What is the author's style in The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh?

The structure of The Loved One is simple. Just as Evelyn Waugh used a basic, third-person point of view, apparently to focus his subtleties on other aspects of the story, he likewise does nothing exceptional with the storyline. The novel has ten numbered but untitled chapters, the first of which is preceded by a short author's statement. The book has no Table of Contents or supplementary material of any kind. The plot progresses chronologically, covering perhaps a few months in time. There is no backtracking or flash-forwarding in the book. The closest Waugh comes to a shift in time is when he describes events of one evening and morning for a particular character, and then starts another chapter by describing the events of that same morning for a different character. In one chapter, he creates a brief "back story" for his main character, Dennis Barlow, by summarizing his wartime experiences prior to his arrival in Los Angeles, where the novel's action is set. This is a brief section of the chapter, however, and does not constitute a change in the chronological structure of the story. Waugh's lack of concern about structural complexities serves the purpose of his satire, by helping to isolate the characters in a particular time and place. By not moving the characters back and forth in time, or making any other structural diversions to fill out details of their lives, the author creates an impression that they exist outside other realities. They stand out in relief against the world, as if their small lives were all of existence. Such a naive misconception on the part of his characters is very appropriate to Waugh's satirical intent.