser divertido.
La amplitud de escritos permite ver el grado de impacto real de una época y sus cambios sobre la mentalidad de las personas, como los momentos en los que Waugh se mantiene bastante fiel al dandi de principios de siglo XX o cuando la vida de sujetos que pasaron la guerra no solo gira en torno a la guerra. Pero, por otra parte, el autor también es capaz de un relato distópico que se adelanta a La naranja mecánica.
Finalmente, cabe aclarar que no todo es una mueca sonriente en esta compilación. Como el autor nos advierte en una última ironía:
"Incluso para la Musa de la Comedia, la inquieta callejera, [...] hasta para ella existen lugares prohibidos".
February 27, 2021
As one might expect, in complete stories there's both great and forgettable stories. His humorous one stood out to me as especially well done, while his more serious ones lack the depth of characters he has time to develop in his novels.
February 19, 2022
It would have been better to read this than listen to it. Excellent writing. I was so disappointed with the stories that weren’t finished. They ended and I would be left wanting to know what happened next!
May 18, 2022
Waugh is a very good storyteller. These short stories are very random, but fun to read.
April 7, 2019
A remarkable collection of stories. Some are shocking and amusing. I esp like the story about the cousins who marry and then the twist at the end.
June 28, 2018
I just opened this edition of Evelyn Waugh’s The Complete Stories, and read for the second time “The Man Who Liked Dickens.” I had read this story over two score years ago, when I was a teenager. I liked it then; I like it now. This 1933 effort is a sly, light horrific-comical tale . . . or would that be comical-horrific?
However Polonius might categorize it, it is quite good. So good that Waugh could not leave well enough alone, treating the tale as the seed for his next novel, A Handful of Dust (1934). I have that book in an old paperback, and will read the story in full some day, though probably not in paperback form. I am old enough — my eyes are old enough, anyway — to prefer larger books, books like the hefty hardcover at hand.
I wonder how long it will be before I finish the book, if ever I manage that feat. I often treat story collections as if I were in no hurry, as if they were best suited for the occasional comfort of Methuselah.
However Polonius might categorize it, it is quite good. So good that Waugh could not leave well enough alone, treating the tale as the seed for his next novel, A Handful of Dust (1934). I have that book in an old paperback, and will read the story in full some day, though probably not in paperback form. I am old enough — my eyes are old enough, anyway — to prefer larger books, books like the hefty hardcover at hand.
I wonder how long it will be before I finish the book, if ever I manage that feat. I often treat story collections as if I were in no hurry, as if they were best suited for the occasional comfort of Methuselah.
May 12, 2012
"It seems to me sometimes that Nature, like a lazy author, will round off abruptly into a short story what she obviously intended to be the opening of a novel."
So writes Evelyn Waugh at the start of part 4 of "A House of Gentlefolks", one of many short stories in this wonderful book that do just that, finishing the story but leaving the reader knowing there could be much much more. Clearly Waugh had many many ideas and as this is the first writing of his that I've read I've no experience to say if he was as successful in those he chose to expand as it seems from these stories and sketches that he would have been in the longer form. However, as he was apparently highly regarded in English Literature I'm sure I would love his books as much as I loved many of these stories.
Unlike my complaint to more modern short stories, these are not on the whole about terrible people and terrible circumstances though some, of course, are. I enjoyed the different glimpses into different types of English life and to personalities in general that this book shows. I didn't love every story, but some I really really enjoyed and at the worst of it I found some to be quite tolerable.
Overall I'd recommend this book to any who like short stories, who like history, who like studies in humanity, etc.... A nice companion to Roald Dahl's short stories in that they examine the little quirks of humanity but these are not quite as morbid as Dahl's on the whole.
Funny to de-romanticize history a bit and realize once again that the all the faults of human character we today say are representative of the degradation of youth are actually the same faults that have existed for as long as stories have been written, and therefore probably forever. People are people, no matter what age they live in.
So writes Evelyn Waugh at the start of part 4 of "A House of Gentlefolks", one of many short stories in this wonderful book that do just that, finishing the story but leaving the reader knowing there could be much much more. Clearly Waugh had many many ideas and as this is the first writing of his that I've read I've no experience to say if he was as successful in those he chose to expand as it seems from these stories and sketches that he would have been in the longer form. However, as he was apparently highly regarded in English Literature I'm sure I would love his books as much as I loved many of these stories.
Unlike my complaint to more modern short stories, these are not on the whole about terrible people and terrible circumstances though some, of course, are. I enjoyed the different glimpses into different types of English life and to personalities in general that this book shows. I didn't love every story, but some I really really enjoyed and at the worst of it I found some to be quite tolerable.
Overall I'd recommend this book to any who like short stories, who like history, who like studies in humanity, etc.... A nice companion to Roald Dahl's short stories in that they examine the little quirks of humanity but these are not quite as morbid as Dahl's on the whole.
