A review by outcolder
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

4.0

I laughed out loud a lot in the beginning but towards the end the preachy, self-satisfied tone overwhelmed the strident criticism of preachy, self-satisfied Victorians. The morals of the stories have held up well in the hundred years since it was first published, but the weird abuses of Darwin and the lack of any reflection on the unfairness of British Classism left me feeling like some of the resolution is dangling open. Like, his alcoholic “wife.” A beautiful servant girl who has brought a dozen illegitimate children in to the world and served a number of prison terms deserves more sympathy then either Earnest or Mr. Overton can muster.

When I was about half way through, I was thinking of so many people I would recommend this to, but now that I am finished, I just want to leave it in the take-one, leave-one book box on Margaretenplatz and get on with my life.