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carlyg123's review against another edition
4.0
I had misgivings about my choice to listen to this book, as it wasn't the typically mysterious and/or gothic text I am accustomed to. More than once I admitted that had this been written by anyone else, I should have liked to have set it aside after the end of part one - at the latest. Then again, I also opted to listen rather than read because the commitment was different and I could simultaneously cross stitch - I did know it wasn't my usual genre before setting out to read.
I'm glad it's finished, I might go for My Cousin Rachel again, next. It was different, but it was insightful and I'm glad that I have read it. I would like to return to it in, oh, at least a decade and see what the concluding chapter insights within me.
For now, I find it encouraging and frightening in equal measure.
I'm glad it's finished, I might go for My Cousin Rachel again, next. It was different, but it was insightful and I'm glad that I have read it. I would like to return to it in, oh, at least a decade and see what the concluding chapter insights within me.
For now, I find it encouraging and frightening in equal measure.
roisin_prendergast's review against another edition
4.0
In the way that D.H. Lawrence amazes me with his ability to write the experiences of a young woman, du Maurier has done this with writing the experiences of a young man. He is irritating and egotistical, and on the whole not all that likeable. But I think this is how it is supposed to be. It's an illustration of youth and the immunity it affords us, the chances it gives us, and the excuses. I remember thinking and feeling all that this young man does when I was 20 - 21. And I thought that I would never change, that my opinions and my personality were formed. At first I wished I had read this book back then, but I think it is the separation that has given me the affiliation. I would not have been able to see my reflection when I was at the closer point.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/review-1520-ill-never-be-young-again/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/review-1520-ill-never-be-young-again/
katherinegrace's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bianca89279's review against another edition
2.0
This beautifully named novel ended up being quite boring, so I gave up around the 70% mark.
Du Maurier's beautiful writing is present throughout, especially when it comes to landscape descriptions, still, this novel dragged. The main character, Richard, was insufferable, an entitled prat, who whined and moaned.
Not du Maurier's best work. She's still one of my favourites.
Du Maurier's beautiful writing is present throughout, especially when it comes to landscape descriptions, still, this novel dragged. The main character, Richard, was insufferable, an entitled prat, who whined and moaned.
Not du Maurier's best work. She's still one of my favourites.
jenmcmaynes's review against another edition
3.0
Knowing that this was just du Maurier's second book, written in her early 20s, helped considerably in reading it. This is no Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel; it is, at times, very clunky and overly earnest. Despite this, though, her slightly melodramatic portrait of Richard's coming of age - from an attempted suicide on a London bridge to working on a freight to first love and tragedy and the writing life in Paris - rings true. Richard is terribly unlikeable - he is needy and selfish and treats Hesta horribly - and I wanted to smack him upside the head. Which is a pretty impressive bit of writing for such a young writer. :) And by the end, I was rooting for him, hoping he would finally just grow up... which he does... eventually. I wouldn't recommend I'll Never Be Young Again to anybody who wasn't already a fan of du Maurier's, but for those who already enjoy her, it is worth the read.