Before there was Paris Hilton, there was Vile Bodies

I’ve been meaning to read Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh ever since watching the Stephen Fry directed Bright Young Things. The movie was based on Waugh’s novel that satirizes all the ridiculous partying that rich kids did in the 1920’s. I loved everything and laughed out loud while reading certain passages.

Just as moralists are condemning celebrities like Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan for partying way too hard, it’s important to remind ourselves the this has always happened. Vile Bodies serves to remind us that it’s not moral decay at all because we’ve been rotten for a long time.

The story is based around an aspiring writer named Adam Fenwick-Symes and his fiancee, Nina Blount. The two make their rounds to parties all over London and get into all sorts of trouble with a star-studded cast. Their pending marriage is a bit of a joke and well, everything’s a bit of joke.

Paris dressed as Miley. At least this outfit is getting-out-of-limousine safe.

What really makes this fantastically HILARIOUS is the sarcastic narrator that adds humour to the most unfortunate and inconvenient details. It’s the Evelyn Waugh we know and love (or hate).

I also loved the media circus where tabloids wrote up / made up every move these young aristobrats made at each party. There’s a chapter where the PM’s daughter wakes up to discover her previous night’s activities are front-page tabloid news. And to think, there wasn’t even Facebook back then!