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BLACK MISCHIEF PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Evelyn Waugh | 240 pages | 01 May 2010 | Penguin Books Ltd | 9780141183985 | English | London, United Kingdom Black Mischief | Race Record & Form | Racing Post A scream! Its going on my 'laugh-out-loud' list. You rarely see this level of comedy displayed in a novel. Its like one long, erudite, madcap Monty Python sketch. Narrated with utterly taut deadpan restraint. If you ever thought the English dry or humorless; read Waugh. This is truly the pillar underlying all the British Its a hoot from the very first page. This is truly the pillar underlying all the British wit you've ever encountered. Every single page has something to grin over. Really, almost every paragraph has something to to make one crack a wry smile and shake your head in wonder. What makes it all the more toothsome is knowing how many modern readers are upset and wringing-their-hands over this kind of thing oh you tragic, scandalized, fan-fluttering Gertrudes and Henriettas.. This one book.. Hammers out the innermost kernel of stupidity behind the whole Empire-building age. View all 4 comments. Feb 24, Greg rated it it was ok. I guess I didn't find the profound hilarity that the description of this book promised. Reading this and Vile Bodies, I'm wondering if creating lots of idiotic straw man characters and having them do and say ridiculous things is really satire or just a lazy way to create 'profound hilarity'. I have previously really enjoyed ' Scoop ', ' A Handful of Dust ', and ' Decline and Fall ', and had heard good things about this book. Primarily I had heard that it was very funny. Whilst it certainly has a few moments of laugh out loud hilarity overall I thought it was a somewhat incoherent and inconsistent read. One of the most striking things for a modern reader is the incessant casual racism that peppers the book. That said it's mainly just racist epithets, although there are a few obvious stereo I have previously really enjoyed ' Scoop ', ' A Handful of Dust ', and ' Decline and Fall ', and had heard good things about this book. That said it's mainly just racist epithets, although there are a few obvious stereotypes that would have been widely accepted at the time the book was written. Overall though, at heart this is a satirical novel and much of the satire still rings true. The book also powerfully evokes Africa, and specifically the East of the continent where the fictitious island country of Azania is located. The funniest parts of the book arise from the suspicions on the part of the French about the intentions of the British. The reports that the French receive invariably misinterpret the most innocent activities. There is also a very funny scene involving a couple of animal rights activists who are misconstrued as being in favour of animal cruelty. Curiously the very best writing occurs right at the end of the book, when the main protagonist, who starts the tale as a shallow socialite, is forced to confront his traumatic experiences, which are brought into sharp relief when he reunites with some "bright young thing" friends. Inexplicably I have still to read 'Brideshead Revisited' so cannot say where that fits into his work - though expect that it is very good, and probably another title to read before 'Black Mischief'. Picking up on my final paragraph, and having read more novels by Evelyn Waugh , here is how I rank the books I've read so far Sword of Honour 2. Brideshead Revisited 3. A Handful of Dust 4. Scoop 5. Decline and Fall 6. Put Out More Flags 7. Black Mischief View 1 comment. Nov 25, Sketchbook rated it it was amazing. Azania is the name of the country Now, can we pray? Apr 03, Eric rated it it was ok. Dearest Evelyn, what to make of your uneven and thoroughly racist Black Mischief? The quality of your writing is wonderful and there's plenty of laughs to be had in the first two thirds. Ultimately, however, the work collapses once you have to find some way to move to a co Dearest Evelyn, what to make of your uneven and thoroughly racist Black Mischief? Ultimately, however, the work collapses once you have to find some way to move to a conclusion Basil Seal, your stand-in, is the flattest of all your quasi-protagonists and the narrative lacks any real drive owing to the endless introduction of new characters who never amount to more than a few tossed-off witticisms. View 2 comments. May 01, Alice Handley rated it really liked it. Totally hilarious but kind of embarassing to read on the bus in Oakland. Jul 13, Howard Olsen rated it really liked it. For one thing, Black Mischief is largely set on the fictional East African island nation of Azania, although most of the characters are Brits. Second, Waugh