Has anyone read the biography of the Waugh family, _Fathers and Sons_, by Alexander Waugh (He's Auberon's son, the little one in the picture)? The New Oxford Review didn't love the book, but that won't stop me from checking it out for myself. I'm just wondering if any of you have an opinion about the newest work offered up by this incredibly prolific family.
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I read it as soon as it came out in 2004. It's a funny book, both in the amusing anecdotes it retails, but also in the sense of being a bit odd. I'm still not entirely sure why Waugh wrote it or what he hoped to accomplish in it. It's not either pure filial piety or salacious or treacherous criticism, but there is a mixture of both. Still, I came away from it not knowing much more about the Waugh fathers than I hadn't know before. Sure he has some details not available usually in other biographies, especially about his own life as a father, but on the whole I would not say that you gain a whole lot of insight into the Waugh clan by reading this book UNLESS you've never read anything about them before. And in that case, I'd recommend you not start with this book, which is by no means systematic or comprehensive, and instead read a good biography, of which Douglas Lane Patey's (about Evelyn) remains pre-eminent.
I checked out Put Out More Flags at the local library.
My initial reaction was similar to the reaction I had to BR.
When I picked up BR (my first Waugh) I started and thought, "Cool, soldiers!" (I love military history). Then, further in, I said, "Ah, jeepers, this is just about a bunch of homos in England." Then, later, I said, "Oooh, this is interesting."
With POMF, I was bored and said, "Well, this is just about a bunch of pansies at the beginning of WWII. Kind of droll, but is it worth the read?" Then I got to the bureacratic scenes, and the bearded Archimandrite of Bulgaria walking in and asking for the "Department of Fornications".
Lovin' it!
That's useful to know, Adam. I had suspected as much based on what I've read of the book, but I wanted to hear from some "real people," and real Waugh fans at that who have actually delved into the book (sans the eyes of the critic), and emerged with one opinion or the other. I won't put the book on my priority list, although, sadly, a last remaining shred of curiosity may bring me to it eventually.
And, Rob, I'm so very glad that you stuck it out with POMF (Hey, "POMF" kind of sounds all fussy and foppish Brit-like, right? Funny.). It's a very funny and even profound book in the end.
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