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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
This book is hard to get through due to the constant implications and subtleties, the density of speech, the lack of exposition that thrusts an often confused reader into various situations, the presence of slang terms and references to the time period, the area, or the community, and the rich, poetic, slightly dated writing style that can drain you out of energy and is best to be consumed in small doses.
Even though it may be a strenuous endeavor to untangle the meanings, and sometimes even the action itself going on, at the end it is worth it. The characters and the relationships built between them are of a lush intensity and beauty, and they capture a point in history and space with honesty and authenticity. Through what may be the ultimate love triangle, love's duality is revealed and with it the journey of a man finding out what he truly desires in life.
Ethics, morality, social acceptance, war, class, and happiness are no easy topics, but in Mary Renault's firm hands they create a rewarding experience that pulls you deep into the human mind and emotions.
Even though it may be a strenuous endeavor to untangle the meanings, and sometimes even the action itself going on, at the end it is worth it. The characters and the relationships built between them are of a lush intensity and beauty, and they capture a point in history and space with honesty and authenticity. Through what may be the ultimate love triangle, love's duality is revealed and with it the journey of a man finding out what he truly desires in life.
Ethics, morality, social acceptance, war, class, and happiness are no easy topics, but in Mary Renault's firm hands they create a rewarding experience that pulls you deep into the human mind and emotions.
Such gorgeous writing, but really dense. I suspect part of that has to do with the fact that this is a book published in the 1950s about queer people during World War II, and it’s not like you could explicitly say everything you wanted to. Because of this, much of the meaning is hidden behind several layers, and I had to read many passages multiple times to try to parse out the implications. I’m sure there was still a lot of meaning I missed anyway. While this could’ve disengaged me in other cases, I could not put this book down. I liked Laurie, Ralph, and Andrew so I was eager to see how everything would play out.
I won’t lie, there is quite a bit of homophobia and definitely internalized homophobia that I believe was reflective of Renault’s own views. However, I always love a queer classic where the characters aren’t completely miserable and can actually end up together. Dare I say this was peak romance at some points?? Just stunning, heart-wrenching quotes encompassing love and longing.
Honestly, I only picked this up because of We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian but that had me thinking of this in a whole other way, too. The characters in that book are pleasantly surprised to see explicit queer characters with a non tragic ending and it just makes me appreciate the existence of non tragic queer classics and what it means to see yourself in literature, especially what it would’ve meant back then. It also applies to these characters and the way they pass Phaedrus around as a sort of first step to self discovery. Speaking of Phaedrus, I thought the chariot allegory was woven in so beautifully.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this is very good but corona stole all my brain cells so i'm gonna come back to this another time
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Dense, beautiful prose. You really have to read between the lines to understand some of what is occurring and even then, certain points are still intentionally amorphous. Reading after the fact about Renault's negative views on the gay rights movement and queer identification helped clarify some things I saw as flaws in the narrative. But it is beautifully written and deeply emotional, and I can see why it would be a defining novel for many queer people.
I enjoyed the beginning of this, it was a refreshing take on quite an over-written genre. Then the plot kind of trailed away and I didn’t feel like the writer knew what to do with the characters. Fine, just a bit frustrating.
First read of September and it was a good one!
Set among war torn Britain during the blitz, the story centers around a gay soldier (Laurie, or Spud/Spuddy to those who know him) and his struggle with his affections for a sweet, mild conchie man who works at the hospital and his ex school fellow whom he runs into while recovering from a nasty leg injury incurred at Dunkirk.
There's a lot to absolutely love here - beautifully woven relationships, gorgeous prose, characters with a great psychological depth to them - the whole scenario is very real. Some reviewers have stated that the supporting cast of gay men are all bitchy queens and this is offensive, but to me I think that's not necessarily the case - anyone will know that people with this sort of personality do exist, but even so, characters such as Bunny had a certain depth to them - a sad inability to keep up with the Plato-spewing glorified main gay characters which manifested in petty actions. It all seemed very authentic.
Renault also has a fabulous way of writing a paragraph full of meaning that you really need to knuckle down with and reread a couple of times to fully understand. In a more ordinary story this would be frustrating, but here it echoes the secrecy of the gay characters and their need to remain hidden. Things are kept on the down low even to the reader, and in a way where you have to strip back the layers to really understand what's going on. Masterful stuff. There is an argument that this makes the story feel antiseptic and without sexual desire, but I disagree here too - it's a sort of closed desire, a pure kind of attraction - it's subtle but powerful.
My only real problem with this novel is that it didn't end how I wanted it to - although the ending is definitely on the more positive side. I think I too was suckered in by the other candidate of the love triangle and felt that Laurie deserved better, but I see how this ending does make more sense in the grand scheme of things and, perhaps, is more romantic in some ways.
A landmark piece of gay literature that deserves more attention.
4.5 - 5 stars
Set among war torn Britain during the blitz, the story centers around a gay soldier (Laurie, or Spud/Spuddy to those who know him) and his struggle with his affections for a sweet, mild conchie man who works at the hospital and his ex school fellow whom he runs into while recovering from a nasty leg injury incurred at Dunkirk.
There's a lot to absolutely love here - beautifully woven relationships, gorgeous prose, characters with a great psychological depth to them - the whole scenario is very real. Some reviewers have stated that the supporting cast of gay men are all bitchy queens and this is offensive, but to me I think that's not necessarily the case - anyone will know that people with this sort of personality do exist, but even so, characters such as Bunny had a certain depth to them - a sad inability to keep up with the Plato-spewing glorified main gay characters which manifested in petty actions. It all seemed very authentic.
Renault also has a fabulous way of writing a paragraph full of meaning that you really need to knuckle down with and reread a couple of times to fully understand. In a more ordinary story this would be frustrating, but here it echoes the secrecy of the gay characters and their need to remain hidden. Things are kept on the down low even to the reader, and in a way where you have to strip back the layers to really understand what's going on. Masterful stuff. There is an argument that this makes the story feel antiseptic and without sexual desire, but I disagree here too - it's a sort of closed desire, a pure kind of attraction - it's subtle but powerful.
My only real problem with this novel is that it didn't end how I wanted it to - although the ending is definitely on the more positive side. I think I too was suckered in by the other candidate of the love triangle and felt that Laurie deserved better, but I see how this ending does make more sense in the grand scheme of things and, perhaps, is more romantic in some ways.
A landmark piece of gay literature that deserves more attention.
4.5 - 5 stars
Found it slow to get into at first, probably because of the British culture and the way you are so fully in Laurie's head. Ultimately enjoyed it, but not sure how I feel about the end. Surprised no one liked Andrew in other reviews.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
