Within one minute of starting this book, I knew I was in safe hands. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh is almost perfect in every way - particularly this audio edition that I have just completed, narrated by the glorious Jeremy Irons! Our voice for this journey through the privileged classes prior to the second world war is Charles Ryder. It opens with him ending up in the grounds of a country house in the middle of the night - only to realise when he wakes next morning, that he's in a place never far from his thoughts, but one that he never thought he'd see again. He begins to relive the events that have taken place there, with all the members of the Flyte family - a dysfunctional aristocratic family whose Catholicism is a central theme. From his days at Oxford University where he falls under the spell of the beautiful, charming but fatally flawed Sebastian, we see him develop as both a man and an artist, as he meets and comes under the influence (to greater and lesser extents) of all the family - Lady Marchmain, Brideshead, Cordelia and especially Julia. It is, at it's heart, a romance not only between people, but also for a time and place that may never have existed anywhere except in our imagination. Charles falls in love with this family, but it's a relationship that is ultimately doomed as the social and spiritual differences cannot be ignored for ever. The characterisation is tremendously satisfying, with fully rounded and believable individuals - of which my favourite would have to be the outrageous, stammering Anthony Blanche. You cannot help but fall for the charm of these people - even though they are all far from perfect - but that's what makes them human. This book transports you into another world that you want to stay in for so much longer than you are given. It is aching in its prose and funny too. An absolute triumph. More, more, more!
My STAR rating: FIVE
Length: 326 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99.
Formats available: print, audio CD, audio download, ebook.
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