A review by pbraue13
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

emotional lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

“I should like to bury something precious in every place where I have been happy and then, when I am old and ugly and miserable, come back and dig it up and remember.”

Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

I came to this lured by the lingering, decadent atmosphere of "Saltburn". Given that the film was loosely inspired by this novel, I expected something similarly twisted, seductive, and—let's be honest—fruity. I wanted homoerotic tension thick enough to cut with a knife, or at the very least a champagne-soaked Oxford affair that teetered on the edge of romantic obsession. What I got instead was a deeply nostalgic and Catholic meditation on memory, aristocracy, and lost youth—with only the faintest whisper of the queer undertones I was craving. 

To be fair, the subtext is there if you're squinting. Charles and Sebastian’s early relationship carries a certain intimacy, a kind of longing that suggests more without ever committing. But if you’re reading "Brideshead" during Pride month, hoping for open queerness or even palpable tension, you might find yourself just a bit disappointed. This book flirts with themes of decadence and forbidden love, but retreats quickly into reflection, faith, and the decline of the English upper class. 

That said, Waugh’s prose is undeniably beautiful. The novel’s strength lies in its elegiac tone and its lush, melancholic evocation of a bygone world. It’s a classic for a reason. Even if it didn’t deliver what I was hoping for, I can’t write it off completely. The writing is sharp, often witty, and emotionally complex—qualities that have ensured its place in the literary canon. 

Still, this wasn’t quite the Pride read I had envisioned. I came looking for queerness in all its glittering excess, and instead found a man recalling his youth and contemplating God. Lovely? Sure. But not exactly "Saltburn".