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Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder
 
 
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Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder [Kindle Edition]

Evelyn Waugh (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews) |
Print List Price: £8.99
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Review

"Waugh's most deeply felt novel . . . "Brideshead Revisited "tells an absorbing story in imaginative terms . . . Mr. Waugh is very definitely an artist, with something like a genius for precision and clarity not surpassed by any novelist writing in English in his time." -"New York Times"
"A many-faceted book . . . Beautifully [written] by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time." -"Newsweek"
"First and last an enchanting story . . . "Brideshead Revisited" has a magic that is rare in current literature. It is a world in itself, and the reader lives in it and is loath to leave it when the last page is turned." -"Saturday Review"
"Evelyn Waugh's most successful novel . . . A memorable work of art."
-from the Introduction by Frank Kermode

The New York Times

"Waugh's most deeply felt novel . . . Brideshead Revisited tells an absorbing story in imaginative terms . . . Mr. Waugh is very definitely an artist, with something like a genius for precision and clarity not surpassed by any novelist writing in English in his time."
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 539 KB
  • Print Length: 370 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0316926345
  • Publisher: Odyssey Editions (21 July 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B003MQNENY
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #6,595 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Evelyn Waugh
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Forgive the flippancy of the title, as this is, without a doubt the greatest novel I have ever read. The central theme is that of stringent religious values and breaking away from, or returning to them. I am an extremely committed atheist and Waugh was a fervent Roman Catholic. This surely proves Waughs sublime vision, insight and, above all, his splendidly non-preachy way of writing. Beyond that, it is one of the greatest love stories ever written. We may not mention Ryder and Flyte in the same breath as Rmeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, or Dido and Aeneas, but as a study in humanity (in my humble opinion) they exceed them all. The sheer beauty of Waugh's prose which is, at times, scarcely believable (see 'A blow, expected, repeated, falling on a bruise') is coupled with the outright hilarity of many passages (see the Belgian who feels as if it is his duty to oppose the lower classes everywhere). Amazon also sells (at a rather decent price) the 1981 BBC adaptation of the novel, starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, which is unusual in that it is faithful to the letter and the spirit of the novel, and is really rather splendid. The novel, however, remains a towering acheivement, a heart-rending tale of loss and rejection, as well as acceptance and redemption. The finest novel of the Twentieth Century. You owe it to yourself to read it.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By Omar Sabbagh VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This is Waugh at his most lyrical and sentimental. At times reminiscent of another post war writer, Lawrence Durrell, especially in the final love scenes. Charles Ryder, the narrator, stresses that it is memory and the past that is the novel's central theme. And there is a definite sense, from the first paragraph onwards, that the passage of time and the effects of change and growth in the human personality is what is being dealt with throughout. And yet, ultimately it is the catholic aspect of the novel that resonates loudest. A close reader of the novel will note that happiness, equivalent to being at peace, is the prime issue of this novel. All the characters, in this most subjective and romantic of Waugh's novels, are struggling with themselves to achieve peace of mind, including the narrator himself. There is the dissipated Sebastian, a holy character, beset by guilt. His sister Julia, living in sin, yet still drawn back finally by that thread of religion sown into her in her childhood. The narrator himself, whose intense relationship with the Flyte family eventually lead him to the Faith. And of course the relapsed catholic, Lord Marchmain, who returns to his faith very movingly on his deathbed. For all the sensual richness and lushness of the surroundings, this is, curiously, a pious novel. A timeless classic, accessible and stylish at the same time, this is one of my favourite novels of the twentieth century. A must read for those interested in the last days of the English aristocracy, and of course for those interested in a tale of passion and essential humanity. A landmark in the literature of the twentieth century! Read it!
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56 of 59 people found the following review helpful
By Mary Whipple HALL OF FAME TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Published in 1945, this novel, which Waugh himself sometimes referred to as his "magnum opus," was originally entitled "Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder." The subtitle is important, as it casts light on the themes--the sacred grace and love from God, especially as interpreted by the Catholic church, vs. the secular or profane love as seen in sex and romantic relationships. The tension between these two views of love--and the concept of "sin"--underlie all the action which takes place during the twenty years of the novel and its flashbacks.

