Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh

I realised I haven't put a post up for this despite the fact that I read it a while ago.

Like most of Waugh's work, it a satirical criticism for certain elements of the society of 1920s Britain using techniques like dark humour and revealing dialogue.

Paul Pennyfeather, an Oxford student is forced to work at a public school, where he meets Lady Metroland (who appears in other works by Waugh). Her job, however, is trafficking in prostitutes and Pennyfeather is arrested, protecting her. He eventually fakes his own death to escape prison and returns to his old college under another name.

The various characters are all brutally satirised and we see that there aren't that many differences between the two many locations: the school and the prison.

I have been thoroughly enjoying Waugh's novels and will definitely read more.

Merchant of Venice

Production by the RSC with Patrick Stewart.

This production kept up the recent trend of updating Shakespeare to a modern setting. This time it's Vegas.

Most of the fun about this production was the endless ways in which they transferred it to a Vegas setting. The choice between three caskets was a television game show, they had musical numbers, an Elvis impersonator and more.

However, it avoided being cheesy by having a consistently strong cast of great actors that meant it had emotion and depth, as Shakespeare should.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I had two reasons for reading this. Firstly, it's a classic and a GCSE text so felt I should read it. Secondly, I am writing an essay for the Percy Essay Prize on the life and legacy of William Golding.

An excellent novel. Some very interesting moments that revealed the cruelty and savagery of mankind and was extremely believable while doing so. The deaths were truly shocking.

My only issue with it was that it doesn't capture child voice or mindset. There may be possible reasons for this. Either the novel is symbolic of all people, including adults or that the kids step up to responsibility of living by themselves. However, it did not seem right to me.

Generally, a great novel and I enjoyed learning about Golding when preparing for the essay prize.

(I got the runner-up prize with a £100 reward)

Frankenstein (novel)

After seeing the play, I had to read the novel, and it matched all expectations. The sections left out by the play were interesting, such as the captain's journals in the Arctic.

The brilliance of Frankenstein is how it is a fantasy/sci-fi story, told brilliantly that can be appreciated at the basic level of story telling, but has philosophical undertones, that I pointed out in my post on the play. It makes you think, alongside enjoying a fantastic story.