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linda_edwards's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Beautifully written which tells the story of the Coombe family over four generations. Highly recommended if you are a fan of Daphne Du Maurier.
taste_in_books's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
What a beautiful and ambitious novel to launch your writing career with. I would expect nothing less from Queen du Maurier.
Spanning a century, the book opens in 1830 with Janet Coombe standing atop a hill in Plyn (a fictional town combining Polruan and Fowey) Her free spirit fantasising about the adventures at sea she is not allowed to undertake in those times. This call to sea is transferred from Janet to her son then grandson eventually her great grand-daughter standing atop the same hill, bringing the story of the Coombes full circle.
Du Maurier has written the book in four parts. Reserving one for each generation. She expertly crafted each story with aplomb. Her writing pulls you in, the atmosphere is palpable, the scenic pictures she paints are so habitable. To start each part she has used glorious poetry by Emily Bronte fitting perfectly to the storyline. She takes us from the country life of early 19th century, to WW1 to the modernisation of the shipping industry. Throw in a touch of whimsical realism and you have a novel I could hardly read fast enough.
Spanning a century, the book opens in 1830 with Janet Coombe standing atop a hill in Plyn (a fictional town combining Polruan and Fowey) Her free spirit fantasising about the adventures at sea she is not allowed to undertake in those times. This call to sea is transferred from Janet to her son then grandson eventually her great grand-daughter standing atop the same hill, bringing the story of the Coombes full circle.
Du Maurier has written the book in four parts. Reserving one for each generation. She expertly crafted each story with aplomb. Her writing pulls you in, the atmosphere is palpable, the scenic pictures she paints are so habitable. To start each part she has used glorious poetry by Emily Bronte fitting perfectly to the storyline. She takes us from the country life of early 19th century, to WW1 to the modernisation of the shipping industry. Throw in a touch of whimsical realism and you have a novel I could hardly read fast enough.
gemmiejewel's review against another edition
5.0
Plot
Cornwall, 1900s. Plyn Boat Yard is a hive of activity, and Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, instead she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet's loving spirit - the passionate yearning for adventure and for love - is passed down to her son, and through him to his children's children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain.
Review
After somewhat of a dip in my du Maurier reading, finally this gorgeous novel comes along and saves me from removing her from the Forever Shelf.
Set in my favourite place in the world and following four generations of the same family, The Loving Sprit provides a beautifully written look at the way industrial change affects not only a family but also the world around them.
Jennifer is the one who stands out for me. The last generation that is looked at, she is born into a time where women still have restrictions placed upon them but are a lot more free than her great-grandmother, the one who started the dynasty.
Cornwall is described with precise detail and you feel as though you are there along with each character, growing, living, loving and losing.
Its hard to believe that this was actually du Maurier's debut novel and in my opinion overlooked slightly thanks to the more well known pieces such as Rebecca and Jamaica Inn.
This is a beautiful book and one that should be read by generations to come.
Rating
5 stars
Recommend
I would say so!
Cornwall, 1900s. Plyn Boat Yard is a hive of activity, and Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, instead she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet's loving spirit - the passionate yearning for adventure and for love - is passed down to her son, and through him to his children's children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain.
Review
After somewhat of a dip in my du Maurier reading, finally this gorgeous novel comes along and saves me from removing her from the Forever Shelf.
Set in my favourite place in the world and following four generations of the same family, The Loving Sprit provides a beautifully written look at the way industrial change affects not only a family but also the world around them.
Jennifer is the one who stands out for me. The last generation that is looked at, she is born into a time where women still have restrictions placed upon them but are a lot more free than her great-grandmother, the one who started the dynasty.
Cornwall is described with precise detail and you feel as though you are there along with each character, growing, living, loving and losing.
Its hard to believe that this was actually du Maurier's debut novel and in my opinion overlooked slightly thanks to the more well known pieces such as Rebecca and Jamaica Inn.
This is a beautiful book and one that should be read by generations to come.
Rating
5 stars
Recommend
I would say so!
sophiewelsh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
kim99my's review against another edition
4.0
This is the story of a family from Plyn struck by luck, tragedy, love and hatred. It follows roughly one hundred years of the family history and covers four generations of likely minded, wild spirited and stubborn characters.
It is not a deep theme, but it does touch on fate and an inexplicable love for the world, the sea, adventure and home. I have to say that it was quite a pleasant read, very nice to escape this Coronavirus/self-quarantine madness. You might not identify with all main characters but there are traits that you will like and decisions that you will understand. The story just flows...in the beginning you might ask yourself: why tf am I reading this? Is it going to be just debates about weddings, small town gossip and nitpicking? No, I promise you, as the plot progresses, inner conflicts and family matters take over and create a very relatable portrait of a shattered and at the same time united family.
