Genre: Satire, Classics

Narrative Style: Third person, chronological

Rating: 3/5

Published: 1932

Format: Paperback

Synopsis: Black Mischief is set on the fictional island of Azania and follows new emperor, Seth as he tries to set up his government and modernise the country. He is aided by his Oxford friend, Basil Seal who sees plenty of possibilities in the new country.

Reading challenges: TBR Challenge

Time on shelf: At least 10 years. It was in a boxset of classics that I got for Christmas one year. I put off reading it because might not have stood the test of time. But I have read Waugh before and quite enjoyed it so I thought I’d give it a go.

This was a strange and sometimes uncomfortable read. It is supposed to be satirical. Perhaps it was. It’s hard to know what people might have made of it at the time. To me. it felt muddled, unfunny and, at times, racist. It has certainly been my least favourite Waugh.

Of course, it is hard to judge a man outside of his time and I doubt very much that Waugh was saying things that were very different from what a lot of people thought at the time. It can’t be expected that writers will be able to predict exactly what ideas will change and how. Who knows what future generations will make of what current authors have to say and what ways we will be criticised.

So what was good – well, some of the satire did still stick. The way that Seth favoured everything that was modern regardless of its usefulness was amusing. Like the tank he brought to Azania without thinking of the heat. Like the boots he tries to make his army wear. He is constantly coming up with new and ridiculous ideas. He creates new money that is useless. He has no more idea about the country of Azania than any of the white diplomats. His Oxford education has merely widened the gap between him and his people.

All of the white diplomats and their families were ridiculous and incompetent. They were concerned with their own schemes and their own betterment. They didn’t care about the country and they didn’t care about the people who lived there unless it might affect their comfort and safety. All of which felt like it might be true.

But there were bad things. Waugh has no issue with the N word. He also uses ‘darkie’. One character goes by the name of Black Bitch. There is cannibalism. All of which are bad to our eyes but probably weren’t that outlandish at the time of publication. Without a doubt, though, the worse thing is that Waugh can’t imagine a future of self rule for Africa. Seth is out of touch with his own country, more like the white man than his fellow Africans. When he takes over the country, some of the diplomats plan a coup d’etat. They find Seth’s senile uncle, Achon and reinstall him on the throne (presumably because they will be able to control him). He promptly dies and Seth is killed by one of his ministers. The league of nations has to step in and claim the country. I found this the most difficult thing to deal with. I don’t know how big a feat of imagination it might have been for Waugh to picture an Africa ruled competently by Africans but I found the end of this novel rather depressing.