The Unbearable Bassington [Hardcover]

Saki (Author), Maurice Baring (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2004

1912. Saki (pseudonym of H. H. Munro), English author, is best known for his witty, sometimes whimsical, often cynical and bizarre short stories; they are collected in Reginald, The Chronicles of Clovis, Beasts and Super-Beasts, and other volumes. At the beginning of Munro's first novel, The Unbearable Bassington, the reader assumes that what they are reading is going to be exactly like his Reginald stories, but on a larger scale. Comus Bassington is another of the upper class young men with a cynical outlook on life. The plot is basically that his mother keeps trying to arrange things for Comus; a job as a secretary or an advantageous marriage, only for Comus to spoil things by selfishness or an unwillingness to be guided by another. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

Comus Bassington is the irresponsible and ungrateful focus of his corner of British society. Circa 1900, what can be done with him--besides ship him to the Colonies, where he can no longer embarrass his mother or break the hearts of girls who ought to marry sensibly? Saki's social chaffing is gentle, revealing kernels of sympathy for all his superficial and misguided characters. As narrator, Joyce gives the right touch of class and has, besides, a gift for sketching a complete vocal characterization in a single sentence. This period piece is slow-paced, almost a ramble at times. But its subtle delights should please lovers of British social satirists from Austen to Wodehouse. S.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (May 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1432609912
• ISBN-13: 978-1432609917
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good peek at Edwardian England, May 11, 2004

By 

C. K. Whitsett (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unbearable Bassington (Oxford Paperback Reference) (Paperback)

The Unbearable Bassington centers on Francesca Bassington, a woman obsessed with protecting her possessions, and her son Comus, a wise-cracking, irresponsible, and shallow young man who simultaneously charms and offends everyone with whom he comes in contact. Francesca has affection for her son, but wishes he could be remade as a responsible member of society, especially where such responsibility can lead to Francesca's continued well-being. Comus, however, manages both purposely and accidentally to thwart his mother's wishes, and in the end is sent into exile in Africa, where it is hoped he will make a career. Secondary characters abound, most notably Courtney Youghal, a mediocre but flashy politician with whom Comus has a shallow friendship, and who becomes Comus's rival for the hand of the wealthy Elaine de Frey. Francesca disapproves of Courtney, yet it is clear she wishes that her son were more like him. Ironically, although Comus's main shortcoming seems that he's an idler, he is no more so than his mother and her circle. It seems more to the point to say that Comus doesn't idle in the proper way.

Most of the book is a setup for the last few chapters, which deal with Comus's exile, and which are poignant in the best sense of the word. Essentially, Comus is doomed by his own nature, which will not allow him, as an adult, to fit into the society in which he was raised. I take strong issue with the idea, put forth by the previous reviewer, that Comus is Dorian Gray-like. The comparison is absurd. Comus is merely a puckish boy who doesn't fit, and so is sent away to be forgotten.

The book is a fairly complex study of human motivation, although it is somewhat undercut by Saki's need to clutter the text with political and cultural details that detract from its basic themes. Also present are Saki's ubiquitious bons mots which, while charming in his short stories, become tiresome as the book goes on. This carping aside, it is an insightful look at middle-class England in the waning days of the empire, just prior to the outbreak of World War I.

I think it's also something for us to read today, when perhaps our children aren't "achieving" as we think they should. That's why I reread it, and I'm glad I did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little-known masterpiece, March 30, 2000

By 

Joseph W. Smith III - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unbearable Bassington (Oxford Paperback Reference) (Paperback)

Yes, Saki was one of the world's great short-story writers. Too bad so few know of this obscure full-length novel that displays every bit as much brilliance as the tales -- if not more. Concerns Comus Bassington, a worthless, Dorian Gray-like libertine living around the turn of the century, and the gradual dissolution of his life. Biting satire of materialism, written with vigor and beauty; a short of Bernard Shaw by way of Oscar Wilde (incidentally, the novel contains a mockery of Shaw, in the character of a playwright named Sherard Blaw!). Ardent readers are urged to find this gem and enjoy every minute of it.