The Loved One
by Evelyn Waugh · first published 1948
3mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2015–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
One of Waugh’s most irreverent satires, the story focuses on the funeral business in Los Angeles.
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…saw a number of British ex-pats in Los Angles writing novels about their experiences. Isherwood's novel is another classic of the genre although the best of the lot, in my opinion, is Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One (just skip the atrocious movie of the same title which was so bad, Waugh stipulated that Hollywood would never again get to film his work).
on “Brave New LA: Aldous Huxley in Los Angeles (2013)” ↗Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One covers the same ground but is much funnier. Especially amusing is Waugh's invention of the "Happier Hunting Ground annual postcard service" for dearly departed pets that predicts features discussed for…
on “Death Redesigned” ↗His journey doesn’t really follow that pattern though. The Loved One, a deeply iconoclastic satirical novel came after Brideshead.