One of 100 Best English-language Novels Published Since 1923.No.34 in the Modern Library's List of 100 Best Novels.A Handful of Dust is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh,first published in 1934.It is often grouped with the author's early,satirical comic novels for which he became famous in the pre-World War II years.Set between the wars in the chic upper-middle classes in and around London,A Handful of Dust is full of horrible people doing horrible things to each other,but it adds up to a bitter indictment of human behaviour.And it's not all jokes.There's despair lurking beneath the brittle laughs,and sadness at the waste of potential...The book's initial critical reception was modest,but it was popular with the public and has never been out of print.In the years since publication the book's reputation has grown; it is generally considered one of Waugh's best works,and has more than once figured on unofficial lists of the 20th century's best novels.
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