amazon PD: 'We are Progress and the New Age. Nothing can stand in our way.' When Oxford-educated Emperor Seth succeeds to the throne of the African state of Azania, he has a tough job on his hands. His subjects are ill-informed and unruly, and corruption, double-dealing and bloodshed are rife. However, with the aid if Minister of Modernization Basil Seal, Seth plans to introduce his people to the civilized ways of the west - but will it be as simple as that?

This is an odd little book, and definitely my least-favorite Waugh novel. It's a satire of post-colonial Africa--Waugh invents an African country called "Azania" and populates it with various native tribes, Indian immigrants, and British and French diplomats. He pokes fun at all of them equally, but all according to stereotype (the natives are primitive, the immigrants greedy, the French suspicious, and the English clueless). He then introduces Basil Seal, an English dilettante, who manuevers himself into a position as the minister of modernization. The book contains decidedly racist material, and while in some places that is clearly part of the satire of the opinions of the diplomats, in other places it's possible that those are Waugh's own views.

There are some funny moments, but on the whole, my biggest problem with the book is that it was boring. It's all about the satire and not so much about the plot, which is fine for ~100 pages or so, but then the reader needs something else to keep going. There is a funny twist at the end, though. ( )

Black Mischief, Waugh's third novel, helped to establish his reputation as a master satirist. Set on the fictional African island of Azania, the novel chronicles the efforts of Emperor Seth, assisted by the Englishman Basil Seal, to modernise his kingdom. Profound hilarity ensues from the issuance of homemade currency, the staging of a "Birth Control Gala," the rightful ruler's demise at his own rather long and tiring coronation ceremonies, and a good deal more mischief.

Waugh's bored aristocratic protagonist, one Basil Seal, bullies and blunders his way into the de facto prime ministership of the fictitious African nation of Anzania. Black Mischief is funny, but tiptoes a fine line between acerbity and bitterness, with the latter winning out in the end. If you're new to Waugh, I'd start almost anywhere else in his work. ( )