By Tess
It's been a very Brideshead break for some of us. I reread it last week in conjunction with a friend who was new to it. Lillian, Joey and I started watching the 11-hour-long BBC miniseries over the weekend. That same day, Tavs texted us that - completely by chance - she was doing the same thing.
What is the incredible appeal of Brideshead Revisited? Secular critics adore Brideshead, and it always ranks highly on lists of Catholic literature too. The well-known theologian Father Robert Barron even called it "the best Catholic novel of the twentieth century."
Yet a lot of people I know really don't like it. Some find the characters intolerable, while another said that it left him "feeling tragic and empty inside."
I concluded that in order to actually appreciate and enjoy Brideshead Revisited, it's not enough to simply plunge straight into it. The story is too tricky and subtle for that. I compiled this rather casual guide to approaching Brideshead Revisited for the benefit of a friend who wanted to read it, and in case anyone else would like to join in this unofficial little Brideshead book club, I decided to share it here too.
1. The first step is to set the scene for the chapters on Oxford, in the first half of the book. Do a little Google research on Oxford's Mercury Fountain and the Bullingdon Club for context.
The Wikipedia pages are shockingly lacking in the juicy details, by the way. The Mercury Fountain has a small statue of the god Mercury in the center of it (no surprise) which the occasional Oxford undergraduate tries to pull down when inebriated. It has been pulled down three times, and legend has it that each man who got it down went on to become Prime Minister of England.
Despite the threat of a heavy fine, Oxford students still regularly jump in Mercury when drunk and have a go at downing old Mercury. As the statue is now welded to its base, however, this feat is a lot more difficult than it was in years past, and I don't know anyone who has succeeded (although I do know someone who cut his foot on the pedestal while attempting to ensure his future career as Prime Minister. Shhh, don't tell!).
Also, the Bullingdon Club is the most ridiculously exclusive group in British undergraduate life, and probably the world. Among other things, they are notorious for destroying restaurants/hotels/clubs that they party in. They leave the place an absolute wreck and then pay the damages, which as Wikipedia accurately notes, makes it "prohibitively expensive" to join.
Of course, being in Bullingdon pretty much guarantees that you'll eventually become Mayor of London or Prime Minister of England. Members of the Bullingdon Club excel at getting into positions of power. They also excel at sitting around the place looking pensive in fabulous waistcoats.
2. Having set the scene for the Oxford portion of the novel, my next recommendation is to read the chapter on Brideshead Revisited in George Weigel's excellent book Letters to a Young Catholic (most of that chapter is available online). The chapter contains plot spoilers, but it offers a great philosophical explanation of Brideshead, so I recommend reading it first as a framework for understanding the book properly.
3. My final recommendation is about the way to approach the story. Ultimately, the main actor in Brideshead Revisited isn't actually any of the human characters; it's Divine Providence itself. The book is essentially an extended exploration of how God's grace works - slowly, subtly, and very strangely - on one dysfunctional British Catholic family. It's brilliant and beautiful, and completely imperceptible to non-Catholics, who will absurdly claim that the book is actually about the First World War or something similarly inconsequential to the plot.
As a side note, if you can, try to read it slowly and really savor the language. Waugh wrote so beautifully! It blows me away sometimes. Even some tiny passages, such as the description of a certain wine drunk at dinner in Paris, are evocative, powerful, eloquent, haunting. What Waugh did with the English language was no small feat. I can only dream of someday writing half as well as he did.
Finally, make sure you read the Epilogue, and especially the final few paragraphs. They gently convey the point and theme of the entire book.
Anyway, a lot of people whose opinions I respect don't like Brideshead at all, and I can see that their criticisms are valid. It's certainly not for everyone.
Perhaps, like me, you really won't like it the first time you read it. In that case, wait a few months, or even years, and try it again. It worked for me. Perhaps it will work for you too.
And then, please come back and tell me what you think about it.
It's been a very Brideshead break for some of us. I reread it last week in conjunction with a friend who was new to it. Lillian, Joey and I started watching the 11-hour-long BBC miniseries over the weekend. That same day, Tavs texted us that - completely by chance - she was doing the same thing.
What is the incredible appeal of Brideshead Revisited? Secular critics adore Brideshead, and it always ranks highly on lists of Catholic literature too. The well-known theologian Father Robert Barron even called it "the best Catholic novel of the twentieth century."
Yet a lot of people I know really don't like it. Some find the characters intolerable, while another said that it left him "feeling tragic and empty inside."
I concluded that in order to actually appreciate and enjoy Brideshead Revisited, it's not enough to simply plunge straight into it. The story is too tricky and subtle for that. I compiled this rather casual guide to approaching Brideshead Revisited for the benefit of a friend who wanted to read it, and in case anyone else would like to join in this unofficial little Brideshead book club, I decided to share it here too.
1. The first step is to set the scene for the chapters on Oxford, in the first half of the book. Do a little Google research on Oxford's Mercury Fountain and the Bullingdon Club for context.
The Wikipedia pages are shockingly lacking in the juicy details, by the way. The Mercury Fountain has a small statue of the god Mercury in the center of it (no surprise) which the occasional Oxford undergraduate tries to pull down when inebriated. It has been pulled down three times, and legend has it that each man who got it down went on to become Prime Minister of England.
Despite the threat of a heavy fine, Oxford students still regularly jump in Mercury when drunk and have a go at downing old Mercury. As the statue is now welded to its base, however, this feat is a lot more difficult than it was in years past, and I don't know anyone who has succeeded (although I do know someone who cut his foot on the pedestal while attempting to ensure his future career as Prime Minister. Shhh, don't tell!).
Also, the Bullingdon Club is the most ridiculously exclusive group in British undergraduate life, and probably the world. Among other things, they are notorious for destroying restaurants/hotels/clubs that they party in. They leave the place an absolute wreck and then pay the damages, which as Wikipedia accurately notes, makes it "prohibitively expensive" to join.
Of course, being in Bullingdon pretty much guarantees that you'll eventually become Mayor of London or Prime Minister of England. Members of the Bullingdon Club excel at getting into positions of power. They also excel at sitting around the place looking pensive in fabulous waistcoats.
2. Having set the scene for the Oxford portion of the novel, my next recommendation is to read the chapter on Brideshead Revisited in George Weigel's excellent book Letters to a Young Catholic (most of that chapter is available online). The chapter contains plot spoilers, but it offers a great philosophical explanation of Brideshead, so I recommend reading it first as a framework for understanding the book properly.
3. My final recommendation is about the way to approach the story. Ultimately, the main actor in Brideshead Revisited isn't actually any of the human characters; it's Divine Providence itself. The book is essentially an extended exploration of how God's grace works - slowly, subtly, and very strangely - on one dysfunctional British Catholic family. It's brilliant and beautiful, and completely imperceptible to non-Catholics, who will absurdly claim that the book is actually about the First World War or something similarly inconsequential to the plot.
As a side note, if you can, try to read it slowly and really savor the language. Waugh wrote so beautifully! It blows me away sometimes. Even some tiny passages, such as the description of a certain wine drunk at dinner in Paris, are evocative, powerful, eloquent, haunting. What Waugh did with the English language was no small feat. I can only dream of someday writing half as well as he did.
Finally, make sure you read the Epilogue, and especially the final few paragraphs. They gently convey the point and theme of the entire book.
Anyway, a lot of people whose opinions I respect don't like Brideshead at all, and I can see that their criticisms are valid. It's certainly not for everyone.
Perhaps, like me, you really won't like it the first time you read it. In that case, wait a few months, or even years, and try it again. It worked for me. Perhaps it will work for you too.
And then, please come back and tell me what you think about it.
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