Isn’t London Hell?

[mitchbob]

https://archive.ph/deiGG

[optimalsolver]

When a man is tired of hell, he's tired of life.

[gumby]

Interesting the assertion that his humorous books were the "good ones" -- I felt they all went on too long, though perhaps because a joke can't really be told for too long (exception that proves the rule: Wodehouse). Rather I much prefer his later, more serious and even cynical work.

I've read it all because he is such a master of language and even if I tire of the plot I drink up his prose. He is one of my favorites.

[petesergeant]

Decline and Fall is an excellent read, and I did enjoy Sword of Honor, but I never much cared for any of his other work; I think perhaps I read them a little too young to get the underlying themes

[gilleain]

Recently got into reading Waugh, and really loved 'Handful of Ashes' - some of the interactions between the characters feel very modern somehow. Also his ability to write characters is amazing.

Anyway, enough of the terrible literary criticism. Far more important is this line from Waugh's wiki page:

> The twin blows were sufficient for him to consider suicide. He records that he went down to a nearby beach and, leaving a note with his clothes, walked out to sea. An attack by jellyfish changed his mind, and he returned quickly to the shore

I feel that 'He records that' is a polite way to say "this is obvious nonsense". I mean, sure it's possible that Waugh decided not to commit suicide due to jellyfish, but it certainly seems suspiciously like something that a character in his novels would do ...

[OJFord]

Not even Brideshead? Though I confess I did see the ITV series first, can't know what I'd think of it to read without having those characters/actors' interpretations in mind, which definitely skews it.

[a_seattle_ian]

The 1965 movie The Loved One based on Waugh's book is one of my favorites.

[charlysl]

Scoop?

[youngNed]

Dear Commenters,

Tempting as it may be, to read the headline and wade in to add you point of anecdata from the time you spent in London, and found it terrible/ wonderful, i really urge you to click the link.

Spoiler: its about the release of 5 books by Evelyn Waugh, not about the pro's and cons of a city that you may love, or hate.

[bemusedthrow75]

I am reminded of that bit in Lord Edgware Dies where Lady Edgware mishears something about "The Judgement of Paris" and starts confidently bleating about fashion, New York and London.

[dbbk]

That sounds less fun to talk about

[wink]

I clicked the link and was confused about the list of 5 books at the top (not even sure if it was books or what it meant), that's why I looked at the comments first. :P

[8bitsrule]

I've never been to London, nor will I, but I once sent my spouse off for a look-see and she came back with the usual Trafalgar and pigeon snaps, a can of Nukie, a copy of 'Viz' and a 'Parklife' CD. Close enough; add that to a deep familiarity with the London of Dickens and Sherlock, and I'd wager that it's no more Hell than any human anthill of its ilk.

[hardlianotion]

I’m going to ignore this article on Waugh’s literary output to let you know that I love this wonderful city.

[al_be_back]

darn it, I was hopping to find out, but in fact the OP it's a review of 5 novels. never mind

[dfxm12]

Going by betteridge's law, you may already have the answer. :)

[sdfghswe]

I live in London and I find it extremely overrated. The only appealing thing about it is the job market.

[dbbk]

Honestly it's too big. Lived there for 7 years and had enough of the cold, grey, miserable existence marked by having to travel at least 30 minutes, typically 45 minutes to go anywhere in any direction. And I lived in Stratford Zone 2!

Moved to Barcelona and the difference is night and day.

[optimalsolver]

What about the public transport? I've never bothered to learn how to drive, and it's never impacted my life here one bit.

[asdadsdad]

London is great iff you have comfort at home, i.e. if you live in a good place where you actually rest. If you live in a shoebox it's miserable

[_fvh3]

Blud did NOT even read the article

[ksec]

>The only appealing thing about it is the job market.

I assume that is specifically within UK? And not job market in the EU or Global Scale?

[robertlagrant]

It's not landlords. It's over-investment in one city compared to the rest of the country making its properties impossibly valuable.

[sdfghswe]

It's not just the landords, it's also the people themselves, especially the natives. If you mention you live in a flat (as opposed to a house) people will look down on you because you're so poor. What's wrong with flats?

I've lived in several European capitals (and in a major US city), and I've never the same "oh you live in flat, you must be poor" reaction.