Reading 1001 discussion

Share your review and rating for Brideshead Revisited.

4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.

I read this one in 2012 and really wished to reread but my audio version came from the library and I can't see myself doing that as it is a pain listening to discs.
I only gave it 3 stars and therefore I think I should reread it sometime. Here is my review: A novel about Charles Ryder and his interaction with the family of Brideshead. It was published in 1945 and it addressed the sacred and profane. Grace is examined through the Roman Catholic family, Marchmain. It was revised by the author in 1959. I believe I read the revised version. I listened to an audio version read by Jeremy Irons who did a splendid job with the various voices.


Spoilers beyond:

Charles befriends Sebastian. This friendship is one of love. Later Charles attraction to Julia is because she reminds him so much of Sebastian. It is never fully disclosed to be a sexual relationship but it could have been. Charles marries and later divorces. He married for what his wife could do socially for him and not for love. He divorced and was to marry Julia but that never works out and the story ends with Charles alone and childless. The setting is during WWII. The title comes from Charles coming to Brideshead as the military takes it over for a camp and then he recalls his interactions with the family and this home and it ends with Charles in the military trying to get the camp set up.

Rating: 4 Stars
Read: November 2016

This was an interesting and very enjoyable story. It tells about Captain Charles Ryder and his interactions with a wealthy Catholic family who reside at Brideshead. The book explores themes of religion and changes to the British aristocracy in the time surrounding WWII. I agree with (view spoiler)[ Kristel that the relationship between Charles and Sebastian was homosexual, even though the book never comes out and says this. (hide spoiler)]

4 stars from me

I loved the way this book was written, the language was so evocative. It shows how the past is never really lost but always there.

In some ways it reminded me of The Go Between, with its look back at a simpler time and place where the future is in front of the characters and anything can happen.

I wondered if Sebastian was so unhappy and driven to drink because of his homosexual feelings which would definitely have been frowned on by they church.

Being a fan of history, I have to give this 4.5 stars. Like Remains of the Day, Upstairs Downstairs, Downton Abbey, etc. this captures a period of history which has now disappeared. I cannot give this 5 stars because there is no redeeming character. Homosexuality was definitely frowned upon at that time by the Catholic Church and English society. The English hero, Alan Turing, was persecuted by the English even though he had helped win WW II by helping break the Nazi Enigma machine. Of course, the relationship between Sebastian and Charles is never overtly stated as homosexual. It is a revealing study of early 20th century English aristocracy and English Catholicism. Julia and Charles finally get together but they cannot marry because of their divorces. Julia thinks this will be against the Catholic religion. Charles and Lady Marchmain fail to save Sebastian from his alcoholism. At Lord Marchmain's death, Charles, the agnostic, finds religion. This suggests Charles may be a version of the author since the author does convert to Catholicism.