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missmim's review against another edition
4.0
I was put off a bit by Roiphe's writing, but despite that, these stories are fascinating glimpses into private relationships--a topic I voyeuristically enjoy any chance I get. Also kind of amazing that these debates on the politics of marriage were happening in such buttoned-up times. We're still having these debates today and are no more closer to answers. It was a breezy read, too, another plus for me since I'm reading so much dense theory for school.
mrswythe89's review against another edition
3.0
Celebrity gossip with a patina of literary scholarship. I enjoyed reading it and found the writing fluid and reasonably intelligent. But it was from a staunchly heteronormative, conventional viewpoint; you kind of know from the outset that Roiphe's not going to say anything challenging or useful about marriage or gender roles, when she describes marriage as something "most of us" experience in the preface. Slightly boggled by her offhand dismissal of the discrimination faced by lesbians in early 20th-century Europe; less boggled, because unsurprised, by the whiteness of the narration (black South African guests at a dinner party described as "exotic"; no comment at all on Radclyffe Hall's habit of referring to her Russian girlfriend as "chinky eyed").
Still, it was precisely what I wanted to read -- something like Hello! but more interesting. Also confirmed the fact that I need to pick up Virginia Woolf's diaries/letters; she's so deliciously gossipy. One of those people who thinks of interesting ways to describe other people.
Still, it was precisely what I wanted to read -- something like Hello! but more interesting. Also confirmed the fact that I need to pick up Virginia Woolf's diaries/letters; she's so deliciously gossipy. One of those people who thinks of interesting ways to describe other people.
crowyhead's review against another edition
3.0
This is about the experiments that members of the Bloomsbury group and other eminent writers and artists undertook in their personal lives, comitted as many of them were to creating new ways of looking at love, marriage, and friendship. The subject matter is highly interesting, but Roiphe's writing is frequently very pedestrian; at times, I felt that I was reading someone's senior thesis. Roiphe has done a great service by bringing together so much information from diaries, letters, and literature in order to cast light on these relationships, but I do wish she was a better prose stylist. The book ends up being interesting in spite of her failings as a writer -- but I do wonder what a better writer might have accomplished with the material.
linneak's review against another edition
2.0
An extremely interesting and unique read, recommended/lent to me by my sister. I feel like I can safely say that I've never read a book like this before, and because the topic is so original, I might never again. Although to be honest, I can only praise its uniqueness and originality for so long before making my most important point in that it didn't thrill me. Firstly, I found it extremely hard to get into. I consider myself to be a pretty fast reader, and yet a fairly short and seemingly simple book such as this took me much longer than I'm happy to admit. Well, it'll show on my profile how long it took me to read it, so I guess I am admitting it. Unhappily. I can volunteer for sure that I think Katie Roiphe has an elegant and thoughtful literary voice, but you can easily get lost in it due to its saturation in philosophy and eloquence. Which in short is my way of saying too much of a good thing. The pace quickened after the introduction when she got into the portraits themselves, and I sincerely appreciated their clarity, vividness, structure and length. I also found the dynamics and arrangements in each of the featured relationships to be very interesting, and maybe even more so because of the time period in which they took place. I think maybe I didn't enjoy it as much because of my lack of familiarity with the characters involved, combined with a lack of expertise in social dynamics of the times. I also found it extremely difficult to relate to any of the characters. I understand that's not necessarily the point of a work of this nature, but I feel like it did contribute to me finding some stories more tame and tired than others. For example, even though I didn't identify or sympathize with anyone, I was really engaged in the story of H.G. Wells and his wife Jane... because he was a flaming BEEEEEEEEPPPP to her! Sigh. One thing is for sure though: this is a great read for anyone either experiencing difficulties within their romantic relationships or who are in trouble of taking their romantic relationships for granted- you can be certain (as I am) when you're finished reading that your love life doesn't suck as much as these peoples' did.
eheslosz's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
The content was interesting enough for me to continue reading, but I really didn't like how this book was executed. Each of the seven relationships wasn't explored in enough detail, and it might have been better to focus on less or mix them all into one narrative because they were quite inter-linked, and the links were one of the aspects I really liked.
The writing was not to my taste, often being very hyperbolic or resorting to the same few phrases and figures of speech to seem talkative and readable. From what I have read of the letters and diaries of some of the figures discussed, Roiphe's presentation of them was reductive and conforming to stereotypes about those people that surely she would have been able to see past after actually delving into their lives through research. And I'm not saying this needed to have been a highly academic, dense book with a billion references in order to be of any value; this could have been much MORE gossip-laden and juicy to read, and STILL be excellently researched and executed. Even with all the twisting and simplifying that went on in these mini-biographies, there were still no distinctive characters built out of the narrative, and even a few days later they all seem to blend into one. Perhaps there was also an inherent problem with the seven-part form of the book which suggests a common theme and encourages you to compare/liken the seven "arrangements".
