Rating: 
Summary: started off great, finished poorly
Review: When I first began reading this book, I have to admit I thought it was captivating and interesting and well written. It all falls apart towards the middle of the book and the charactors come apart and seem to become more flat and not real at all, if that makes any sense. How Charles treats Sebastian in the middle of the book and beyond, is horrible and shows how little he cared about him to start out with.
Rating: 
Summary: Genius Turns to Mush
Review: The first two thirds of this novel are almost unmatched in Post-War British Literature: witty, insightful, acidly satirical, and, in their own way, powerful. The sense of character and place is especially vivid, and personal and social tensions are brilliantly entwined.The last third is marred by a love interest that is anemic and thoroughly unconvincing. Here the characters and imagery lapse into caricature. Julia's climactic sacrifice is ludicrous, as is a long (and infamous) stream of purple prose. Waugh sought to dramatize the tension between the Sacred and the Profane. But if the Sacred is upheld by a trinity of nostalgia, sentimentality, and reflexive Catholic guilt, lord help us all. Ryder's "epiphany" is as much a shallow pantomime as his faux-naturalist paintings. The scene is which the "hero" and his aristocratic friends brutalize striking workers for a lark, is one of the most repulsive in all literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: I can't read this book without remembering that it was written during the war, at a time when it really did look like the world might end at any moment. Waugh must have felt that he had to work it all out on paper, Catholic v. Protestant, homosexual v. heterosexual, sinner v. saint. This book is incredibly beautiful in passages, tragically bleak in others. You won't easily forget it.
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Summary: Brideshead Revisited-What is it really about?
Review: This partial account of the life of the central character, Charles Ryder utilizes the "flashback" technique to show contrast between the barbaric present (1943) and the rich, full life that he had from the period of 1923 to 1939. As he enters the university we initially see Charles as he was taught to be, in reality a somewhat small and boring figure, never having experienced the joys of boyhood, but is given a glimpse of happiness during his tenure at Oxford and beyond, where he is influenced by a fateful encounter with members of an Aristocratic family. Charles discovers his true vocation as an Artist and is accepted as a member of the "smart set" that is a part of the Marchmain family social scene. The tragic aspect centers on the dictum: "life does not always turn out like you planned". At one point Charles seems on the verge of inheriting the entire Marchmain estate due to his intended marriage with Julia but everything falls apart due to religious convictions, and world events. In Waugh's intent, he wants to show how the structure of society was shaken by World War 1 and completely destroyed by World War 2. When Charles speaks of the era of "Hooperism" he is implying that now an uneducated, somewhat disrespectful class of people were now ruling society and would lead us to a new dark age. When we return to the present in 1943 Charles is forlorn and regretful of all that has transpired, but he comes to accept things as they are having by chance returned to Brideshead in the army encampment and through those memories of the past renews the vigor within himself.
Rating: 
Summary: The Brilliance of Waugh!!
Review: Brideshead Revisited is a memoir of Charles Ryder that takes a look at the British upper class as the world around them begins to change with the advent of war. The tale begins with the bored wealthy students in Oxford, living lives of self-indulgence and irresponsibility. This is where Charles Ryder first comes into contact with Sebastian Flyte and eventually meets the rest of the Marchmain family group. The story evolves into one of attraction, love and the search for happiness and self. It takes it's own unique path including escapism in alcohol, denial of faith, desperate longings for acceptance and the desire to both please and placate (while infuriating and denying) family. It is the moral tale of what people truly long for and seek out when the material things of the world lose their ability to entrance and delight. When the realities of life rush in and cause individuals to take a true look at what is critical to their heart and soul, what they are willing to compromise and what they suddenly find can not be compromised at any cost, this is the glory of this classic and timeless novel. From the first visit to Brideshead, the Marchmain family's imposing residence, Charles Ryder is struck by the discordant notes of Sebastian's family. Time reveals the tragedy of a family with a desire to appear traditional and socially accepted in the "correct" circle. They are pulled apart by the inflexibility and controlling behavior exhibited within the walls of Brideshead. The story affects a misleading attitude of indifference, neither condemning nor sanctioning any conduct or behavior that occurs. This is a critical part of the brilliance of Evelyn Waugh's tale, which in effect brings the characters and the reader to a startling conclusion at the finale.
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Summary: 'The Languor of youth - how unique and quintessential'
Review: Brideshead Revisited is an eloquently written book, visiting themes such as religion, beauty and the 'languor of youth'. I've read it three times over and it never fails to capture my imagination about the splendours of the recent past, aristocratic life and picturesque settings. Its theme is memory infused with the venomous-pleasures of love and beauty. It narrates a succession of relationships nourished by charm and an eternal search for one's being. It's a tale about illusions, despair, hope, faith, expectations and finally about the voyage in life... a voyage often dotted by encounters with beautiful people.
