Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

23 reviews

gotnoculture's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Isherwood’s excellent prose provides an intimate portrait of an aging gay man coping with the sudden loss of his young partner, the slow deterioration of his own aging body, and the suburbanization of his once raucous and bacchanalian neighborhood.

George is a simultaneously relatable and repugnant character. It is difficult to parse whether his racist and misogynistic biases are the fault of his author’s own prejudices, or simply the product of his time. Either way, his misogynistic and racial asides often took me out of the narrative, and left me frustrated. To see a character so driven by his own countercultural identities and experiences be completely blind to his hegemonic and reductive opinions of minorities is annoying to say the least. But, you get what you pay for when you read a book from the 60s.

The greatest strength of this book, despite its ideological faults, was the author and George’s intense affection for other men and for the virtues of youth and virility. Unfortunately often contrasted by derision of women, Isherwood’s fascination with masculine beauty and male sexuality makes his work come alive with tactility and wonder. This book read as a love letter to gayness, to unabashed sexuality, to masculine passion. The novel faces death, aging, and grief in fullness and urges the reader to enjoy life despite, and often because of, the inevitability of death.
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hannahwilsch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

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mme_carton's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kairhone's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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ashsparrow's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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elzmri's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Absolutely loved this book, got me out of a reading slump. I only knocked 0.25 off because I found the ending was abrupt and it was sometimes hard following along. Isherwood is now one of my fave authors.
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nfmullen's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Stark, contemplative, intimate, fiercely honest, one of the most heartachingly matter-of-fact yet gentle meditations on death I’ve had the privilege to read. Illuminates just as much with wry insight as with what is left very intentionally for the reader to construct. I already know I’ll be re-reading this time and time again in the years to come.
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jeremie's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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gabriel_dingle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a must read in understanding life for queer people under oppressive circumstances. The writing is witty, charming, and deliberate, and the whole novel feels very sincere and profound. Reading this novel feels almost intimate, like having a conversation with a close friend. Isherwood is not afraid to be totally and brutally honest, going into even the most trivial details. This quickly became my favourite classic.

Only issue I have, is that there are some scenes and details in the novel which seem a bit random and irrelevant, which don’t affect the story at all.
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natthahlyh's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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