Vile Bodies (Penguin Modern Classics)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The Bright Young Things of 1920s Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade, whether it is promiscuity, dancing, cocktail parties or sports cars. A vivid assortment of characters, among them the struggling writer Adam Fenwick-Symes and the glamorous, aristocratic Nina Blount, hunt fast and furiously for ever greater sensations and the hedonistic fulfilment of their desires. Evelyn Waugh’s acidly funny and experimental satire shows a new generation emerging in the years after the First World War, revealing the darkness and vulnerability beneath the glittering surface of the high life.
About the Author
Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) was born in London and educated at Oxford. He quickly established a reputation with such social satirical novels as DECLINE AND FALL, VILE BODIES and SCOOP. Waugh became a Catholic in 1930, and his later books display a more serious attitude, as seen in the religious theme of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, a nostalgic evocation of student days at Oxford. His diaries were published in 1976, and his letters in 1980.
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First Sentence
It was clearly going to be a bad crossing. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was clearly going to be a bad crossing. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a Waugh masterpiece. A deeply satirical novel, it should not be viewed as merely a chronicle of 1930s hedonism. It is, rather, an often extremely sad text as it chronicles the frustrations of inter-war Britain and Europe and the Old World's struggle to discover a new role. Ideally one should read Decline and Fall first, not simply for the integration of characters, but because Vile Bodies is in many respects the natural successor to Decline and Fall in its carrying through of the themes of the age. Do not be sucked into a superficial spin through the facade of the jazz age, this novel has, whilst being short and exhilharating, a darker subtext. This novel proves that there is so much more to Waugh than 'Brideshead'. I thoroughly recommend this novel, but suggest Decline and Fall is read first, and if anyone is curious enough compare the two to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night which share many common themes and make a fascinating comparison.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book when I still lived in London years ago, and laughed until tears rolled down my face. I still like to dip into the time worn pages of my Penguin book and chuckle over the antics of the "bright young things." The descriptions of "flapper" and air balloon parties, stupid politians, machevalian clergy, film making, sports car racing and love affairs are funny, funny, funny. The writing style is sparse, well thought-out and easy to read. The characters are engaging, the situations are absurd and I highly recommend Vile Bodies as a great way to spend a dull, rainy evening. It will liven you up!
51 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are four types of people in the world. Those who have never heard of Evelyn Waugh, those who think he's a woman and those who know him only as the author of Brideshead Revisted. The very rare fourth type knows Evelyn Waugh is one of the most brilliant satirists of all time and that in fact, Vile Bodies is his best effort. The second of 40 novels, Vile Bodies is his most characteristic work, brilliantly witty, stuffed with farcically brilliant characters who drink cocktails, go to costume parties, ride in motor cars and do little else. It was this novel that spawned the expression "bright young things" and is an excellent starting point for a love affair with Waugh. If you try it and love it, read Waugh's Put Out More Flags next.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Vile Bodies. Evelyn Waugh
I was disappointed with this book. It didn't match my expectations - but I must admit that my favourite book by Evelyn Waugh is Brideshead Revisited and so it has a hard act to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by lynfordlady
Vile Bodies
The first chapter didn't impel me to read on but, due to references to this book during a television programme, I continued. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. J. Percival
Too, too thrilling...
When I read this book about 5 or 6 years ago I remember feeling rather ambivalent about it - it didn't grab me or keep me hooked until the end but it was a fairly easy read and... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Allhug
bit sad
I'm a great Waugh fan but I wish his wife hadn't left him in the middle of his writing this book. I rely on EW to cheer me up and he does exactly that for the first few... Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by John Davison
I loved the Ending!
I'm not one to read classics on a regular basis, but I like the period and it was well worth it. The style does not feel like an 'old' book, far more like something you could read... Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2010 by Booknose
Vile bodies that intrigue...
When I read Brideshead Revisted I had begun to wonder why Evelyn Waugh was so highly regarded. Vile Bodies answered the question perfectly. Read more
Published on 12 July 2008 by Victoriana_Mad
"Faster, faster!"
(4.5 stars) Focused on the "bright, young things" whose frantic pursuits of pleasure led to constant and ever more frivolous parties in the years leading up to World War II, Vile... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2008 by Mary Whipple
brilliant
what a fantastic book. It is a rarety when i find a book that i don't want to end because it's so good. This is one of them. Read more
Published on 29 April 2008 by Ms. F. I. Macdonald
Vile People?
This novel is set between the wars when the age of the Toff was coming to an end. Evelyn Waugh wrote about the IT generation of his age, which he was a member of with dazzling... Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2007 by M. Dowden
How terribly sick-making, dahling!
The best part of this book is the end. Read the last four pages and you get a real sense of (high) society breaking down as war breaks out. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2007 by Caterkiller
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