"There was always in Evelyn a conflict between the satirist and the romantic", Graham Greene observes in Ways of Escape (another book I read in May, as it happens). It seems to me that in Put Out More Flags, Waugh produces not a conflict but an extraordinary blend of satire and romance. It is his ability to create this odd blend that makes him unique and wonderful, for satire is usually so unbearably cruel, whereas Waugh both loathes and adores humanity. Put Out More Flags is simultaneously extremely funny and absolutely serious, its characters often grotesque to the point of pantomime and yet brilliantly alive in the reader's mind. It is a marvellous book written by a genius, capturing entirely entertainingly that split second just as World War Two began. To write something that never seems difficult or boring but is also immensely perceptive, clever and a masterpiece on every level is a brilliant achievement. If you are new to Waugh, you can begin with Put Out More Flags and still have the pleasure of The Sword of Honour trilogy, with its vast cast of characters ranging from the foolishly courageous through the tragic to the utterly unscrupulous and its melancholy wisdom. I could fill pages with brilliant quotes from Put Out More Flags novel, but it is too wonderful to be written about - it must be read. Waugh was truly one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
“But Ambrose, thought Ambrose, what of him? Born after his time, in an age which made a type of him, a figure of farce; like mothers-in-law and kippers, the century's contribution to the national store of comic objects
ReplyDeleteLoving rereading it, thanks for the reminder
They gave us The Loved One to read at school and I avoided Waugh for decades. I should go back and try it again, but at least for me it wasn't a good way in to his books.
DeleteI had a copy, but one week years ago the office had a box where one might contribute books to be distributed to military personnel serving overseas. Put Out More Flags seemed a good choice. I do think now and then of getting another copy, but those thoughts and its availability at my local bookstore never seem to coincide.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if the satiric element wouldn’t outweigh the romanticism in the mind of a reader serving in the armed forces. The impossibility of rejecting the book’s vision as unintelligent might make it a rather miserable read from inside one of the bodies being made fun of. Or maybe Waugh’s acute awareness of absurdity would be absolute balm while enduring the sometimes mysterious ways of the military
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