I had only read Brideshead Revisited from Waugh before and I didn’t know he could be funny or quite so mean. The Loved One is a satire on British expats in Hollywood and that particular American funeral institution, Forest Lawn, called Whispering Glades in the book. Seriously, google the original Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. You will see that Waugh did not have to add too many fictional touches to make his version of the cemetery and mortuary over-the-top and tacky.
No one comes off well in The Loved One. It is about a washed-up expat Englishman, Dennis Barlow, who used to write for Hollywood but now works at a funeral home for pets called The Happier Hunting Ground. Through circumstances Dennis meets Aimée Thanatogenos (very Dickensien, that name!), who works as a cosmetologist at Whispering Glades. Aimee began as a beautician for living people but has found her métier in the mortuary field. The beautiful Aimee is pursued by Dennis, who plagiarizes classic poets to woo her, as well as by Mr. Lovejoy, the head embalmer at Whispering Glades, who makes the corpses she works on smile in a special way, just for her. Icky, right? If you like your humor dark, dry and a little morbid, The Loved One might be for you. I laughed out loud many times. And certainly it is miles apart from the much longer and more serious Brideshead Revisited. I still have to read A Handful of Dust and Scoop from Evelyn Waugh and now I really don’t know what to expect but am looking forward to them for that very reason!
Glad this one made you laugh! Have you chosen (or read) your classic from Africa, Asia or Oceania yet? Because I haven't and I'd love some suggestions. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Lark! I think for my classic from Africa, Asia or Oceania I will go with Australia and read either My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin or Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge. BUT for you, if you haven't read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, you might try it. Its short and from an Nigerian author and would "feed two birds with one scone" (as PETA encourages us now to say) since it would fit your Africa challenge too.
DeleteI haven't read Things Fall Apart yet. That's a really good idea. Thanks! :)
DeleteHi Ruthiella, I have never read Evelyn Waugh but I did see Brideshead Revisited the miniseries. It is dark which is why I too am suprised by The Loved One being a funny novel and I would like to give it a try. The Happier Hunting Ground, a funeral home for pets, I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Kathy! I also saw the Brideshead Revisited miniseries back in the day. It is what inspired me to read the book actually. But The Loved One could not be more different! :D
DeleteIcky, indeed, but very funny, too! I read Brideshead Revisited in the first semester of my senior year in college, for a class "Religion in Literature." I also saw the miniseries, but thought that it was not faithful to the book, but then what is, really? You have done extremely well with your reviews for The Classics Challenge. You must be nearly done, am I right?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Judith! It's been so long since I read Brideshead and seen the miniseries...I can't remember how faithful it was. You are right, adaptations are a bit tricky. I still have four more books to read if I am going to successfully read for all 12 categories.
DeleteIt's been forever since I read this but it was too dark for me at the time at least. I remember not warming up to it. Scoop is more like this one than Brideshead Revisited, I'd say, though it doesn't have the creepiness factor.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment reese! It's pretty dark I say. There isn't really any character with redeeming qualities. I look forward to reading Scoop to see how it compares.
DeleteDark, but laugh out loud--I'm interested! The idea of the competition of Dennis and the Head Embalmer for the affections of the corpse beautician also intrigues. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment jenclair! It is a very odd little book. If you read it I hope its dark humor appeals to you. :D
DeleteInteresting. Sounds like a book I would enjoy. I have yet to read Brideshead.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Silvia! Brideshead Revisited is certainly his better known work. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on either work if you read them. :D
Delete"Thanatogenos" is Greek for "deadly." I read this comic novel in the Seventies when I was a teenager, the perfect age to appreciate really twisted humor. How the Head Embalmer tried to impress the corpse beautician is still with me today. Hilarious but warped!
ReplyDeleteRe Brideshead - for me, there's a hole in the middle of that novel: why Seb takes to the bottle was never clear to me.
Thanks for the comment Major! Yes, Aimee's name (though I had to look it up) was funny. It has been too long since I read Brideshead to remember plot details. I should re-read it. But I thought Sebastian was damaged somehow from his childhood? And probably had a genetic predisposition to alcoholism...maybe.
DeleteI've only read Brideshead by Waugh, and really liked it, but this sounds very intriguing. Another bump up on the TBR. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Joseph. I have since read A Handful of Dust by Waugh and it too was miles from Brideshead in terms of tone. It was more like The Loved One - satirical and very sharp-edged.
Delete