Voljeni pokojnik: angloamerička tragedija

The Beloved Dead: An Anglo-American Tragedy is a short satirical novel by British author Evelyn Waugh. The work was written after the author's stay in California, where he was struck by the commercialization of death and the funeral industry.

The main character is Dennis Barlow, a young Englishman living in Hollywood and trying to cope after the death of his friend and compatriot Sir Francis Hinsley. While organizing his funeral, Dennis discovers the luxurious memorial park Whispering Glades, a place where death is transformed into a luxurious spectacle intended for wealthy clients.

There he meets Aimée Thanatogenos, a lonely employee in charge of counseling grieving families. Dennis falls in love with her, as does Mr. Joyboy, the chief embalmer and one of the most unusual characters in the novel. An unusual rivalry develops between the two men, while Aimée is caught between their completely different worlds.

Waugh satirizes the American tendency to turn everything into a business through a series of specific episodes. Undertakers offer luxurious tombs, sentimental ceremonies and artificial comfort, while behind the appearance of dignity lies a cold commercial logic. Particularly satirical are the scenes of conversations with the bereaved, the advertising of funeral services and Joyboy's professional treatment of the deceased.

The novel ends tragically for Aimée, and the events expose the superficiality and hypocrisy of the world that Waugh depicts. The Beloved Dead remains one of his most incisive satirical works, at once humorous and dark a critique of American culture, consumerism and the relationship to death.