Waste of Time by John Courteney Boot

Thanks to Patagon Journal.com

Title: Waste of Time 

Author: John Courteney Boot

Publisher: Not known 

Source book: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

Right at the beginning of Scoop we discover that John Courteney Boot is a successful author. The first of his eight books, a life of Rimbaud, was published when he was only eighteen. His most recent novel is Waste of Time, a studiously modest description of some harrowing months among the Patagonian Indians. Signed first editions sell for a shilling or two over the original price, and apparently the Prime Minister always has a copy of a Boot on his bedside table.

John Boot wants to go to Ishmaelia to report on the war for The Daily Beast. Unfortunately there’s a mix up and William Boot, who writes about British wildlife and nature in a regular feature called Lush Places, is sent to Ishmaelia instead. William is responsible for such deathless prose as “feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole…” which for some reason is a very well-know quote IRL.

I did read Scoop some years ago and didn’t particularly enjoy it. It may be a much-admired satire, brilliantly irreverent and an exuberant comedy (thank you google) but it really isn’t for me. Yes, regular readers will know that lots of stuff is not for me. Why not be honest? Luckily Waste of Time features right at the beginning of the book so I didn’t have to wade through too much Waugh.

Interesting to see that one of the characters in Scoop has a country house in East Finchley! That’s a very easy walk from our house and definitely not in the country now.

Thanks to Getty Images via travelandleisure.com