I was introduced to Evelyn Waugh's 'masterpiece' for A-level English. Simply put, I'm a fan. It is a unexpectedly emotional novel, depicting the character Tony Last's failed marriage. The ending in particular, with Tony trapped in a remote village in Brazil , doomed to read Dickens until he dies was surprisingly tragic.
Waugh's level of satire is very subtle, but still effective. All the characters (Tony included) are criticised, but in clever ways. The narrator is emotionally detached from the events, describing them bluntly, but the phrasing of key moments shed's light on the immoral nature of English society between the wars.
I've already got 'Put Out More Flags' and 'Decline and Fall' on my reading list.
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