Reviews

The New Life by Tom Crewe

bog_orm's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

kaywhiteley's review against another edition

challenging sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

All stars are for the latter half of the book. The first half dragged so badly that I almost gave up. I’m glad I didn’t, because I found the second half really interesting and thought provoking. I found myself especially intrigued with the wives’ stories. I do feel like the author used lots of flowery language to cover up how slow the story was and it just felt unnecessary at times.

While I hated John, I appreciate the complexity of his character and I think it definitely added to the story. As did Edith, though she was much more likable.

One final thought is that a lot of the sex felt so unnecessary. As did Henry’s

piss kink

. It just felt a little like they were minimizing queer romance to just sexual acts and feelings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

smsadeee's review against another edition

5.0

excluding the sexually explicit content, the storytelling was truly captivating. I found myself enamored by the intricacies of every character (very authentic, magnificent and extraordinary). with no doubt, it was an exceptionally brilliant piece of literature

13anna17's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

woruebue's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

milkfran's review against another edition

medium-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

3.75

kendragaylelee's review against another edition

4.0

I haven't read a lot of historical fiction about gay folks. Truth be told, reading Well of Loneliness in grad school was enough to cure me from dwelling in fiction about homosexuality in the late 19th century/beginning of the 20th century.

So, what might be the most obvious statement ever since The New Life is about two authors writing a book about homosexuality in the late 1800s... The New Life isn't a happy book.

But it is really interesting.

I wanted to turn over the characters and examine them and the relationships they had with their wives (yes, their wives. Things are complicated). I wanted to think about the societal implications of The New Life. And I did think about those things... but it would've been much more fun to do that in a class or with a reading group. Because I just really needed to talk about what I was reading.

I found the first half of the book slow (the author is really laying out the background of who these characters are and what is at stake)... and then the second half takes off (in the way that a story written about the late 1890s can take off... which is in a very measure, proper way).

This is important LGBTQ historical fiction. And it's well-written. Give it a go. Especially if you don't require a quick moving plot & are into examining the societal implications of the individual's journey.

Support Bookish by ordering the book here: https://bookshop.org/a/4334/9781668000830

bookloveriffat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

libby_sarah's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I found parts of this book interesting. I really didn’t have enough knowledge of LGBTQ+ people in Victorian times and so I found that interesting. Especially, my interest was increased when I found out that some of the events are inspired by true events.

I really felt for the characters, I mean, how could you not? My heart bled many times over. The passion that John Addington had to want to live his life truthfully and seeing how this affected his wife honestly was heartbreaking. 

But ultimately, I found this book to be too long and boring at times. The sex scenes were quite clinical and I’m not sure whether this was intentional or not. 

kevoreads's review against another edition

informative reflective

3.0