Brideshead Revisited

We are moving on apace! I saved Brideshead Revisited till towards the end as it was one that I actually wanted to read, and my expectation wasn't disappointed.

It is set in two periods - during the Second World War, and in the 1920s. Charles Ryder, an officer, is billeted to Brideshead with his troops, and his arrival sets off a chain of reminiscence of his first visits to Brideshead and involvement with the family, which form the majority of the book.

At its heart is Charles' meeting with Sebastian Flyte, the younger son of the Marchmain family (owners of Brideshead) at Oxford. They have a friendship to the exclusion of all others, intense and hard-drinking. Sebastian is reluctant to introduce Charles to his family, but eventually relents and Charles is drawn into the Brideshead world. The story of a boy from a quieter background making a friend from "high society" and being attracted to the glamour of it seemed really familiar but I can't remember which other book I'm remembering! It certainly turns out differently anyway.

Sebastian is the difficult son of the family; just how difficult, gradually emerges as his drinking problem develops. Charles is in the difficult position of having to choose between supporting the family in trying to stop Sebastian drinking, and losing Sebastian's friendship, or keeping the friendship by enabling him to drink, which he knows is not the best course for Sebastian.

It's difficult to say more without giving away too much of the story, and I would definitely recommend reading it for yourself.

One interesting point to notice is how detached all of the relationships are except for the friendship between Charles and Sebastian. It's as if the intensity of this makes it impossible for either of them to form anything deeper in later life. This is typified by Charles' marriage later in the book - the reader only discovers that he has married when he returns from a six month painting trip abroad to be met by his wife, who has had a baby in his absence. "Oh yes, I believe you mentioned there had been a baby". It is a marriage of convenience, not of love, but this is still extreme detachment!

This is a great book, although I would have been interested to learn more about how the relationships developed - so much goes unspoken. Still, deserves its place in this list and one that I will definitely be reading again. I couldn't put it down.