Decline and Fall (Abridged) Audiobook

" Uh, I guess this was a social novel? I didn't get it, though it was "amusing." Racism abounds in it. "

" Suprisingly funny...and a stirring ending that, someday, I will reference in a homily. "

" this book was my introduction to Waugh's writing and life. Tom Bailey I am forever grateful "

" Good although completely ridiculous. It's a farcical novel. It feels almost like an Oscar Wilde book. Distinctly British. Also hilarious. "

" Inferior to its successor, but very sharp. "

" This was an odd satire! I had a little trouble keeping up with the characters and with what was going on since it got a little silly at times. Overall, it was enjoyable. I need to read Brideshead Revisited! "

" Ruthlessly snarky and laugh-out-loud funny. "

" I feel like I don't laugh at the death of children enough anymore. Guess I'd better put more Waugh on the to-read list. "

" Recently reread. As good as I remembered. I like this much more than Brideshead Revisited--same sense of despair and decay, less sketchy Catholicism, more humor. "

" Poor Paul Pennyfeather! "

" Definitely a plot in what my friends would call my wheelhouse: the middleclass man who semi-wittingly gets into a mess of trouble. A little too much dialogue to be a beyond-easy read, but enjoyable and comedic while still biting and relevant. "

" asd "

" Waffles a bit at times but quite, quite hilarious. "

" 4.5 stars. Deadpan and absurd, this reminded me of Lucky Jim, which I wasn't expecting at all. I like his comic novels much better than Brideshead, which is dour by comparison. "

" I don't think this has aged very well. "

" Late 20's humor. The tale of a student who is sent down from school for indecent behavior caused by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So becomes a school master at a boys school. "

" oh, this holds up so well over the decades... "

" waugh hadn't hit his stride yet.... i guess i learned that you get better at being a novelist with practice. "

" Somewhat more bleak and cynical than Wodehouse or K. Amis, it was quite readable, at least. "

" Wasn't in the right mood when I picked this up. Good satire of foppish British society. "

" Evelyn Waugh is without a doubt my favorite author. Decline and Fall is a hilarous satire on the young society types of his era. Its underlying theme of "What is life all about?" gives its gaspingly funny passages a bittersweet nuance. Really well written - it is timeless and unputdownable. "

" It was a British version of Edith Wharton. Which is to say I enjoyed the class drama & the prison scenes were really wonderfully satirical in a way that reflects Kafka. "

" Waugh's first novel. Obviously not as good as his later works, but still a highly entertaining account of the adventures of a hapless young man to whom life happens in an unfortunate series of events. The satire of the upper British classes is as savage and witty as ever. "

" All of the characteristics of Waugh's writing that I admire within this book, a great read. "

" my first ever Waugh. Pretty enjoyable, kind of a cross between Hesse and Wodehouse "

" He is the best. This is very funny. Poor Paul Pennyfeather. It was inevitable, though. "

" I think the word "droll" was invented just for Evelyn Waugh. Who then shared it with Noel Coward... "

" For his descriptions of the scots--it's worth it. Laughed out loud. Entertaining. Not life altering but a good read. "

" Bizarrely humourous and enjoyable light read "

" This was my first ever Evelyn Waugh novel and having only seen Brideshead Revisited the film I was expecting something more suffused with sadness? But this had me giggling to myself on the bus. I can imagine it on Wes Anderson's shelf. "

" Loved the first half; the second half was less compelling. "

" Three stars only because I am a Victorianist used to 19th century density which makes British Modernism, though I enjoy reading it, sometimes feel a bit thin. "

" Somewhat more bleak and cynical than Wodehouse or K. Amis, it was quite readable, at least. "

" Like an afternoon picnic with friends. Light, cheery and -- except for a bit of mild racism -- perfectly agreeable. "

" I loved it, very funny "

" Ruthlessly snarky and laugh-out-loud funny. "

" Amusing, but definitely Waugh as a more novice writer. "

" Good although completely ridiculous. It's a farcical novel. It feels almost like an Oscar Wilde book. Distinctly British. Also hilarious. "

" I suspect this would have been a laugh-riot had I known anything at all about British aristocracy or Modernist slang of the UK. Still, even for someone as ignorant as myself, Waugh is a master. "

" sometimes hilarious, sometimes mean and nasty. probably much better than i'm willing to give it credit for right now, but i really don't like evelyn waugh. "