When the novel opens at the end of World War II, Capt. Charles Ryder and his troops, looking for a billet, have just arrived at Brideshead, the now-dilapidated family castle belonging to Lord Marchmain, a place where Charles Ryder stayed for an extended period just after World War I, the home of his best friend from Oxford, Lord Sebastian Flyte. The story of his relationship with Sebastian, a man who has rejected the Catholicism imposed on him by his devout mother, occupies the first part of the book. Sebastian, an odd person who carries his teddy bear Aloysius everywhere he goes, tries to escape his upbringing and religious obligations through alcohol. Charles feels responsible for Sebastian's welfare, and though there is no mention of any homosexual relationship, Charles does say that it is this relationship which first teaches him about the depths of love.

The second part begins when Charles separates from the Flytes and his own family and goes to Paris to study painting. An architectural painter, Charles marries and has a family over the next years. A chance meeting on shipboard with Julia, Sebastian's married sister, brings him back into the circle of the Flyte family with all their religious challenges. Three of the four Flyte children have tried to escape their religious backgrounds, and this part of the novel traces the extent to which they have or have not succeeded in finding peace in the secular world. "No one is ever holy without suffering," he believes.

Dealing with religious and secular love, Heaven and Hell, the concepts of sin and judgment, and the guilt and punishments one imposes on oneself, the novel also illustrates the changes in British society after World War II. The role of the aristocracy is less important, the middle class is rising, and in the aftermath of war, all are searching for values. A full novel with characters who actively search for philosophical or religious meaning while they also search for romantic love, Brideshead Revisited is complex and thoughtfully constructed, an intellectual novel filled with personal and family tragedies--and, some would say, their triumphs. Mary Whipple
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brideshead remains my number one
I've read it a dozen times and own a couple of hard copies but the temptation to dip into Brideshead on the train or on holiday whenever the mood takes me was irresistable. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Walsingham
Didn't live up to my high expectations
Brideshead Revisited, or rather Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred And Profane Memories Of Captain Charles Ryder to give it is proper title is a known "classic". Read more
Published 18 days ago by R. A. Davison
ONE OF ENGLAND'S FINEST
I have watched the series at least 5 times - the whole way through - start to finish. My first time was in 1987 when I was going through a particularly difficult phase of my life -... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rocke Harder
Beautifully written, short of impact
Picking up this book, horribly ignorant of its content and its status within modern literature, I quickly found myself lapping up the pages, all the while gripped by Evelyn Waugh's... Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. L. Gillgan
Great novel
A very evocative story .....could not put the book down.After watching parts of the series and the recent film one cannot but go for the book !
Published 4 months ago by Elsa Gatt
Elegy
I had meant to read this book for years but hadn't managed it. I felt like I knew it already from the ITV serial made in the 1980s which captivated me and follows the book almost... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Pinlet
Brideshead Revisited in Five Easy Steps
Five Points About This Book Which I Thought Of And Wrote:

1. The Characters

The novel opens as Captain Charles Ryder, after stumbling across a stately home in... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Roshizzle
A contender for the finest novel ever written in the English language.
By the wildest of co-incidences an army officer (Charles Ryder) finds himself finds himself billeted at a large ancestral home (Brideshead) which was pivotal to his personal and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peter H
Waugh - sacred and profane
SAFE READING - NO SPOILERS

One of Waugh's best known and loved books. If content information is required, look at other reviews. Read more
Published 8 months ago by RR Waller
Appeasing reverence
The eponymous 1980s television series makes this Waugh's most famous novel, and inevitably influences how readers approach and register its narrative. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Robert Cordner
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
These memories, which are my lifefor we possess nothing certainly except the pastwere always with me. &quote;
Highlighted by 59 Kindle users
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Sometimes, said Julia, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that theres no room for the present at all. &quote;
Highlighted by 54 Kindle users
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I should like to bury something precious in every place where Ive been happy and then, when I was old and ugly and miserable, I could come back and dig it up and remember. &quote;
Highlighted by 51 Kindle users

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