Afternoon Men (Sun and Moon Classics)

by Anthony Powell

First published in 1931, Afternoon Men tracks the trivial encounters and empty pastimes of the social set through William Atwater. With a glee in demolishing pretenses that rivals the works of Max Beerbohm and Evelyn Waugh, Powell exposes artistic pretension, aristocratic jadedness, and the dark side of the "glamorous" life. But as Atwater finds his love for Susan Nunnery dissipate in this atmosphere, Powell moves beyond satire into darker territory. Language is stripped of meaning and human contact is thwarted until even action turns events back upon themselves in an endless cycle of futility.