actually has a plot that can be neatly summarized; namely that Basil Seal is a bit of a wastrel MP who travels to Azania where he hooks up with the Oxford educated Azanian Emperor Seth, who wants to bring Progressive Soviet-style government to his tribal subjects. In his earlier and later works, Waugh tends to mock the social mores of the British upper crust. Waugh also makes sure to have a couple of mercenary characters that are frankly interested in Progress because they can make a buck off of it. What really makes this a departure for Waugh is the richness in the storytelling. His previous books had largely been dialogue driven. His descriptions of Azanian history and society are remarkably detailed. In many ways this is a good old fashioned travelogue of Europeans travelling through the Dark Continent. Despite all of this, some of the old Waugh humor still shines through. One of the many subplots involve the back and forth between the French and English ambassadors to Azania. The place is a backwater, and the British ambassador is an appropriately querulous fuddy-duddy. The French ambassador, however, carries on as if he were engaged in an East African version of the Great Game. There is a revolution, and most of the main characters either flee or are killed. Azania finally becomes a League of Nations protectorate, and the last word is given to a pair of British diplomats strolling through the now-quiet streets of Azania, firmly but foolishly convinced that they have brought order to chaos. Mar 29, Florence Penrice rated it really liked it. Everybody, apart from poor Seth, going mad amidst the chaos, is mercilessly ridiculed. It seems such a shame to miss the fun of the menu for the ball with all the vitamin groups covered , and life in the diplomatic compound, for what seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction. Apr 14, Eleanor rated it liked it Shelves: books , literary-fiction. An interesting book to read as a product of its time, and of course also a product of the extremely right wing values and attitudes of Evelyn Waugh. The tone is set before the story starts, with a Preface which Waugh wrote in Its final paragraph reads: "Thirty years ago it seemed an anachronism that any part of Africa should be independent of European administration. History has not followed what then seemed its natural course. His An interesting book to read as a product of its time, and of course also a product of the extremely right wing values and attitudes of Evelyn Waugh. His portrayal of the British envoy, his family and assorted staff is funny, as is the spying on the British by the French envoy and some splendid conspiracy theories he concocts. A curious book: worth reading as part of a project to read all of Waugh's books, but probably not one I would want to revisit. View all 5 comments. Jan 08, Amy rated it it was ok Shelves: what-might-have-been , curiosity-killed-the-cat , free-to-me , disturbing , pain-in-the-butt. From the standard of personal enjoyment, I would give this book a negative one star. I disliked and was bored by the "satire", the characters, the entire premise. The only reason I finished Black Mischief was because I was stuck on a plane and this was the only book I had with me. However, gut instinct aside, I recognize this book has its clever moments. It was well crafted. The writing occasionally caught me up with its wittiness and style. A total dud read in some ways, but worth more than one From the standard of personal enjoyment, I would give this book a negative one star. A total dud read in some ways, but worth more than one star in others. Dec 08, Steve Shilstone rated it really liked it. Staggers back and forth between funny and offensive until it gobsmacks you with its ending. Apr 23, Dfordoom rated it really liked it. In this he is aided although perhaps aided is the wrong word by Basil Seal, an unscrupulous an incompetent English adventurer. Black Mischief has been accused of racism but in fact the British and French are lampooned every bit as mercilessly as the Africans. Although Waugh was a devout catholic religion also comes in for some rough handling in this novel. I lost my track somewhere in Azania a couple of weeks ago. Now it's all darkness around me. What I can recall is that this novel has one of the most exhilarating and sarcastic beginnings I have ever found. Quoting Waugh: 'We, Seth, Emperor of Azania, Chief of the Chiefs of Sakuyu, Lord of Wanda and Tyrant of the Seas, Bachelor of the Arts of Oxford University, being in this the twenty-fourth year of our life, summoned by the wisdom of Almighty God and the unanimous voice of our people to the thron I lost my track somewhere in Azania a couple of weeks ago.

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