11.19.05
Brideshead Revisited: First Post
Well, I finished the awful Knights of the Silver Dragon book and just had to read something I *knew* was really good. So I picked up “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh. It’s a really good book. I’m constantly amazed by the way Waugh used language. It’s exquisite. The books sounds so wonderful that I can’t help but read it out loud! The words flow so beautifully. They have a wonderful, flowing elegance, but they also have a very casual movement to them, as though the author spoke that way and thinks nothing of it. I don’t know much about Waugh and haven’t read any of his other books, so I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do love the way this books sounds. Michael thinks I’m kind of crazy, but he hasn’t stopped to listen to me reading, so he doesn’t understand.
This book also has Aloysious, one of my favorite literary teddy bears ever. He’s right up there with Winnie-the-Pooh and Paddington Bear. He also reminds me a great deal of my own teddy bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy. They share many personality traits. I just think the inclusion of Aloysious in the book is wonderful. He adds a whole new dimension to the story and to Sebastian’s part of the story in particular.
This book is wonderful. I’m only one chapter (and the prologue) in, but the magic is already reweaving itself in my mind. The description of the house and of Sebastian’s lunch party have made me remember exactly why I loved this book! It’s just so wonderful! A work of art.