Vile Bodies
Evelyn Waugh
1930
Around 255 pages
Artists that party together are really fascinated with themselves. I don't particularly like reading about the Bright Young Things, or the Beat generation, or any other clique of cool kids that hang. I prefer writers that keep their own company until they end up sticking their heads in the oven. So I'm kind of over Evelyn Waugh, but the Listmakers are not, and will not be for quite some time.
Adam, an aspiring novelist, is planning on marrying Nina, only he needs some money first. His manuscript is impounded for obscenity by customs officials, and he is repeatedly duped out of money. It seems to vacillate between comic to bleak, with much of the dialogue taking place on the telephone. How modern.
I don't find Waugh to be a particularly compelling writer, and the point of view he took on was a little weird. He seemed to lack sympathy for his characters, which made me not care about them at all. Everybody was a brat. Skippable.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
David Bowie cited this novel as a major influence for his song "Aladdin Sane."
A film adaptation was released in 2013, directed by Stephen Fry.
UP NEXT: Her Privates We by Frederic Manning.
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