“These memories, which are my life–for we possess nothing certainly except the past–were always with me.”
Charles Ryder’s life hinges a lot on a family he creates ties with in college – the Marchmains. They are wealthy, scandalous, have a giant estate in England and are Catholic. His friendship with Sebastian introduces them to their world. Sebastian has two sisters and an older brother. His parents are separated, but not divorced as his mother’s faith won’t allow her to do it. Charles makes many visits to their estate, Brideshead, and forges relationships with each Marchmain in different ways.
My husband and I are trying to read some classics together and we started off 2021 reading Brideshead Revisted. The book was highly praised and even touted as a Catholic novel. It was a slow read as in there wasn’t much of a climax through the book, just the telling of the Marchmains’ influence on Charles.
Charles spends his college years being Sebastian’s friend and living a life full of partying. Then, later, he maintains a friendship with one sister and a love affair with the other. The family’s Catholic faith ends up driving a wedge in the relationship, but Charles hopes to overcome it somehow. In the end, he finds out if their different views on faith can be compromised on or if it’s just too much.
Brideshead Revisited is framed by Charles visiting Brideshead when he is a soldier in WW2. His artwork still dons the walls, but the family does not live there anymore. It starts and ends with him there as a soldier, which ties the book together to show how deeply the Marchmain family impacted him.
Brideshead Revisited would be a good school reading so a class could have discussions on it and dissect the themes. As a novel, it was not as enjoyable read as other classics I have read. I was hoping for a bit more of the story. Also, in many parts, I didn’t know who I was supposed to like as all the characters were doing things that marred their character.
What is a classic that you did not enjoy reading? Share in the comments!