"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Complete Short Stories of Evelyn Waugh (1998)

I've seen enough favorable references to Evelyn Waugh (he of "Brideshead Revisited" fame) that I thought I needed to check out something he's written. This volume included 39 short stories. 500+ pages, so it took awhile to work through (at the gym).

"Love Among the Ruins" was an enjoyable shot at state-ism - certainly resonates with USA circa 2011. There was a story about a dog who took his job perhaps too seriously, it was funny. I liked "Basil Seal Rides Again".

I don't know much about Waugh (including whatever it is he's known for as an author) . . . he certainly is wonderful with the language, insightful, another excellent observer of human nature. I'll read more.
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