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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
What I hoped for, either female friendships, self-discovery, empowerement, etc
What we got:Welcome home cheater.gif, men, a castle magically fixes all issues
What we got:
Premise was great, the various characters and their differences enjoyable — may come back to give this a try again but it was difficult to stay hooked beyond a handful of pages at a time.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Hear me out: what if the Edwardians built a rocket ship? Where would they go? Fulfilment is so passé and the long-Victorian hangover valorizes achievement but limits expression - but they'd still want to lift off to somewhere. It's hard to see one's objective when you're mired in the shattering present.
Von Arnim was new to me, despite my prior reading in the period, and I count that a shame. The Enchanted April is a fascinating women-focused rescue operation bathed in rosewater, where women from different walks of life (bourgeoise and up please, we're still mired in class) break free from the quotidian and find in each other and in the wisteria-clad souvenirs of aristocracy (a castle) a kind of paradise. The characters are types struggling to find individuality, and they do to the extent that one is willing to parse some discerning subtleties, which should come with the territory. I liked them all, especially during such farce as von Antrim permits.
All of that said - one can see the dilemma here. To what end the escape? A more enlightened group? That would involve more soul-baring and actual growth than von Arnim would permit, with all gentilnesse. A radicalization of upperclass women? Hardly. No escape is truly possible given the premises and the limitations, and so there can be no resolution in a narrative sense.
But a focus on endings misses the point of the plot: that freedom is possible, that a woman's relationship with her dull or deadbeat or philandering husbands does not define the limits of her world, that women can find in each other a liberation of feeling in which transformation may be hidden.
Oh, the English.
Von Arnim was new to me, despite my prior reading in the period, and I count that a shame. The Enchanted April is a fascinating women-focused rescue operation bathed in rosewater, where women from different walks of life (bourgeoise and up please, we're still mired in class) break free from the quotidian and find in each other and in the wisteria-clad souvenirs of aristocracy (a castle) a kind of paradise. The characters are types struggling to find individuality, and they do to the extent that one is willing to parse some discerning subtleties, which should come with the territory. I liked them all, especially during such farce as von Antrim permits.
All of that said - one can see the dilemma here. To what end the escape? A more enlightened group? That would involve more soul-baring and actual growth than von Arnim would permit, with all gentilnesse. A radicalization of upperclass women? Hardly. No escape is truly possible given the premises and the limitations, and so there can be no resolution in a narrative sense.
But a focus on endings misses the point of the plot: that freedom is possible, that a woman's relationship with her dull or deadbeat or philandering husbands does not define the limits of her world, that women can find in each other a liberation of feeling in which transformation may be hidden.
Oh, the English.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes