Customer Reviews

BLACK MISCHIEF.

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I suspect this classic novel is out of print in the US for reasons of misguided political correctness, which is a great shame for this is probably Waugh's finest and funniest novel. (Penguin Books in the UK publish a copy which is available on the www.amazon.co.uk site).

Black, Oxford-educated Seth ("Emperor of Azania,Chief of the Chiefs of Sakuyu, Lord of Wanda and Tyrant of the Seas, Bachelor of the Arts of Oxford University")attempts to reform his backward, corrupt African nation with the aid of an amoral Englishman, Basil Seal. This being Waugh, all ends hilariously tragically. All the usual Waugh-like elements are here: the "disappearing hero" (ie non-active protagonist); the comic but desperately tragic fate of the main characters; the utterly misogynistic & unsympathetic view of all mankind; and all written with his usual, biting, elegant, hilarious satire. This novel is not racist. It may be a trifle politically incorrect to our enlightened generation (political correctness of course meaning that we think it but don't say it)but as with all novels more than 20 years old we have to read it in the light of the attitudes and opinions of the era in which it is written and this novel is a very accurate and funny reflection of the attitudes of the 1930's.

Despite the novel's title, the satire is aimed at all races and ethnic groups, with the white British Legation (portrayed as ignorant, inane, out-of-touch idiots) coming in for the bitterest attacks. Indeed, if our sympathies lie anywhere, it is with the well-meaning, likeable but ultimately ill-advised black emperor, Seth. Waugh was possibly the greatest and sharpest satirist of the 20th Century and this is possibly his greatest and sharpest novel.As an Englishman, I feel it is very sad that American readers are denied access to this classic work. ("If we can't stamp out literature in the country we can at least stop it being brought in from outside" - Evelyn Waugh, 'Vile Bodies')

Such advocates of political correctness should perhaps adopt Seth's own slogan for his doomed campaign "We are Progess and the New Age. Nothing can stand in our way." Read this novel - order it from the UK site if necessary - & judge it for yourself. I guarantee you a good read.

Having recently read a review of some of Waugh's works in the Weekly Standard that mentioned that Black Mischief ( affectionately known to afficionados as BM) was out of print, I dug out a mid-1960s double paperback edition from Dell Publishing to find out how racist or politically incorrect it could possibly be. To my delight, the writing is crisp and wicked; I finished it in two days, laughing aloud at least three times.

This was more than 30 years after I originally read this novel. The portrait of colonialism and the folly of progress shines through quite as much as its utter lack of sentimentality about human beings. If anything, I came away this time with more sympathy for Basil Seal, the Emperor Seth and the savage tribesmen as tragic figures doomed in the first two cases by their own delusions of creating the future and in the last case, the lack of understanding of their inevitable doom. Of course this book should be republished and reread.

A few racist words written in the context of the early 1930s should not deter us from enjoying pure misogynist fun.

The only humor today that even comes close to that of Black Mischief, is ironically, that of the outrageous, black comedians- otherwise Waugh rules.
The whole concept of the British in exotic countries is a farce, and when mixed with Waugh's equally lunatic native characters face to face with bizarre and inexplicable Western civilization- whew- anything could and does happen. There are no noble characters, of course, but redeeming fools, which is about as good as one can get in a Wauvian satire. My favorites are the animal rights ladies who come to Africa to see that the natives are treating their livestock well. These ladies, one named Miss Tin, land in the midst of a revolution and have to hit a driver in the head with a brandy bottle to get a ride to the English settlement. They followed a fellow anti-vivesectionist cleric who led the ministry of our `dumb chums.'
There is every kind of European religion stirring up trouble and as usual, the British are completely sequestered amongst themselves preoccupied with their gardens and other habits in blissful and selfish ignorance. The leader of these Imperialists is described as "a self-assured old booby." One of the titled females is named `Lady Everyman.'

The political relevance is so acute that it seems impossible that this was written in 1932. Waugh even seems to have some political consciousness in this book, certainly, he is gentler, on the whole while being enduringly funny. I would definitely place this as my second favorite Waugh. It has a gripping end and is a statement less of bigotry, (of which he probably was one, but who wasn't,) but also of the need to reevaluate what in the name of God all of the colonizing was about.

Basil Seal, bored with predictable london sets off to witness political revoultion in Africa, paid for by the timely theft of his mother's prize emerald brooch. An hilarious and biting satire of anyone and everything, including himself. Brilliantly morbid, In Black Mischief Waugh has definitly found his voice and once again delights his fans who take vicarious pleasure from his efforts

"Black Mischief" is not a safe book; it delves into racial and political divides as wide now as then and lets you know its author isn't aboard for any of that 21st-century sensitivity rot. Despite or perhaps because of this it is a good book, perhaps a great book, and worthy of your time.

In the island nation of Azania, just off the coast of East Africa, Oxford-educated Emperor Seth attempts to force his backward, war-torn nation to emulate the West. Help arrives in the form of a British ne'er-do-well, Basil Seal, "a man of progress and culture" as Seth styles him. This of course means Seal is trouble as well.

As I read deeper into "Black Mischief", I was struck by two things. One was how easily it flowed, not only with Waugh's always elegant prose but the plot itself. Waugh isn't ordinarily so clean a scenarist. The other was how like Joseph Conrad's "Nostromo" this is, making the same points about First World meeting Third World. Except where "Nostromo" was clumsy and dry, Waugh sells his message with wit and surreal humor.

He even goes to the trouble of mapping out Azania, which helps a lot given it is a nation entirely of Waugh's own imagining. As the characters cross its expanse, I found myself referring back to the map in front and enjoying how well it matched up with the narrative.

When I picked up "Black Mischief", I was concerned about the obvious racial aspects. Waugh was capable of writing hurtful things about blacks as well as other groups Waugh experienced from a distance. "Remote People," published in 1931 just one year before "Black Mischief", presents Africans in the role of bloody-minded savages.

Well, there are plenty of savages in "Black Mischief", too, only most of the ones we get to know best and like least are European. Seth begins to go wrong when he tries to imitate his imagined betters, picking up and dropping one faddish craze after another, whether it be autogyros or universal contraception. "THROUGH STERILITY TO CULTURE" reads one banner.

"He'll discover every damn modern thing if we don't find him a woman damn quick," an accomplish of Seal complains. Not that Seth's gullible. The West is just too full of bad ideas.

Take a couple of middle-aged animal-rights activists who walk through Azania's impoverished streets throwing scraps for dogs and complain when children try to make off with them instead: "Greedy little wretches."

Not all the jokes go over. Waugh does hit the same points over again, like the dense senior British envoy Sir Sampson and his scheming French opposite number M. Ballon. The notion of Azania as a plaything for Western mediocrities is a worthy one, central to Waugh's point regarding former colonialists suddenly opting to lead their ex-charges on the road of improvement. I just wished he was more subtle at it, or tied that part of the story better to the rest.

But there's nothing really bad in here, at least not anything like I expected, and there's quite a bit good, even brilliant. The first chapter alone packs enough intrigue and suspense for Frederick Forsyth, and the Conradian mood, though limned with humor, stays intact throughout. There are gulp-inducing moments, and laugh-inducing ones, and the marvel is not only how often these come up but how closely together.

The only humor today that even comes close to that of Black Mischief, is ironically, that of the outrageous, black comedians- otherwise Waugh rules.
The whole concept of the British in exotic countries is a farce, and when mixed with Waugh's equally lunatic native characters face to face with bizarre and inexplicable Western civilization- whew- anything could and does happen. There are no noble characters, of course, but redeeming fools, which is about as good as one can get in a Wauvian satire. My favorites are the animal rights ladies who come to Africa to see that the natives are treating their livestock well. These ladies, one named Miss Tin, land in the midst of a revolution and have to hit a driver in the head with a brandy bottle to get a ride to the English settlement. They followed a fellow anti-vivesectionist cleric who led the ministry of our `dumb chums.'
There is every kind of European religion stirring up trouble and as usual, the British are completely sequestered amongst themselves preoccupied with their gardens and other habits in blissful and selfish ignorance. The leader of these Imperialists is described as "a self-assured old booby." One of the titled females is named `Lady Everyman.'

The political relevance is so acute that it seems impossible that this was written in 1932. Waugh even seems to have some political consciousness in this book, certainly, he is gentler, on the whole while being enduringly funny. I would definitely place this as my second favorite Waugh. It has a gripping end and is a statement less of bigotry, (of which he probably was one, but who wasn't,) but also of the need to reevaluate what in the name of God all of the colonizing was about.

