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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Did take a bit of time for the book to really hit its stride for me, but when it did i enjoyed it immensely. Can get a confusing at times with the Non-linear storytelling.
The Good Soldier is an intense tale of the complexity of post-Victorian emotional repression. With a collection of entirely despicable characters, it is somewhat refreshing to know that we live in a society that is somewhat openly over-sexualised, instead of in the hellhole of despair that existed in the early 1900s that was under-sexualised, and therefore even more liable to befall upon adultery and deceit in an explosion of desperation for passionate exposure. Ford Madox Ford certainly has a way with words; his beautiful choice of linguistic devices and upper class vernacular exposes the reality behind this harrowing 'inspired-by-true-events' account. The problems with it are that sometimes the novel is simply too complex. Although the narrator does recognise this, and he perfectly justifies his reasoning for the use of this peculiar technique of story telling; the events seem to 'to-and-fro' between dates and characters, which sometimes begin to twist the story down a path of amnesiac nonsense. With one sentence being set in a certain time, and another being set in an event that took place a few years before, this twisting path of confusion dwells more in a forest of misunderstood mist than in an open field of appreciated clarity. Nevertheless, The Good Soldier is a beautifully written novel (one feels most elegant to read it), and where it falls on, perhaps, context, it rises and succeeds with its literacy.
"It was a most amazing business, and I think that it would have been better in the eyes of God if they had all attempted to gouge out each other's eyes with carving knives. But they were 'good people'."
Long-winded and formally written in the extreme despite being framed more like an extended conversation, filled with digressions and no doubt with rather less shock value than it had a century ago, I nevertheless found myself thinking "damn, that was good" when at last I finished it.
I won't lie to you, there was a point in the middle of the book, when the basic outline of the sad tale had already been formed and the teller went back to flesh out every aspect of it with an at times excruciating amount of detail, where I was planning on giving it three or even two stars despite how nicely written it was. But, perhaps due to my becoming more immersed in the story or simply some form of literary Stockholm Syndrome, the book seemed to me to get back on track and I very much enjoyed the later parts, and the evolving details hit far harder than I'd imagined.
It offered a nice glimpse into various aspects of both English and American society of the era, too.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to read something quick and (comparatively) cheerful next.
Long-winded and formally written in the extreme despite being framed more like an extended conversation, filled with digressions and no doubt with rather less shock value than it had a century ago, I nevertheless found myself thinking "damn, that was good" when at last I finished it.
I won't lie to you, there was a point in the middle of the book, when the basic outline of the sad tale had already been formed and the teller went back to flesh out every aspect of it with an at times excruciating amount of detail, where I was planning on giving it three or even two stars despite how nicely written it was. But, perhaps due to my becoming more immersed in the story or simply some form of literary Stockholm Syndrome, the book seemed to me to get back on track and I very much enjoyed the later parts, and the evolving details hit far harder than I'd imagined.
It offered a nice glimpse into various aspects of both English and American society of the era, too.
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to read something quick and (comparatively) cheerful next.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this would be the saddest story i've ever heard if it weren't for the romancing of a twenty-year-old by a forty-year-old. masterful character work and some really nice introspective passages, though, and i always love a good subtle unreliable narrator.
That was really the saddest story. And the way that Ford wrote it was what made the whole thing so exceptionally sad. Even after the book is has had its end, I still feel that I am sitting next to John Dowell. I can hear the sea and feel the fire. The back and forth through time works as a long monologue without the need for dialogue.
Some may call it an unreliable narrator, but I liked how Ford gave general brushstrokes of what happened and then filled in details later. It puts you on a lull for when Ford is ready to hit you with another twist.
For an author that was not well known to me, for in fact I never heard of him before this year, this is definitely a classic book.
Some may call it an unreliable narrator, but I liked how Ford gave general brushstrokes of what happened and then filled in details later. It puts you on a lull for when Ford is ready to hit you with another twist.
For an author that was not well known to me, for in fact I never heard of him before this year, this is definitely a classic book.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes