A Handful of Dust

Book written by Evelyn Waugh

If you have been following along with this blog, then you suspected this was coming. Peak interest in Waugh had to occur when Masterpiece Theatre broadcast a serialized drama of his Brideshead Revisited. If that is your only knowledge of Evelyn Waugh, then you may be in for something of a shock when you read the rest of his work.

A Handful of Dust could be described as an exploration of all the bad things that an author can inflict on his protagonist. It is truly a long walk through the destruction of a somewhat dim man, containing at least one horrible tragedy and culminating in one of the great final scenes of any novel. Did I mention that Waugh was going through a painful divorce at the time? Have I done a terrific selling job?

Perhaps the better strategy would be to ease into Waugh via Decline and Fall or Vile Bodies. Both portray the English milieu between the World Wars with a very jaundiced eye. The former sends up the education system and the latter gives a walk through the world of the young and rich of the day.

Before we go any further,

let’s place Waugh in some context. He was a contemporary of P.G. Wodehouse, but reads like Wodehouse after a hard night drinking. Waugh’s books seem no denser on the surface, but they tackle vital subjects about war and social convention and foreign policy and journalism that showed a willingness to face the opprobrium of his world. His private writings (gone quite public since his death) reveal a conservative who did not much care for other people. Really, the sarcasm dripping from his novels might have been a clue.

Men at Arms, Officers and Gentleman and Unconditional Surrender form the Sword of Honour trilogy about World War II and the sheer idiocy inherent in so many decisions made by those entrusted to carry out the war. Black Mischief captures a situation all too common in Africa transitioning from colonialism to independence. More than anyone before him, Waugh took the humor and social commentary of Punch and Wodehouse to new territory, places that humor made an uncomfortable bedfellow of tragedy and realistic horror. Give The Loved One a read for some fun at the crematorium.

As much as death, the past is often an undiscovered country. Artists, on the whole, tend to mine the work of those who came first. If you have read much at all, reading Waugh sends off sparks of joy as his pervasive influence becomes apparent. A clear line goes from Austen through Dickens and onward, including Waugh. One interesting side effect of that line is that it works in the other direction. As a reader, we are given a path that allows empathy and understanding of past lives and viewpoints.

What’s it all about?

You’ve Got to Check This Out is a blog series about music, words, and all sorts of artistic matters. It started with an explanation. 223 more to go.

New additions to You’ve Got to Check This Out release regularly. Also, free humor, short works, and poetry post irregularly. Receive notifications on Facebook by friending or following Craig.

Images may be subject to copyright.

Buffalo Soldier

Song written by M. Lewis and M. Smith
Performed by the Persuasions

I lived in Somerville, Mass., in the 80’s, which was after the Whitey Bulger days though it was the beginning of all the press coverage about those horrid times, so you can imagine how folks looked when I told them where I was living. The apartment was on the edge of Tufts and we walked all over the place at all hours with no trouble at all, even with my funny Midwestern accent. There was the all night diner, my first and still favorite Indian restaurant (that’s the sag paneer against which all others are measured), the phenomenal Somerville Theatre, and the Somerville nightclub. Sadly, I really can’t remember the name of any of them for sure and they have all become defunct.

The nightclub was on the Rounder Records circuit and you could see some amazing acts there, up close and personal. Heck, I remember sitting at the next table over from some remarkable artists at the Indian restaurant. Then between sets, the musicians would sit at the bar and talk to whoever came by.

The Persuasions had already blown my mind. I have always loved doo-wop, but these guys were taking it so much further and doing it so well. Through some fortuitous timing, most of the original line-up was present that night and they sang the roof off the club. This was just before another uptick in interest in a Capella music, so The Bobs were the main competition and they were pursuing a different sound anyway. Others followed, but never as amazing. The Persuasions never stopped looking backwards for inspiration. After all, this Buffalo Soldier is from The Flamingos and not the wonderful Bob Marley song which came out later.

So… The Persuasions…

I had never heard them growing up and never wondered why their records were not in all our collections. No one was talking about them when I was young. But they were there making records. I owe my first knowledge of them to The Rolling Stone Record Guide, which I read from cover to cover. Understand that this was before other options. The listings were fairly comprehensive and they rated everything from one to five stars. I figured the least I could do was listen to all the five star recordings, as there really were not that many and even fewer that I had not heard already.

In those non-digital days, this meant searching used record bins. I lived in a college town, so that was possible, but still limited. Certain artists, like Jonathan Richman and Richard Thompson, were available, but not the five-star-rated music-just the recent stuff. The Persuasions, however, eluded me completely, until I moved to Boston and found their records in the local library, of all places. It took more years before I could find one to buy that I could afford. In short, the privilege of just picking out some Persuasions for a little listen any time I want has not stopped seeming remarkable after all that effort.

What’s it all about?

You’ve Got to Check This Out is a blog series about music, words, and all sorts of artistic matters. It started with an explanation. 224 more to go.

New additions to You’ve Got to Check This Out release regularly. Also, free humor, short works, and poetry post irregularly. Receive notifications on Facebook by friending or following Craig.

Images may be subject to copyright.