Be forewarned, this is a highly vicious but often outrageously funny satirical novel that skewers both white-Westerners and black-Africans. No one, regardless of sex, race, color, creed, national origin, or social status, is left fully clothed by the time Waugh is done showing how all "emperors" eventually have no clothes. But this is not a novel designed to delve into the inner workings of "real" characters or to discuss philosophical or religious issues like good & evil or the meaning of life. Everyone is a type (e.g., upper crust cad) or used as a necessary foil (e.g.,the paranoid French diplomat who is clueless as to how clueless his British counterparts are), so no character comes across completely as someone who actually could exist in the real world. And even though Waugh did travel extensively in Ethiopia in the 1930s, an experience he used for this novel, this is not a work designed primarily to make the reader feel as if they are getting a detailed, intimate, and realistic portrait of a place now brought to vivid life.

This is the very first Waugh novel I've read. I plan on reading more. My primary loves in 20th Century English literature are K. Amis, A. Burgess, G. Greene, and G. Orwell. Amis can be equally funny ("Lucky Jim") and his characters usually have a greater depth and more vivid life as potential people. Burgess, Greene, & Orwell usually delve deeply into the philosophical or religious issues and can bring a place to life for the reader. If you love this book, read Greene's "Our Man in Havana" or Burgess' "Devil of a State". Both are comic novels set in the 3rd world.

As comic novels go this is a 4 mainly because the last third isn't quite as funny as the first two thirds and the cynical worldview in such concentrated form is a bit wearying by the time the carnage is over and those who survive exit unredeemed and unrepentent.

BLACK MISCHIEF is the sixth Waugh book I've read, and it's one of his funniest. The plot concerns goings-on in the fictional African empire of Azania (which is supposed to be off the coast of present day Somalia). Civil war has just erupted, and an English educated Azanian named Seth ends up the victor. He gets caught up with the British legation, including frivolous Basil Seal (an acquaintance of the recurring Waugh character - Lady Metroland). Basil is made the Minister of Moderization and has Seth's constant ear. Naturally, things spiral downward from there. BLACK MISCHIEF starts off a bit slow, and the first 75 pages are a bit tedious and confusing. However, things really take off afterwards. Waugh is always funny, but this book has more laugh-out-loud moments than most of his novels. Highly recommended for fans of Waugh and good satirical novels.

Modern, and I use that term knowing full well what the author thinks of it, readers may find themselves put off by terms that have been abondoned in polite society. My suspicion is that Waugh knew this and used them anyway. So as one reads one is occasionally confronted with the bald-face epithet. It seems to serve a purpose: one must judge on some other merit than mere appearance. Certainly Connolly seems to have chosen an unlikely term of endearment for his bride but the careful reader will note that those who take exception to it both object to the rudeness of the term and to Connolly's mixed marriage. Despite his coarse language Connolly does seem to harbor genuine affection for his bride. So it seems that the reader must look beyond words to understand the true nature of the characters. The anonymous narrator also seems to use the occasional epithet but again it seems only to set the scene. Waugh takes great pains to show that things are what they are --no more and no less-- and that we as humans are highly fallible and very likely to get even the simple things wrong. Or so it seems when young emperor Seth remonstrates Connolly for his impolitic speech regarding his wife not out of a sense of injustice but because it was decidedly un-modern. Check your PC sensibilities and enjoy the book.

It would be so easy to knock this novel, originally published in 1932, as a product of its time that holds little appeal for modern readers. And, truthfully, there is a lot that is very un-PC here. Taking place in an east-African island nation between two revolutions, it traces the quick rise and fall of the Emperor Seth, an African of some Western education. Many would find his depiction of the natives reason enough to condemn the novel. However, Waugh's brutal treatment of everyone--British, French, Indians, Arabs, and more--makes it ridiculous to hold anything against him. He is an equal opportunity satirist.

In fact, this is a very funny novel that lets loose with some barbs that can still find their way home in the twenty-first century. His portrayal of the useless English envoy and his family is right on target as an example of the reward-over-substance political appointment, played alongside the classic scheming French envoy. Even more humorous is the portrayal of Dame Mildred and Miss Tin as the "PETA"-types among the cannibals. But the novel really moves with Basil Seal, whose self-serving attempts to help Emperor Seth Westernize Azania seem like the right thing to do but lead to disaster after disaster. Seal is great as the truly intelligent guy who can't help but do stupid things.

And these are just a few examples on top of a host of funny minor characters--a gone-native English general with his native wife, native royalty, ridiculous prelates and abbots, and an Indian who always manages to survive and make a profit. They deal with such issues as daily executions, making the single train line run, family planning among the natives, and managing to survive the revolts and revolutions. If taken in the right spirit, this is an enjoyable Waugh classic.