Then again the discussion set up around marriage and relationships was vaguely interesting. But it was nothing new, and could have been more developed. The premise of this book was very promising, but it was somewhat disappointing for me.
The content was interesting enough for me to continue reading, but I really didn't like how this book was executed. Each of the seven relationships wasn't explored in enough detail, and it might have been better to focus on less or mix them all into one narrative because they were quite inter-linked, and the links were one of the aspects I really liked.
The writing was not to my taste, often being very hyperbolic or resorting to the same few phrases and figures of speech to seem talkative and readable. From what I have read of the letters and diaries of some of the figures discussed, Roiphe's presentation of them was reductive and conforming to stereotypes about those people that surely she would have been able to see past after actually delving into their lives through research. And I'm not saying this needed to have been a highly academic, dense book with a billion references in order to be of any value; this could have been much MORE gossip-laden and juicy to read, and STILL be excellently researched and executed. Even with all the twisting and simplifying that went on in these mini-biographies, there were still no distinctive characters built out of the narrative, and even a few days later they all seem to blend into one. Perhaps there was also an inherent problem with the seven-part form of the book which suggests a common theme and encourages you to compare/liken the seven "arrangements".
Then again the discussion set up around marriage and relationships was vaguely interesting. But it was nothing new, and could have been more developed. The premise of this book was very promising, but it was somewhat disappointing for me.
soavezefiretto's review against another edition
3.0
Yes, this IS like reading Hello! or People, and you still can feel good because it's about literary people and it's a book and not a magazine. It's vastly entertaining, a good weekend read, though insights are rather scarce. So maybe I should be all hoity-toity and give it two or even just one star and get on with my Proust and whatnot, but I enjoyed this too much, so what the hell.
queerbillydeluxe's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up for the sections on H.G. Wells and Radclyffe Hall. The entire book was interesting, but really kind of blah.
cwillard41's review against another edition
3.0
A great book for book groups. Takes an interesting, if not unbiased, look at different relationships.
lauraellis's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
I picked up this book mostly because I am interested in a number of the people she wrote about -- Vera Brittain, Elizabeth von Arnim (because I liked the move based on her book, Enchanted April), and Vanessa Bell. The author sets out to examine seven marriages in the period between WWI and WWII in Great Britain (mostly), whose participants were trying to figure out how to live in a modern marriage -- which appears to be equated to involving other people, physically, emotionally, or both. In the Epilogue, Ms. Roiphe writes about how excited (mesmerized) she was to read the writings of these very literate people as they tried to live and understand how to love in an era and a social set that despised hypocrisy and lies and appearances, and put honesty and "the heart wants what it wants" above all else. None of these people appear to have been able to make it work, and Ms. Roiphe fails, somehow, to convey to this reader what made the sought-after people sought-after. Moreover, since she follows each of these couples until one or both dies, and pulls apart (as best she can) their love lives and their inner most thoughts, none of them seem to have been successful in their relationships and most of them don't come out very well. (Of course, she doesn't have much kind to say about Vera Brittain, whom I admire greatly, so is definitely influencing me.)
I know what unhappiness and loneliness are. I'm looking for the secret to a relationship that brings a good measure of happiness to the parties.
This book might read better if one read it in seven chunks, instead of straight through, as I did.
I picked up this book mostly because I am interested in a number of the people she wrote about -- Vera Brittain, Elizabeth von Arnim (because I liked the move based on her book, Enchanted April), and Vanessa Bell. The author sets out to examine seven marriages in the period between WWI and WWII in Great Britain (mostly), whose participants were trying to figure out how to live in a modern marriage -- which appears to be equated to involving other people, physically, emotionally, or both. In the Epilogue, Ms. Roiphe writes about how excited (mesmerized) she was to read the writings of these very literate people as they tried to live and understand how to love in an era and a social set that despised hypocrisy and lies and appearances, and put honesty and "the heart wants what it wants" above all else. None of these people appear to have been able to make it work, and Ms. Roiphe fails, somehow, to convey to this reader what made the sought-after people sought-after. Moreover, since she follows each of these couples until one or both dies, and pulls apart (as best she can) their love lives and their inner most thoughts, none of them seem to have been successful in their relationships and most of them don't come out very well. (Of course, she doesn't have much kind to say about Vera Brittain, whom I admire greatly, so is definitely influencing me.)
I know what unhappiness and loneliness are. I'm looking for the secret to a relationship that brings a good measure of happiness to the parties.
This book might read better if one read it in seven chunks, instead of straight through, as I did.