A Handful of Dust

By: Evelyn Waugh

Narrated by: Andrew Sachs

Selected by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the century, this "absolutely delightful" novel (New York Times) movingly and comically chronicles the breakdown of a marriage and the disintegration of English society in the years after World War I.

After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last has grown bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. In a novel that combines tragedy, comedy, and savage irony, Evelyn Waugh indelibly captures the irresponsible mood of the "crazy and sterile generation" between the wars.

Critic reviews

"A story both tragic and hilariously funny, that seems to move along without aid from its author...Unquestionably the best book Mr. Waugh has written."—Saturday Review

"The most mature and the best written novel that Mr. Waugh has yet produced."—New Statesman & Nation

"Absolutely delightful."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

"Glacially sardonic....A masterpiece."—TIME

"A brilliant satirical study of the eccentric between-wars society to which Waugh belonged."—LIFE

"Waugh treats society as a wonderland in which he plays the part of a rude, libellous, yet domestic Alice."—V.S. Pritchett

Good clean reading

A good clean reading of this classic satire, with some voice work but not over the top. Such a dry wit in this novel. Well worth the time if you like Waugh’s satire.

Bitingly Engaging!

This is the 2nd book I’ve read by E. Waugh. The first book was Brideshead Revisited which I enjoyed from start to finish . A Handful of Dust is rich in not very likable characters who are beyond redemption. The story is abundantly sarcastic and cleverly funny in a dark way.

How his life ended

I didn’t like the social life in London. I was sorry Brenda didn’t end up in poverty.

Slow Start then Subtle

This book takes quite a bit of time to get going, but finally becomes worth the slog. The first 1/3 of the book is very English aristocrat society with a bunch of setup and with classically stilted and mostly uninteresting characters. Then the cucumber sandwiches hit the fan and the story suddenly becomes an unexpectedly human story.

Many (if not most) readers may not appreciate this book. It starts unbelievably slowly, then becomes a subtly dark, subtly satirical, subtly futile, subtly sad story. Notice there is a lot of subtly in there.

This is not an overtly funny book, but I laughed out loud a number of times, but these were dark, almost guilt inducing, laughs (the “why did I laugh at that, that’s not funny” kind of laugh). The humor is highly contextual, elusive, and mixed with futility and disillusionment.

I ended up liking this book quite a bit, but it is not something I would read again soon. The narration is really completely OK but not outstanding in any way and some of the voices are too characterized for my taste.

Interesting story

It took a couple of chapters for me to warm up to this story, but then the narrative went in some unexpected ways and I very much enjoyed it. It’s like a British Great Gatsby but also the heart of darkness?

A beautiful novel.

Evelyn Waugh is a wonderful English writer. Please read his works and enjoy! You won't be disappointed.

A handful of dust

A great book especially after finishing Father and Sons. I just loved it to the very end

The Consequences of Escaping Ennui

Narration was spectacular, was like listening to a play onstage - made the funny parts hilarious.

Wonderful and sad at the same time

A brilliantly written decomposition of a marriage. It irrevocably makes you sympathise with the unfortunate husband and the question arises whether boredom with a dull spouse is a good enough reason to set in motion the mechanics that without exception produce calamity and affliction. In my view, Brenda Last is an Anna Karenina unpunished. While poor Tony accumulates most of the bad luck from the broken marriage which he had not enough spirit to prevent from falling apart, she manages to keep the water from ever really entering her boat.

Hurrah for Waugh and Mitford

What other book might you compare A Handful of Dust to and why?

What would my summers be without the intelligent froth provided by Waugh and Nancy Mitford? Waugh is deeper, of course, but I love both. This is a very good satire. Wow, Waugh is damningly critical of British society.

What about Andrew Sachs’s performance did you like?

Is this the same man who read Waugh's Decline and Fall? He does a very good job.