It is not a deep theme, but it does touch on fate and an inexplicable love for the world, the sea, adventure and home. I have to say that it was quite a pleasant read, very nice to escape this Coronavirus/self-quarantine madness. You might not identify with all main characters but there are traits that you will like and decisions that you will understand. The story just flows...in the beginning you might ask yourself: why tf am I reading this? Is it going to be just debates about weddings, small town gossip and nitpicking? No, I promise you, as the plot progresses, inner conflicts and family matters take over and create a very relatable portrait of a shattered and at the same time united family.
ashleighm11's review against another edition
4.0
Not my usual type of book, but it's du Maurier and that makes it my type of book. du Maurier is a genius; this is her first novel and it's not perfect but how she makes an atmosphere is just incomparable. I've done a full review that can be found over at my blog:
https://ashleighmuses.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/review-the-loving-spirit-daphne-du-maurier/
https://ashleighmuses.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/review-the-loving-spirit-daphne-du-maurier/
novellenovels's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sarrie's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe 3.5*s
This was my first Daphne du Maurier (and her first written). I loved the atmosphere and I could see where others say her novels really grow into her strengths. The family saga was a perfect fit for me currently, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was one I sat down and could read in huge chunks without realizing it.
This was my first Daphne du Maurier (and her first written). I loved the atmosphere and I could see where others say her novels really grow into her strengths. The family saga was a perfect fit for me currently, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was one I sat down and could read in huge chunks without realizing it.
stayathomereader's review against another edition
I thought I'd love this, but I find that I am forcing myself to pick it up.... so, not gonna do that.
albatrossonhalfpointe's review against another edition
2.0
This book suffered from what I personally would call Stendhal Syndrome, if not for the fact that Stendhal Syndrome is actually a thing, which has nothing whatsoever to do with what I’m talking about. What I’m referring to is the fact that while I absolutely loved the first Stendhal book I read (Scarlet and Black), I really kind of hated the second (The Charterhouse of Parma). Similar situation here. I loved Rebecca. It was compelling, atmospheric, and just generally a great read. This one, not so much.
For starters, it was kind of a family saga, which, as a general rule, I don’t love. I just don’t love having to meet and try and get invested in three or four different sets of characters in the span of one book. Especially as there’s usually a disproportionate amount of time devoted to that first one, so that when they die (they inevitably do), it feels like the book should be done, and the other generations kind of feel tacked on.
This book definitely suffered from that. The heart of the story, in theory, I think, was the relationship between Janet and Joseph. More on that in a minute. I can see, sort of, how that relationship in turn affected Joseph’s relationship with his son, but frankly, I don’t think it spilled down into the son’s relationship with his daughter. As a result, I don’t really even know what the point of including the daughter was. In fact, I don’t really know what Du Maurier was trying to say in general. It was nice the way things kind of came full circle, maybe with the relationships aligned as they were supposed to be, rather than the rather twisted first iteration of the soulmate situation. Maybe that was the point? I don’t know.
But yeah. That relationship. OK, I get that the mother-child bond is an intense one, and that it probably should be (helps to ensure the continuity of the species), but there are limits, and the Janet-Joseph relationship definitely went way into creepy territory. And the result of that was that I couldn’t really get invested in either of those two. Mostly they just made me uncomfortable, which I don’t think was the point, although who knows.
I’m still going to read more du Maurier books. But I really hope that most of them are more like Rebecca and less like The Loving Spirit.
For starters, it was kind of a family saga, which, as a general rule, I don’t love. I just don’t love having to meet and try and get invested in three or four different sets of characters in the span of one book. Especially as there’s usually a disproportionate amount of time devoted to that first one, so that when they die (they inevitably do), it feels like the book should be done, and the other generations kind of feel tacked on.
This book definitely suffered from that. The heart of the story, in theory, I think, was the relationship between Janet and Joseph. More on that in a minute. I can see, sort of, how that relationship in turn affected Joseph’s relationship with his son, but frankly, I don’t think it spilled down into the son’s relationship with his daughter. As a result, I don’t really even know what the point of including the daughter was. In fact, I don’t really know what Du Maurier was trying to say in general. It was nice the way things kind of came full circle, maybe with the relationships aligned as they were supposed to be, rather than the rather twisted first iteration of the soulmate situation. Maybe that was the point? I don’t know.
But yeah. That relationship. OK, I get that the mother-child bond is an intense one, and that it probably should be (helps to ensure the continuity of the species), but there are limits, and the Janet-Joseph relationship definitely went way into creepy territory. And the result of that was that I couldn’t really get invested in either of those two. Mostly they just made me uncomfortable, which I don’t think was the point, although who knows.
I’m still going to read more du Maurier books. But I really hope that most of them are more like Rebecca and less like The Loving Spirit.