Funny to de-romanticize history a bit and realize once again that the all the faults of human character we today say are representative of the degradation of youth are actually the same faults that have existed for as long as stories have been written, and therefore probably forever. People are people, no matter what age they live in.
March 19, 2013
Loved a Handful of Dust and Evelyn Waugh delivers the same biting wit through these stories. I love the juxtaposition of serious story line with awkward British humor. Of note are "The Man Who Liked Dickens" an alternative and darker ending to a Handful of Dust; the two stories comprising the unfinished novel Work Suspended (interesting because the main character of both is an author who has writers block, so I wonder if the unfinished novel is intensional); the sad "Bella Fleace Gives a Party"; the dark and comically twisted "Tactical Exercise"; and the cunning "Basil Seal Rides Again."
I love that this collection includes stories that Waugh wrote in childhood and adolescence. One can see development of his writing style and plots as he ages. Because these early works are included, I wish that the works included in this collection were presented by writing time, so that you can really see the evolution of a wonderful writer. I found myself smiling as I was reading the stories of this gifted writer.
I love that this collection includes stories that Waugh wrote in childhood and adolescence. One can see development of his writing style and plots as he ages. Because these early works are included, I wish that the works included in this collection were presented by writing time, so that you can really see the evolution of a wonderful writer. I found myself smiling as I was reading the stories of this gifted writer.
July 15, 2014
4.5
I enjoyed most of the stories. The school ones were probably my least favorite just because I don't understand the English school system, but that's not Waugh's fault. The juvenilia was okay, the Oxford stories better. The adult stories were the best, but with a few misses. I really enjoyed "Bella Fleace", "Winner Takes All", "Cruise", and the one about the dog (I'm blanking on the title). I also really enjoyed all the ones with married couples, just because he does them so amusingly. Great collection overall.
I enjoyed most of the stories. The school ones were probably my least favorite just because I don't understand the English school system, but that's not Waugh's fault. The juvenilia was okay, the Oxford stories better. The adult stories were the best, but with a few misses. I really enjoyed "Bella Fleace", "Winner Takes All", "Cruise", and the one about the dog (I'm blanking on the title). I also really enjoyed all the ones with married couples, just because he does them so amusingly. Great collection overall.
May 19, 2023
A very enjoyable read which I am prevented from giving five stars because the longer stories are just not very interesting and they comprise almost a third of the book.
The other stories are polished, with a glassy surface. Cleverly written, they can be witty and bitingly satirical but they rarely penetrate in an emotional way. An exception is “Compassion”, which invites an empathy that is not purely intellectual, but makes me feel, along with the protagonist, sick to my stomach. As fine a story as you will ever read.
The other stories are polished, with a glassy surface. Cleverly written, they can be witty and bitingly satirical but they rarely penetrate in an emotional way. An exception is “Compassion”, which invites an empathy that is not purely intellectual, but makes me feel, along with the protagonist, sick to my stomach. As fine a story as you will ever read.
February 3, 2010
I didn't read all of these short stories. As is evidence by how long this has been on my currently-reading list, it wasn't a page turner. I initially picked up this book because I wanted to read "The Man Who Loves Dickens", which I really liked. I only read one or two more. They were okay, but not my favorite.
March 9, 2011
Hmm I should have started with his novels. I didn't get a couple of the short stories as you needed to have read the novels to appreciate them. However there were a few stories in there that made me laugh out loud, my favourite being 'Cruise' which was a series of letters written by a 'young lady of leisure'. I also particularly enjoyed 'Mr Loveday's Little Outing' and 'Love Among the Ruins.'
December 12, 2013
Well written, enjoyable stories. Evocative without violence or too too much frivolity. Little twisted twists, and not strenuous. But, the thing is, though some stories were quite effective (and disturbing) it didn't grab me on the whole, and I won't soon be looking for more from this author - just OK on the whole.
February 3, 2016
Just finished reading a story that takes the piss out of Aleister Crowley. This is significant in that I thought Maugham was the only major author who hated Crowley (see "The Magician"), but apparently Waugh thought Mr. Crowley was a big, fat wanker, tosser, shmendrick, insert your own favorite word here. Mister Macabre was quite a figure of fun in his time. I'll bet Hemingway hated him, too.
July 26, 2014
Another one for the Modernist in me.
Aptly described by the guy who reads to me in bed as "England's Fitzgerald," Waugh's short stories skip lightly to a usually grim end.
Aptly described by the guy who reads to me in bed as "England's Fitzgerald," Waugh's short stories skip lightly to a usually grim end.
August 20, 2007
Oh my Evelyn
read-some
January 22, 2008Wodehouse with a heavy heart or Fitzgerald with a light one?
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