Reviews

Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh

rosekk's review against another edition

2.0

The trouble with comedy is that it relies a lot on the audience having some familiarity with the subject matter and the but of the jokes. As a result, it can age really badly. I still found parts of the book funny - after all, corrupt and ignorant government officials are still something familiar in todays world so the jokes based around that still make sense. What has lost its humour are the casually racist caricatures (peppered with equally racist epithets) that have produced most of the characters - I can't find them funny because I don't believe people are really like that, nor do I believe they ever were except in the eyes of the colonial British. Black people bear the brunt of this misrepresentation, but the Armenians, Arabs, Greeks and (to a lesser degree) French get a pretty poor portrayal as well. The focus on cannibalism is particularly telling (and trying). I've seen other reviews that describe the book as un-PC (and mean it as a compliment) but it's not like I'm offended by the lack of political correctness - the problem is a lot of the humour isn't funny unless you share a 1930's view of the world and the different people living in it. There are stupid English people in the book of course, but their flaws are described in away that makes them personal rather than a result of their race. The ending of the book is particularly indicative of the attitude of the time - the conclusion seems to be that an African nation cannot progress unless the British are in charge; throughout the books all attempts by the African leader to improve the country fail through extreme stupidity, and it's only at the end where the great European powers intervene when the streets finally start getting cleaned and order arrives in the fictional nation.

chriswright7's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Cleverly written and very amusing, Evelyn Waugh excellently satirised the modern bourgeois sensibilities of the time period with their inane ideals of how to advance the traditional Azanian society into a new age of progress. 

kingfan30's review against another edition

1.0

Was not sure about this book I have to say, did not really get into it at all and it took me quite a while to read considering it is quite a thin book. I can not pin point why I did not get on with it and did not find it funny (as it claims it is on the back of the book).

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

2.0

This is only the second book I have read of Waugh's and I appreciated his wit and satire indiscriminate of class, colour or race. However, some parts of the novel made me slightly uncomfortable although I enjoyed his writing style.

Please see my full review at http://bibliobeth.wordpress.com

srreid's review against another edition

3.0

A satire on the English class set in the fictional country Azania. A large proportion of the inhabitants seem to be English, and along with the Oxford educated ruler of Azania try to impose their English values and customs on the locals, to varying degrees of success. Only temporarily it seems before things eventually go pear shaped and it all goes to hell in the end.

polyhy_14's review against another edition

3.0

Evelyn Waugh pokes not so gentle fun yet again at English high society. In this book, the politics of a fictitious island off the north east coast of Africa are also at the mercy of his wit. Wickedly funny, as always, but in the end, a little too grisly for my liking.

bookpossum's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting book to read as a product of its time, and of course also a product of the extremely right wing values and attitudes of Evelyn Waugh. The tone is set before the story starts, with a Preface which Waugh wrote in 1962. Its final paragraph reads:

"Thirty years ago it seemed an anachronism that any part of Africa should be independent of European administration. History has not followed what then seemed its natural course."

However, Waugh's disdain is not confined to "the natives". His portrayal of the British envoy, his family and assorted staff is funny, as is the spying on the British by the French envoy and some splendid conspiracy theories he concocts.

A curious book: worth reading as part of a project to read all of Waugh's books, but probably not one I would want to revisit.

cabbagebabble's review against another edition

3.0

Sigh. I love Evelyn Waugh, but I really had to force myself to finish this one. The over-the-top satire got to me.

tscott71's review against another edition

2.0

I couldn't finish this dated and boring political/social satire.

alice_12's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.0