Miscellanies : prose and verse (1844)

Una de las mejores novelas de Thackeray, junto con "La feria de las vanidades", "Barry Lyndon" fue llevada también memorablemente al cine por Stanley Kubrick y ha pasado a ser película "de culto". ( )

K-1

The character is supposed to be based on my great-great-great-great-granduncle. Well, in character, eventual bankruptcy, and pursuit of rich heiresses there is definitely a resemblance.

Perhaps I had too high expectations of this novel... I loved Vanity Fair & so expected to love this too so maybe my rating should be 4 rather than 3.5; I'll see how I feel once some time has passed.

Barry Lyndon (nee Redmond Barry) is an Irish scamp (similar to Flashman) but unlike with Becky Sharpe, I didn't feel the charm of the character. I also didn't find the same humor in this novel that had me laughing in Vanity Fair. It was an enjoyable book that I am glad that I read but it seems unlikely to be one I will revisit. ( )

Thackeray's first, written at a time when he was greatly embittered (more than usual), and it shows. He's far too blunt and shows very little cleverness in his attempts at social humour. He's like a less refined Austen. Though he looks at subjects she would never go near so directly, the social observations are just the same only not as well written, making it more than a little disappointing. There's never a "did you catch that? I missed it the first time around" in any character's hypocrisy. No, we're hit over the head with it. Every joke is shoved in your face, every flaw fully exposed, and it spoils everything. That said, I'm a little fond of stupid, awful, vile Redmond Barry. Lord knows why. ( )