A Handful of Dust Audiobook By Evelyn Waugh cover art

A Handful of Dust

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A Handful of Dust

By: Evelyn Waugh
Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
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Evelyn Waugh's 1934 novel is a bitingly funny vision of aristocratic decadence in England between the wars. It tells the story of Tony Last, who, to the irritation of his wife, is inordinately obsessed with his Victorian Gothic country house and life. When Lady Brenda Last embarks on an affair with the worthless John Beaver out of boredom with her husband, she sets in motion a sequence of tragicomic disasters that reveal Waugh at his most scathing.

The action is set in the brittle social world recognizable from Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies, darkened and deepened by Waugh's own experience of sexual betrayal. As Tony is driven by the urbane savagery of this world to seek solace in the wilds of the Brazilian jungle, A Handful of Dust demonstrates the incomparably brilliant and wicked wit of one of the 20th century's most accomplished novelists.

©1962 Evelyn Waugh (P)2012 Hachette Audio Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Marriage Comedy Funny England Witty
Dark Humor • Unexpected Narrative • Creative Tale • Social Commentary • Emotional Delivery • Hilarious Performance
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This is the 2nd book I’ve read by E. Waugh. The first book was Brideshead Revisited which I enjoyed from start to finish . A Handful of Dust is rich in not very likable characters who are beyond redemption. The story is abundantly sarcastic and cleverly funny in a dark way.

Bitingly Engaging!

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This book takes quite a bit of time to get going, but finally becomes worth the slog. The first 1/3 of the book is very English aristocrat society with a bunch of setup and with classically stilted and mostly uninteresting characters. Then the cucumber sandwiches hit the fan and the story suddenly becomes an unexpectedly human story.

Many (if not most) readers may not appreciate this book. It starts unbelievably slowly, then becomes a subtly dark, subtly satirical, subtly futile, subtly sad story. Notice there is a lot of subtly in there.

This is not an overtly funny book, but I laughed out loud a number of times, but these were dark, almost guilt inducing, laughs (the “why did I laugh at that, that’s not funny” kind of laugh). The humor is highly contextual, elusive, and mixed with futility and disillusionment.

I ended up liking this book quite a bit, but it is not something I would read again soon. The narration is really completely OK but not outstanding in any way and some of the voices are too characterized for my taste.

Slow Start then Subtle

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It took a couple of chapters for me to warm up to this story, but then the narrative went in some unexpected ways and I very much enjoyed it. It’s like a British Great Gatsby but also the heart of darkness?

Interesting story

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Evelyn Waugh is a wonderful English writer. Please read his works and enjoy! You won't be disappointed.

A beautiful novel.

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Narration was spectacular, was like listening to a play onstage - made the funny parts hilarious.

The Consequences of Escaping Ennui

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A great book especially after finishing Father and Sons. I just loved it to the very end

A handful of dust

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A brilliantly written decomposition of a marriage. It irrevocably makes you sympathise with the unfortunate husband and the question arises whether boredom with a dull spouse is a good enough reason to set in motion the mechanics that without exception produce calamity and affliction. In my view, Brenda Last is an Anna Karenina unpunished. While poor Tony accumulates most of the bad luck from the broken marriage which he had not enough spirit to prevent from falling apart, she manages to keep the water from ever really entering her boat.

Wonderful and sad at the same time

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What other book might you compare A Handful of Dust to and why?

What would my summers be without the intelligent froth provided by Waugh and Nancy Mitford? Waugh is deeper, of course, but I love both. This is a very good satire. Wow, Waugh is damningly critical of British society.

What about Andrew Sachs’s performance did you like?

Is this the same man who read Waugh's Decline and Fall? He does a very good job.

Hurrah for Waugh and Mitford

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Andrew Sachs gives a stellar narration. (For those who don’t know, he’s Manuel from Fawlty Towers!)

Excellent Narration

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Tony and Brenda Last, well endowed with legacy, are the best of cultivated English aristocracy. That is until Brenda's inexplicable affair with the annoying and feckless John Beaver, fostered by the same suave aristocratic society, immolates the marriage. Tony, abashed by the hypocritical divorce proceeding, decided to take a life changing Amazon exploration where he received more than he bargained for. Handful of Dust is layered with comical cynicism, while its core lay bare the face of human decadence.

Saterical treatment of human decadence

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