this ain't a subject

[natalexx]

+ First, a help! request. How the hell do you pronounce Evelyn Waugh? Is it like it looks? I have to say it in front of a class of people tomorrow, and I want to make sure I don't embarrass myself. Also, does it make me a bad person that I have never actually *read* an Evelyn Waugh book? I never could get past my Brideshead Revisted problem.

Comments

[raincitygirl]

It's pronounced EEE - velyn, rather than the usual "eh" sound. No idea if that's an old alternate British pronunciation or if he just decided to be all special and pretentious. This is, after all, the man who named his son Auberon. Perhaps he enjoyed having to correct people's pronunciation of his name, and wanted to pass down the fun.

I never made it through Brideshead Revisited either. However, Put Out More Flags is utterly hilarious, if you like dark humour. And the Sword of Honour trilogy is good, although it gets steadily more depressing. The first book, Officers and Gentlemen, has a good bit of fluff in it, and is very funny. The later two books are dark, but Officers and Gentlemen reads pretty well as a self-contained novel, and has a nice mix of absurdity with some actual character development. For pre-war Waugh (all the above are in some way WWII related), you could try Scoop, which is comedic in a similar style to Put Out More Flags.

[natalexx]

Oh thank you! Hee, maybe the "eh" just sounded too girly. (Is the Waugh like "wah" then? I hope so.) And thanks for the recommendations on what to try reading, too, because I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't know where to start--though more than once I've wanted to try.

[sagacious_c]

I'm a casual Veronica Mars viewer, so I didn't even realize Veronica and Logan were being made out to be star-crossed soulmates or whatever. Ha! But I did like the palpable awkwardness.

By "precious" do you mean scenes like where Veronica stormed into the garage, appropriated a paint gun and quipped her way to getting the info she needed?

I liked her friend, the guy who was trying to distract Piz from being a lovelorn puppy. The friend seemed like a good guy, and I like that he called Veronica out on letting the Piz guy keep crushing on her.

[natalexx]

I'm a casual Veronica Mars viewer, so I didn't even realize Veronica and Logan were being made out to be star-crossed soulmates or whatever.

Their relationship burned bright for a certain amount of time, but probably should have been left at that. Logan should be the new Wallace (the friend who called Veronica out like that), really, because Wallace used to be such a big part of the show and he's been sidelined now for some time.

By "precious" do you mean scenes like where Veronica stormed into the garage, appropriated a paint gun and quipped her way to getting the info she needed?

Well, yes. In the first season, there was always a sort of bleak, motivated desperation that drove Veronica to her puns and jabs. Now it all seems rather trite. I mean, who *does* stuff like that?

[dingogrrl]

Hee. Don't wanna be scoffed at by the literary snobs (if it helps, I used to assume he was a she *g*). It's so weird when you suddenly realise you don't know how to pronounce something you've said in your head or typed on a page forever. Like, I only learned how to pronounce Michael Chabon's surname last month when researching him for that assignment (which I got 100% for - yay me!) and, ooh, how would one pronounce your LJ name? It's not something I've ever spoken out loud.

I haven't read Brideshead, either, but boy do I covet the teddy bear in the series - more than the gay, even!

VMars was painful this week. Which sucks because my TV watching was very limited and that time could have been spent on something better. I loved Wallace, and I loved the Piz/Veronica right up until Logan appeared, so that's something. We've actually been saying that Piz is too good for V - nice to have you aboard the thought train! *g* I didn't really understand the Mac/Max stuff - Max is cute, but what about poor Bronsan! Also, I'm highly amused at 19

[natalexx]

Heh, it's scary what spending all your time immersed in only text can do to you. Ah, yes, now get this: natalexx should be pronounced like it looks, with the emphasis on the "lex." Though I'm pretty happy letting my cyber identity remain entirely in the realm of text.

Yeah, Veronica's motives are pretty much nonstop selfish these days. What's up with that?

And, 'Nemesis' was terrific. 'Noir' was an amusing piece of fluff. Though I think TW's acting is actually getting worse.

[anonymous]

evelyn wor (except not with the strong american r). watch lost in translation, they say his name a few times. whoops, it's too late now.. i just read the rest of your entry...

tell me alllll about Spider-man 3 sometime (yes, I've already seen it.. I just want to know what you thought)

[natalexx]

Seriously? There's a roll of "r" on the end of "waugh"? My presentation was actually put off to Monday, so that could be good to know.

Heh, okay, I'm thinking of going to it this weekend. Did you like it?

[anonymous]

no, i was saying it's not pronounced with the american r... so no roll.

oh i loved it. i thought it was a lot more relevant to the story than the second one.. and heaps funny too. And ooh... kinda sexy sometimes.. in jazz or blues bar or whatever that music's called. Let's say the music bar lol.

[natalexx]

I *loved* the dancing. It was so bizarre and random but totally awesome.