… available at last. Marvelous!!
One quote of many:
I clearly canât make myself understood. There is no such thing as a man in the street. There is no ordinary run of mankind, there are only individuals who are totally different. And whether a man is naked and black and stands on one foot in Sudan or is clothed in some kind of costume in a bus in England, they are still individuals of entirely different characters.
He is asked what faults he would excuse in others. He replies:
“Drunkenness.” Any others? “Em [long pause] … anger. Lust. Dishonouring their father and mother. Coveting their neighbour’s ox, ass, wife. Killing. I think there’s almost nothing I can’t excuse except perhaps worshipping graven images. That seems to be idiotic.”
I ADORE him. I still count reading Scoop as one of the funnest (and funniest) reading experiences I have ever had. I remember sitting on the bus, going home, surrounded by people, and I started snorting, tears of laughter streaming – yes, streaming! – down my face, and I could no longer see the page and had to put the book down for a bit, to just guffaw like a maniac, all by myself.
From Baroque in Hackney.
Speaking of Evelyn Waugh, here is Ted’s review of Bright Young Things.
Yeah, I read Scoop on your recommendation and loved it. But after those quotes? I’m in LOVE.
hey – Thanks!! Have you seen it? If so, what were your thoughts about it?
No, I haven’t seen it. I remember you talking about it when it first came out! It’s on my Netflix queue – I love all those actors, too.
Emily – I know, right? He just could NOT be polite with such stupid irritating questions.
I have to read more of his stuff. I’ve only read Scoop – and that was because of a review in The Atlantic from Christopher Hitchens – I had to pick it up immediately!
I just love how openly irritated he is. And articulate!
I LOVED Scoop. Has anyone here read anything else by Waugh? I have Brideshead Revisisted on my list for this year, but I’m wondering if his other books are as funny as Scoop.
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