2.83k reviews for:

Brideshead Revisited

Evelyn Waugh

3.87 AVERAGE

elliewhitereads's review against another edition

4.0

reflective medium-paced

beetsken24's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

ssoup's review against another edition

2.0

reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jacyc's review against another edition

4.5

inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

j_f's review against another edition

4.0

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Brideshead Revisited is a flawed book. Its premise is, at best, non-committal and, at worst, downright dull. The author doesn’t spend time on many aspects of the plot and characterization that I would have preferred to read about, and his characters are almost nothing like me in experiences or personality.

By all accounts, I should dislike this book, but I don’t. Frankly, I enjoyed every word and wanted to keep flipping through the pages to find out what happened next.

There is something sinister, subversive and bewitching in a story that seems, at first and second and third glance, plain and drily “English.” To call it “cozy” is completely wrong, because the word brings to mind an entirely different kind of book—something trite, overdone. Yet, the novel is cozy. Maybe the sinister quality perversely makes it comforting. It’s certainly not a jarring, offensive kind of bewitchment.

I will also say that synopses of this book that float around online don’t do it any favours. I pick books from my Goodreads TBR by scrolling through, looking at the descriptions and picking something that catches my interest in the moment. If I had left it to that, I would never have read Brideshead Revisited. I’m glad I didn’t remove it from my TBR, as I came close to doing several times.

atenays's review

4.5

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"to know and to love one other human being is the root of all wisdom" has become one of my favorite quotes ever and that is all you need to know about this book
(although our main character said that he ended up being an idiot throughout the whole book)

elb3's review against another edition

5.0

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jessie_reads_here's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

katedyl's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

elena_adventuring's review against another edition

3.0

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Why can't the entire thing be like this:



Why does it have to be deep and dark and philosophical? Why can't someone write A HAPPY ENDING FOR ONCE???

So here's my headcanon happy ending for Sebastian, ageing happily, ever soft and fluffy...