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Summary: An Often Misunderstood Classic of 20th Century Literature
Review: Like most great novels, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED is about a great many things--not the least of which is the decline of English aristocracy. But at center, Evelyn Waugh's greatest novel (and one of his few non-satirical works) is about religious faith, and how that faith continues to operate in the lives of even those who seem to reject it, and how that faith supports even those who falter badly in it. The story is complex. It is told in the first person by narrator Charles Ryder, who develops a close and possibly homoerotic relationship with artistocrat Sebastian Flyte while the two are students at Oxford. Seduced by the glamor of Flyte's way of life and the beauty of his ancestrial home at Brideshead, Ryder becomes deeply involved with Flyte's family as well--a Roman Catholic family in which the various members either use their religion to manipulate others or actively rebel against it. With the passage of time, Sebastian's drinking expands into alcholism--which appears to be fueled by his guilt at rejecting the church, a rejection which may be based on his own uncertain sexuality. Ryder consequently transfers his affections to Sebastian's sister Julia--but again religion influences their relationship: Julia has made an unfortunate marriage, and although she is willing to engage in an affair with Ryder, she may not be willing to divorce her husband, an act that will cast her completely outside the bounds of her faith. The characters involved in the story are often extremely charming, but they are not necessarily admirable, and the passage of time in the novel nibbles away at their charm in such a way as to expose their flaws; even the narrator, Charles Ryder, gradually emerges as a somewhat second-rate person of dubious integrity. Even so, there remains a strange element of hope in the novel, a sense of God's grace and mercy even in the face of deliberate affront. Poetically written with considerable beauty and a sense of lost innocence that haunts the reader, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED is a too-often misinterpreted and misunderstood book that demands a thoughtful reading to get down into the marrow of its thematic bones. Powerful, beautiful, memorable--a book to read and enjoy again and again. Strongly recommended.
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Summary: Nobility in decline
Review: It's surprising to see a relatively serious novel like "Brideshead Revisited" from Evelyn Waugh, whose reputation as a writer was built on humor. It confronts a difficult theme -- the disintegration of a once-noble British family by two world wars and changes in the social and moral fabric of the first half of the twentieth century. But Waugh handles the material with the aplomb of a natural storyteller and the objectivity of an observer who is wise enough never to become too symphathetic with his characters. "Brideshead Revisited" is narrated in flashback through the voice of a British Army captain named Charles Ryder, who one day in 1943 inadvertently finds himself near an estate called Brideshead which he recognizes as a place he'd first seen twenty years before. His memories take us directly back to 1923 when he was a freshman at Oxford and befriended a fellow student named Lord Sebastian Flyte. Sebastian is pampered, effeminate, and abnormally juvenile; he spends more time drinking than studying and owns a teddy bear. Now, I realize that it's not absurd for a grown man to own a teddy bear, but it is when he frequently refers to the bear by its christened name, treats it as a confidant, and brings it with him on outings. With Sebastian, Charles finds himself moving in a new social circle, illuminated by the even more flamboyantly effeminate and sexually ambiguous Anthony Blanche. Sebastian is secretive about his family but nevertheless takes Charles to visit the family house at Brideshead. Eventually Charles does get to meet Sebastian's sisters Julia and Cordelia, his older brother the Earl of Brideshead, and his (separated) parents, Lord and Lady Marchmain. It's apparent that Sebastian dislikes his family, especially his pious Catholic mother; his excessive drinking is a means to escape his unhappiness. Charles, meanwhile, sort of adopts this family as his own and becomes intimately involved in their affairs; his own father -- his only close living relative -- is somewhat of a doddering old fool and not much good company. Over the following years, the characters grow and develop as all good characters should. Julia marries a budding politician named Rex Mottram, who makes a comically clumsy attempt at conversion to Catholicism before the wedding; Charles becomes an artist and starts an affair with Julia during a stormy Atlantic crossing; the Earl collects matchboxes; Cordelia, the most conscientious of the Flytes, becomes a humanitarian aid worker. Sebastian, who is so central early in the novel, gradually falls out of the picture; years of idleness, apathy, irresponsibility, and debauchery lead him to a miserable existence in northern Africa. There is significance in Charles's chosen profession -- that of an artist who paints architectural portraits of ancient English manors -- because it parallels his role as historian and chronicler of the decadent Flyte family; he gives the impression of a curator proudly showing a portrait of a stately old house or family and saying, "This was once a great monument of England." "Brideshead Revisited" is not an outright funny novel like "Scoop" (although there is an amusing cross-reference to the Beast, the newspaper from "Scoop"), but it is still filled with Waugh's wry charm and his effortlessly mellifluous prose.
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Summary: A tale of upper-class, pre-WWII England written by a master.
Review: I have read Brideshead Revisited two or three times; I saw the PBS serial a couple of times,but I never tire of the fine art of Evelyn Waugh in describing the characters in this novel. Perhaps there are no heroes, but we sympathize with the protagonists Charles Ryder and Julia Marchmain in their struggle to find happines, if not together, then at least on their own. Julia is aristocratic and rich, Charles a talented artist. Charles is an unbeliever and scoffs at the religion of the Marchmain family. In the end, Julia who had lost her faith for a time, finds her faith again and Charles discovers happiness in becoming a believer. The patient reader will find much to like in the spare but beautiful prose of Waugh.
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Summary: To love another human
Review: I loved this book. For those that do love this book it probably says something questionable about them. I first thought of this book as Existentialism meets Catholicism, in a uniquely English sardonic way. I think there is more to it than that. It is a about a man in conflict with the noise of life, he finds himself through the love of a college mate who he engages in undergrate frivolity with, despite the urgings of a graduate student relative. The haunting aspect of this novel maybe that the noise of life turns out to be his wife, his children, as well as his relationship with the army, and his own dad. The man that, if any, can be given credit for helping the narrator find himself, ends up losing himself. They all seem to lose themselves, in the end, except for one saving grace, their Catholic faith - which the narrator, despite much incredulity, in the begininning, also seems to fall into. After reading the reviews posted here I think it is safe to say that you may or may not like this book to the extreme. However, there does seem to be a universal love of the 1982 video series, with Jeremy Irons. The thred that seems to run through the Evelyn Waugh books, that I have read thus far, is the mockery of guru sorts that are often found in Existential novels. Maybe he is saying that one should not expect to save themselves, or find meaning, in anything but faith. The rest is noise. It is just troubling what the noise turns out to be.
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