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thepageswanderer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds...
3.5 stars
Not a line (or indeed sonnet) which allows for real life circumstances, for everyday men and women. Love is different things to different people, as this novella shows.
Barnes is always tightly in control of his words, saying in a couple of hundred pages what others may struggle to keep to double that length, and I admire him for that. This is quite tight but still a complete overview of a relationship over several decades.
Albeit it, an unusual one. Paul is 19 when he meets and quickly falls for an 'older woman' (married) at his parents' tennis club. Their unapproved and unconventional pairing is noticed by Susan's husband, Paul's parents, friends, the community, with very different reactions.
Not merely a short-term affair, the teenager gets to learn about grown-up love and all its potential consequences as he takes the narrative, though I was quite interested to see it from Susan's point of view. Paul grows up through the book, though I wasn't sure I knew enough about him as an adult to feel much compassion for him. He narrates looking back at his youth:
"Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, the only real question."
Though I'm not sure we always get the choice or the foresight to make these decisions.
I liked this more during the first half of the story, I couldn't really understand some of the decisions and actions taken as time passed, though the ending is poignant and rather sad. And something many partnerships will have ahead of them.
It's not going to be for everyone. Quite an intense story, it may hit home for some readers, and be upsetting.
Mostly a two-hander between Paul and Susan, her husband is quite a frightening and unpredictable secondary character. The portrayal of love varied between seeming very realistic and feeling out-of-the-ordinary and a little harder to identify/empathise with.
I finished it feeling a little down, despondent. It's not one that really resonated with me, but I couldn't really feel a connection to the characters or their situations, though it was fascinating to see the development of the relationship over many years and how age/infirmity can change it so dramatically.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy, provided for review purposes.
3.5 stars
Not a line (or indeed sonnet) which allows for real life circumstances, for everyday men and women. Love is different things to different people, as this novella shows.
Barnes is always tightly in control of his words, saying in a couple of hundred pages what others may struggle to keep to double that length, and I admire him for that. This is quite tight but still a complete overview of a relationship over several decades.
Albeit it, an unusual one. Paul is 19 when he meets and quickly falls for an 'older woman' (married) at his parents' tennis club. Their unapproved and unconventional pairing is noticed by Susan's husband, Paul's parents, friends, the community, with very different reactions.
Not merely a short-term affair, the teenager gets to learn about grown-up love and all its potential consequences as he takes the narrative, though I was quite interested to see it from Susan's point of view. Paul grows up through the book, though I wasn't sure I knew enough about him as an adult to feel much compassion for him. He narrates looking back at his youth:
"Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, the only real question."
Though I'm not sure we always get the choice or the foresight to make these decisions.
I liked this more during the first half of the story, I couldn't really understand some of the decisions and actions taken as time passed, though the ending is poignant and rather sad. And something many partnerships will have ahead of them.
It's not going to be for everyone. Quite an intense story, it may hit home for some readers, and be upsetting.
Mostly a two-hander between Paul and Susan, her husband is quite a frightening and unpredictable secondary character. The portrayal of love varied between seeming very realistic and feeling out-of-the-ordinary and a little harder to identify/empathise with.
I finished it feeling a little down, despondent. It's not one that really resonated with me, but I couldn't really feel a connection to the characters or their situations, though it was fascinating to see the development of the relationship over many years and how age/infirmity can change it so dramatically.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy, provided for review purposes.
annemijnvk's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Tja, wat vond ik hiervan. Wel mooi? Er zaten zeker echt mooie stukken tussen, en ik vond het verhaal vrij vlot geschreven en op het einde mooie poetische zinnen.
Maar ook werd het steeds langdradiger naar het einde toe. En het verhaal zelf sprak me gewoon niet zo aan. Ik vind een filosofische reflectie op het verhaal van de personages zelf echt helemaal prima, maar het duurde mij op het einde net iets te lang. Misschien las ik het gewoon niet op het juiste moment.
