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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I watched the film version of this about two years ago and loved it and it finally came up at book club. This is just such a lovely story, revolutionary for its time but unable to be released in that time. It paints a vivid social portrait of life as a closeted English suburbanite. This is a deeply repressed time and place, and the portions of this novel that express this particular closet are desolate and hopeless. Crucially, Forster comes to turn not just on bourgeois sexual morality, but class itself. His work in this regard feels a little shallow to me, a little too sunny, but that's exactly the point. The reason this novel is so revolutionary is the exact same reason it could not be published: it has a happy ending. Gay men were not allowed this in literature when Forster wrote it, and they were barely allowed this in literature when it was finally published.
I don't think I've ever read a book where emotions - love, friendship, resentment and everything else - would be described in a way so easy for me to relate to. A very personal experience, but a definite must-read for every queer studies enthusiast.
A brilliant author writing about a love affair between 2 men and all the trials and tribulations they go through in Edwardian England.
Very vibey book—it played out like a period film in my mind. I found Maurice to be quite a snob but his arc was very satisfying. The last chapter made me love him, so glad he finally stood up for himself. In the end note Forester says there’s no point in writing if there’s not a happy ending. So refreshing! I love fiction that imagines happiness in our decidedly unhappy world. The ending really brought it all together for me and I can’t recommend it enough. ❤️❤️
“A happy ending was imperative. I shouldn’t have bothered to write otherwise. I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows, and in this sense, Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.”
(E. M. Forster, 1914)
“You confuse what’s important with what’s impressive!”
“You do care a little for me, I know…but nothing to speak of, and you don’t love me. I was yours once till death if you’d cared to keep me, but I’m someone else’s now…and he’s mine in a way that shocks you, but why don’t you stop being shocked and attend to your own happiness?”
(E. M. Forster, 1914)
“You confuse what’s important with what’s impressive!”
“You do care a little for me, I know…but nothing to speak of, and you don’t love me. I was yours once till death if you’d cared to keep me, but I’m someone else’s now…and he’s mine in a way that shocks you, but why don’t you stop being shocked and attend to your own happiness?”
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
4.5
I'm really glad I read the book after watching the movie! They are pretty similar but I really appreicate getting Clive's POV in the book. I think what is most fascinating about the book is I kept having to remind myself how in the moment it was, in regards to when it was written. It feels like historical fiction in a lot of ways, but it wasn't it was what was really happening to E.M. Forster at the time, and the fact that it has a happy ending is so wonderful and hopeful! The writing was very beautiful and the only reason I would take off half a star would be it just didn't thrill me enough to be a five star read (even though there is nothing technically wrong with it) I just wish there was a bit more development with Alec and Maurice. But still great read!
I'm really glad I read the book after watching the movie! They are pretty similar but I really appreicate getting Clive's POV in the book. I think what is most fascinating about the book is I kept having to remind myself how in the moment it was, in regards to when it was written. It feels like historical fiction in a lot of ways, but it wasn't it was what was really happening to E.M. Forster at the time, and the fact that it has a happy ending is so wonderful and hopeful! The writing was very beautiful and the only reason I would take off half a star would be it just didn't thrill me enough to be a five star read (even though there is nothing technically wrong with it) I just wish there was a bit more development with Alec and Maurice. But still great read!
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Misogyny
emotional
reflective