The Loved One

Rating:
Summary: A book that was hard to understand
Review: This book was confusing. It contained no action, suspense, nor thrill. What made me lose interest in this book was the fact that they talked about the deceased, how they died, and how their appearance were greatly transfigured. If I wanted to read about dead bodies I would have read a horror novel.

Rating:
Summary: A hard book to understand
Review: This book did not interest me. I found this book somewhat difficult to understand. When Mr. Joyboy and Mr. Barlow ask Miss Thanatogenos to marry her you would expect them to clash against each other. Since there was no hostility between the two gentlemen there was a lack of action in the book which made the novel very dull. What I found very unappealing in this book was the gruesome parts such as the dead bodies which were disfigured. This is what I would look for in a horror novel.

Rating:
Summary: The book was neither interesting nor humorous
Review: The book, while amusing at times, could not keep my interest very long. The characters had no depth which kept me from getting to involved in the novel. To bring more definition to the characters the author should have developed more physical attributes to enhance their lifeness of their personalities. Another flaw in the novel was the lack of importance and care, for that matter, that I felt about the story line. I am not interested in the events that go on in a funeral home.

Rating:
Summary: This book was an over all boring book.
Review: I thought that The Loved One was a fairly good book. Although, I felt the events in the book were very reaccuring. I also didn't fancy making fun of death and the people who have to deal with death. I do feel that some of the people in the burial industry are a little odd, and I got the impression that some of the characters the book, that worked in the burial industry, were also a little strange. I liked how the writer put bits and peices of poetry in the novel, but I didn't like how so many people committed suicide. The writer had good ideas, but the author could have used the ideas in a more presentable way. I thought the book needed to be more graphic. Evelyn Waugh must not have studied the burial industry before Waugh wrote about it, more occupational terms were needed. Evelyn Waugh needed to spend more time writing this novel before it was published.

Rating:
Summary: Starts slow but ends interseting
Review: Althought the begining of th book was pretty boring, towards the end started to get more interseting. I myself don't find death of any family or friend to be funny. But this book does put it in a funny way. maybe we can all look at this as sick humor with a twist statire comedy.

Rating:
Summary: This book is good for freshmen but,can sometimes be boring.
Review: This book is a good love story inside of a nightmare. The plot of the book is good but, has a horrible ending. Other than this the book is good. I recomend this book to all freshmen. So read this book you might like it.....I did!

Rating:
Summary: I felt that the story was very dull.
Review: In felt that the story was very boring and that I would lose interest in the book very fast. And the love triangle in the story between Denise, Amy and Mr. Joy Boy was very confusing. And at different times in the book the pace would change and I would totally get lost and I would get frustrated. At first I thought that the book was about death then it turned out to be about love.

Rating:
Summary: Boring at the start, nice twists and plot towards the end.
Review: First, let me be honest. The first few pages of this book are downright boring. In fact, I practically had to force myself to read these pages, because I really didn't care about two old men talking to each other. However, once I got to the halfway point of the book, I was hooked. Reading about Ms.Thanatogenos ongoing struggle on who she really loved, Mr.Joyboy or Mr.Barlow was probably the best part of the book for me. The way these characters act and speak in the book made me feel like I was standing right next to one of them, which made me greatly appreciate the writing ability of Evelyn Waugh. Alas, even this was not enough to overcome the negativeness brought down on the book by the first few pages, so I decided to give this book an average rating of only stars. I only recommend this book to people who will have the patience and discipline to get past the first few pages without skipping them, because they are a necessary part of the story. If you can do this however, you will be pulled into a whole new world of romance, comedy, treachery, and tragedy, that could very well enthrall you and keep you reading this book for years to come. Thank you for reading my review.

Rating:
Summary: Overall the book was ok, but it could have been better
Review: I think the book was all right, but there were some parts that I just didn't like.I know I'm not supposed to give away the ending but thats the part I didn't like. So after you read the above sentence if you don't want to know the ending read another review.I think the title not only refers to the dead people at Whispering Glades but Aimee too. I think Aimee is also considered "the loved one" because she is loved by Mr. Joyboy and Dennis. I think if Mr.Joyboy and Dennis both really loved Aimee they wouldn't have kept forceing Aimee to choose one of them. If they really loved her they should be happy with her decision because they wanted her to be happy.

Rating:
Summary: A book which could have used more thrill
Review: The book The Loved One is based on the burial industry. This sets the tone of sadness, melancholy, grief, depression, dejection, and disaster. The story takes place in California; particularly two funeral homes called the Whispering Glades - a resting place for famous Hollywood people and the Happier Hunting Ground - a cemetery for deceased loved aminals. It tells the story of a love triangle involving Aimee Thanatogenos, the heroine of the story who works as a cosmetician; Mr. Joyboy an established embalmer famous for his trade; and Mr. Dennis Barlow, the villain who works at the pet cemetery. Aimee the cosmetician and Mr. Joyboy the embalmer seemed the perfect match at the beginning of the story. The twist comes when Dennis Barlow is introduced as a much younger, likeable, glib, aspiring, ambitious man who works at the pet cemetery. Aimee unsure of her future, searches for something missing in her life. She meets Dennis Barlow, who by the nature of his job is an eloquent giver of obituaries for loved pets. She mistakes him for a romantic poet. Dennis does not correct the wrong notion and plays out the poet to the hilt knowing the deception was a way to the woman's heart. Aimee breaks up with Mr. Joyboy and takes up with Dennis. She finds out the truth and is disillusioned. Dennis is not a poet but like her a mere worker at a cemetery for pets, and his poems were copied from books, not straight from the heart. Faced with a dilemma, she comfides in a magazine sort of a present day Dear Abby. The Guru Brahmin actually three people gives out advice which Aimee takes to heart. This is the comedy part. Which person in his right mind would take Dear Abby seriously? Well she does and the result is a total disaster. The Guru being drunk and fired from his job tells Aimee to commit suicide when she calls him up personally on the phone for advice. Confused, Aimee does kill herself. Pretty stupid I think. The story ends with Joyboy and Barlow helping each other out to cremate Aimee at the Happier Hunting Ground, a hush - hush burial to avoid embarrassment and guilt of what they have done to their "Loved One" Mr. Joyboy for failing to come to her when she was distraught and for Mr. Dennis for his deception at impersonating a poet to charm Aimee. I believe that The Loved One was somewhat a mediocre book. I give it three stars because it lacked the action and adventure which could have made it more interesting to read. I was unable to understand what was going on in the beginning. Though the book was not a turn on the me, it did have a few parts which did interest me like the love triangle between burial employees Mr. Barlow, Aimee Thanatogenos, and Mr. Joyboy. The book could have used more suspense or sensitivity about suicide to give it more interest. I read the book from cover to cover and there are still parts of the book which I still don't understand. To totally understand the whole book I think you would have to be an extensive reader. I would have more of an attraction to the book if it were not a love story.