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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved 'The Magus' and 'The Collector' and expected to love this book as well. Unfortunately, after some 100 pages, I'm giving it up. The main character seems to be a spoiled narcissist and I don't appreciate the author popping in and talking to the audience directly.
Not going to lie, enjoyed this book way more than I should have, considering it was for my postmodernism class. But it was one of those rare books where even the lecture enhanced my love of it. By the time I finished reading it, I was in shock, and in love. The meta-fictional and the distinct post-modernist pieces of it were wonderfully done. I devoured it, and while I am still reeling from the ending, it fits the book perfectly, even if it leaves me questioning a few things. I have not had a book for school that leaves me sitting in silence contemplating with a grin in a while, so this was completely refreshing.
A wonderful novel, and one I will be keeping on my shelf for a long time to come.
A wonderful novel, and one I will be keeping on my shelf for a long time to come.
Echoes of Wilkie Collins... Really enjoyed this one. Comparably easy to read with interesting characters and creative narrator's voice.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What makes this book so good is the fact that it’s utterly unlike anything else. Is it exhausting? Yes. Is it worth reading? Another yes.
I read this on planes and in throngs of drunk people splashing in pools, and I’ll be the first to admit that I should’ve indulged in a classic mom beach read for this spring break. But I feel like I stumbled upon a gem nonetheless. I bought it years ago from a used bookstore that’s now closed, the Barnes and Noble receipt printed in the 80s still trapped in the last chapter. It’s a rather fitting situation for a novel entitled ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman.’
It has prostitutes, marriages for wealth, stuffy male conversations about Darwinism I truly tried not to skip, a lovely representation of Melancholia Personified - a character who would have a rather aesthetic tumblr today, scandal, romance, intrigue, passive aggressive journal entries, you name it.
What truly makes it stand out is the author’s voice weaved in, breaking the fourth wall, offering alternate sides and exploring the true irony of the Victorian era. I don’t know how he ever got away with it. But it’s good, it’s intriguing, and I’ll block out the drunks screaming any day for Sarah.
I read this on planes and in throngs of drunk people splashing in pools, and I’ll be the first to admit that I should’ve indulged in a classic mom beach read for this spring break. But I feel like I stumbled upon a gem nonetheless. I bought it years ago from a used bookstore that’s now closed, the Barnes and Noble receipt printed in the 80s still trapped in the last chapter. It’s a rather fitting situation for a novel entitled ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman.’
It has prostitutes, marriages for wealth, stuffy male conversations about Darwinism I truly tried not to skip, a lovely representation of Melancholia Personified - a character who would have a rather aesthetic tumblr today, scandal, romance, intrigue, passive aggressive journal entries, you name it.
What truly makes it stand out is the author’s voice weaved in, breaking the fourth wall, offering alternate sides and exploring the true irony of the Victorian era. I don’t know how he ever got away with it. But it’s good, it’s intriguing, and I’ll block out the drunks screaming any day for Sarah.
may 2020 edit: Two years after reading this novel and I.... forgot everything. I wish I wrote a review. I'm almost certain though that I never fully read this book or only speed-scanned it in advance of class.
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I admired this but I didn't love it; I didn't find it emotionally engaging. I found myself without a preference between the various endings, because I wasn't really invested in the fate or motivation of either Sarah or Charles.
I did very much enjoy the references to Hardy and especially [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298411870s/2156.jpg|2534720].
This site was very helpful with translations of random French snippets, pictures of the area, endings to stories alluded to but not finished in footnotes, and sundry other references I didn't pick up. http://www.bookdrum.com/books/the-french-lieutenants-woman/9780099478331/index.html
I did very much enjoy the references to Hardy and especially [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298411870s/2156.jpg|2534720].
This site was very helpful with translations of random French snippets, pictures of the area, endings to stories alluded to but not finished in footnotes, and sundry other references I didn't pick up. http://www.bookdrum.com/books/the-french-lieutenants-woman/9780099478331/index.html
First comment: Sometimes "they" are right...you can't go home again. I read this book in college some twenty years ago or so and I remember thinking it was great. I don't know if that had anything to do with the influence of the professor. The course was taught by one of my all-time favorites. But I remember having a greater compassion for Sarah and Charles at the time and understanding the fragility of love and all that. This time around--rereading it for my Birth Year Reading Challenge--not so much. I actually got a bit exasperated with Charles' infatuation and rejection of Ernestina. I was also a bit outraged by Charles' denunciation of Sarah in the second ending. Blaming everything on her "manipulation" of him seems to me a bit of a cop-out. He's the one who kept going back for more. And with all the talk (both within the story and in the narrative asides) about "duty," it would have been nice if he had remembered his towards his intended. This is another one (like The Green Man) that I am glad to have gotten over and done with. Previous rating on Visual Bookshelf: four out of five stars. This time around: two out of five. [Will average it for a three star rating]
Review first posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Review first posted on my blog My Reader's Block.