Maar ook werd het steeds langdradiger naar het einde toe. En het verhaal zelf sprak me gewoon niet zo aan. Ik vind een filosofische reflectie op het verhaal van de personages zelf echt helemaal prima, maar het duurde mij op het einde net iets te lang. Misschien las ik het gewoon niet op het juiste moment.
pigeonlady's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.0
ycimcoz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
leonidasm's review against another edition
4.0
Όταν διαβάζεις ένα βιβλίο που θέμα έχει την ερωτική σχέση ενός 19χρονου με μια γυναίκα τριάντα χρόνια μεγαλύτερη του, σίγουρα στα προσδοκούμενα περιλαμβάνονται σκηνές φλερτ, κλεφτες ματιές, ερωτικές σκηνές μύησης στον έρωτα...
Τίποτα.
Αν αγοράσεις το βιβλίο περιμένοντας κάτι τέτοιο έχασες. Ο Barnes καλύπτει με αξιοπρέπεια μια σχέση που στην δεκαετία του εξήντα ήταν ακόμα μεγαλύτερο ταμπού.
Κινείται καθαρά στο παρασκήνιο των γεγονότων, σε ο,τι κρύβεται πίσω απ'αυτά, δεν στο κάνει εύκολο, ούτε διασκεδαστικό.
Ο αφηγητής κοντά στο τέλος της ζωής του αφηγείται όσα έζησε δίπλα στην Σούζαν. Μέσα στην Σούζαν. Όταν πια σχεδόν όλοι οι άμεσα εμπλεκόμενοι έχουν πεθάνει. Κι ενώ δείχνει να παρακάμπτει για τη δική του πνευματική ισορροπία γεγονότα που είναι συναισθηματικά βαρίδια, κάνει ένα φινάλε τόσο ρεαλιστικό, τόσο ανθρώπινο, τόσο μακριά από ανάγκες που θα εξυπηρετούσαν ενα συγκινητικό κλείσιμο σε ένα βιβλίο, που αν και υπήρξαν στιγμές που με κούρασε , εν τέλει μου προκάλεσε τον απόλυτο σεβασμό μου για τον τρόπο που αντιμετώπισε τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις , για την αξιοπρέπεια που έντυσε τους ήρωες του ακόμα και στις στιγμές που αποδείχθηκαν λίγοι.
Τίποτα.
Αν αγοράσεις το βιβλίο περιμένοντας κάτι τέτοιο έχασες. Ο Barnes καλύπτει με αξιοπρέπεια μια σχέση που στην δεκαετία του εξήντα ήταν ακόμα μεγαλύτερο ταμπού.
Κινείται καθαρά στο παρασκήνιο των γεγονότων, σε ο,τι κρύβεται πίσω απ'αυτά, δεν στο κάνει εύκολο, ούτε διασκεδαστικό.
Ο αφηγητής κοντά στο τέλος της ζωής του αφηγείται όσα έζησε δίπλα στην Σούζαν. Μέσα στην Σούζαν. Όταν πια σχεδόν όλοι οι άμεσα εμπλεκόμενοι έχουν πεθάνει. Κι ενώ δείχνει να παρακάμπτει για τη δική του πνευματική ισορροπία γεγονότα που είναι συναισθηματικά βαρίδια, κάνει ένα φινάλε τόσο ρεαλιστικό, τόσο ανθρώπινο, τόσο μακριά από ανάγκες που θα εξυπηρετούσαν ενα συγκινητικό κλείσιμο σε ένα βιβλίο, που αν και υπήρξαν στιγμές που με κούρασε , εν τέλει μου προκάλεσε τον απόλυτο σεβασμό μου για τον τρόπο που αντιμετώπισε τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις , για την αξιοπρέπεια που έντυσε τους ήρωες του ακόμα και στις στιγμές που αποδείχθηκαν λίγοι.
g_g's review against another edition
4.0
Another incredibly well written novel reminding me very much of The Sense of an Ending - similar style and tone. Might look into getting a nice edition
bobsamson's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.25
inkybookwyrm's review against another edition
4.5
I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, but the author's writing pulled me through and I ended up really appreciating it. The use of first, second, and third person was interesting. I undertood the shift from second to third more than from first to second, but it was still an interesting narrative device.
millypip's review against another edition
4.0
Barnes offers us a a beautiful, heart-wrenching tale of the hopefulness of young love, and the pain of wringing the last few drops from its maturity. Paul is a naive, shaggy-haired student who falls in love with Susan at the local tennis club. She’s his mother’s age and married, but sly humoured, and full of life. The retrospective tone of the narrator adds to the sense of heart-hope, while not diminishing the feeling that this love must be doomed.