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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
yo what the fuck i didn't sign up to b emo at 3 am bc i was squinting in the darkness on my stupid kindle trying to read this EMO AS HELL story
jk i totally did pls read this book if ur into heartbreak n gay soldiers thank u
jk i totally did pls read this book if ur into heartbreak n gay soldiers thank u
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i’m in emotional turmoil, my heart is hurting. this is very different from the kinds of books that i normally read, but i’m trying to step a little out of my comfort zone, as a treat. i loved it. at first the writing was very much of it’s time, and i’d have to read a sentence or paragraph a few times to fully understand what it’s saying, but the further i got into the easier it was and the more i was able to appreciate the subtext and metaphors. i definitely see myself revisiting this in the future.
I've always loved Mary Renault's Ancient Greece novels, particularly her Alexander trilogy. She's such a wonderful writer - her portrayal of the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion always particularly touches me - and now I have to add another masterpiece to that list.
This novel is apparently quite a landmark in gay literature, published in the 1950s and being such an open and brave look at homosexual love in WW2. It's about Laurie, a wounded soldier, not quite at ease with his own homosexuality, and his choice between Andrew, a young conscientious objector, and Ralph, a sailor whom Laurie knew at school.
It's such a delicate read, really quite subtle in places, and the tenderness that Ralph displays towards Laurie is very moving. It is a tad sexless in places; the romance and relationships seem very much on a higher plane, but no doubt part of that is a result of the 1950s, and it does lend the whole work a rather epic and dreamy tone.
This novel is apparently quite a landmark in gay literature, published in the 1950s and being such an open and brave look at homosexual love in WW2. It's about Laurie, a wounded soldier, not quite at ease with his own homosexuality, and his choice between Andrew, a young conscientious objector, and Ralph, a sailor whom Laurie knew at school.
It's such a delicate read, really quite subtle in places, and the tenderness that Ralph displays towards Laurie is very moving. It is a tad sexless in places; the romance and relationships seem very much on a higher plane, but no doubt part of that is a result of the 1950s, and it does lend the whole work a rather epic and dreamy tone.
Wow. This book is all kinds of amazing. Although it starts off slow and drags at the beginning, once you get into it it is absorbing and very stirring. Occasionally it's hard to wade through Renault's innuendo and suggestion, leaving a lot of reading between the lines (this also has to do with he fact that while I love British period novels, I'm not up on my British period jargon, particularly WWII). In the end I found that I cared about the characters and what happened to them, the decisions they made, and how their philosophies evolved. I'd recommend to anyone who likes British novels (and this novel is quite British)and mid-20th century themes.
This passage took my breath away:
"I have fallen in love. I now know something about myself which I have been suspecting for years, if I had had the honesty to admit it. I ought to be frightened and ashamed, but I am not. Since I can see no earthly hope for this attachment, I ought to be wretched, but I am not. I know now why I was born, why everything has happened to me ever; I know why I am lame, because it has brought me to the right place at the right time. I would go through it all again, if I had to, now that I know it was for this."
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 3
Plot: 4
Characters: 5
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 4
"I have fallen in love. I now know something about myself which I have been suspecting for years, if I had had the honesty to admit it. I ought to be frightened and ashamed, but I am not. Since I can see no earthly hope for this attachment, I ought to be wretched, but I am not. I know now why I was born, why everything has happened to me ever; I know why I am lame, because it has brought me to the right place at the right time. I would go through it all again, if I had to, now that I know it was for this."
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 3
Plot: 4
Characters: 5
Emotional impact: 4
Overall rating: 4
I hesitate to give this a rating because I read it so slowly and irregularly. The ending moved me enough to give it a good rating in spite of that.
Every line in this book is perfect. I don’t know if I’ve ever read such insightful character writing.
Tror inte jag kan sätta ett betyg på denna eftersom det var ganska mycket som jag inte riktigt förstod, vilket har att göra med sättet boken är skriven på. Engelskan var också ganska svår för mig, det förekom t.ex. många uttryck som jag inte hört förr och även en del uttryck från brittisk slang (tror jag?). Ibland fick jag också känslan av att karaktärerna pratade "i kod" eller att mycket var outtalat eller bara antytt, så jag var ibland tvungen att tolka lite för att försöka förstå vad karaktärerna egentligen säger/tänker. Jag kunde sluta mig till en del, men jag tror att en stor del "went over my head". (Och efter ett tag tröttnade jag på att försöka tolka vad som sades.) Det hade kanske varit bra om jag hade kunnat läsa denna bok i svensk översättning, det hade säkert förenklat en hel del.
Ibland var det också så att karaktärerna pratade om en annan karaktär och jag visste inte riktigt vem den karaktären var, och då var det också svårt att hålla upp intresset. Ibland var läsupplevelsen lite som att lyssna på en konversation vars sammanhang man inte känner till.
Jag visste inte heller hur jag skulle tolka symbolismen, t.ex. vad "the charioteer" står för i boken.
Jag funderade på att DNF:a boken eftersom jag kände att jag inte fick ut något av den, men jag beslöt mig ändå för att läsa färdigt den eftersom jag hört så mycket bra om den och jag tänkte att jag kanske skulle ändra åsikt. Nu i efterhand vet jag inte om det var värt det, boken var trots allt över 400 sidor lång. Beskrivningen av handlingen på baksidan av boken lät intressant, men jag tyckte i slutändan att boken var ganska tråkig och att det inte hände så mycket intressant.
Det fanns i alla fall en del fina formuleringar som jag noterade:
Ibland var det också så att karaktärerna pratade om en annan karaktär och jag visste inte riktigt vem den karaktären var, och då var det också svårt att hålla upp intresset. Ibland var läsupplevelsen lite som att lyssna på en konversation vars sammanhang man inte känner till.
Jag visste inte heller hur jag skulle tolka symbolismen, t.ex. vad "the charioteer" står för i boken.
Jag funderade på att DNF:a boken eftersom jag kände att jag inte fick ut något av den, men jag beslöt mig ändå för att läsa färdigt den eftersom jag hört så mycket bra om den och jag tänkte att jag kanske skulle ändra åsikt. Nu i efterhand vet jag inte om det var värt det, boken var trots allt över 400 sidor lång. Beskrivningen av handlingen på baksidan av boken lät intressant, men jag tyckte i slutändan att boken var ganska tråkig och att det inte hände så mycket intressant.
Det fanns i alla fall en del fina formuleringar som jag noterade:
He had made, as he lay looking at the night-light's quivering circle on the ceiling, a strange and solemn discovery. It had come to him that no one would ever look from these eyes but he: that among all the lives, numerous beyond imagination, in which he might have lived, he was this one, pinned to this single point of infinity; the rest always to be alien, he to be I. (s. 9)
Externally, seven years was half a lifetime. He had grown in them from a boy to a man; he had met pain and fear, love and death; his comrades had been men for whom his old world had not at any time existed. (s. 340)
At some stage of a broken midnight conversation, he had said, 'I've often had a feeling that there's nowhere I really belong.' He had hardly known himself what he wanted; but Ralph had said, without a moment's hesitation, 'You belong with me. As long as we're both alive, this will always be your place before anyone else's. That's a promise.' His voice had been free of emotion, almost businesslike. He might have been speaking to his lawyer about his will. (s. 350)
När Ralph citerar Platon:
"If a city or an army could be made up only of lovers and their beloved, it would excel all others. For they would refrain from everything shameful, rivalling one another in honour; and men like these, fighting at each other's side, might well conquer the world. For the lover would rather be seen by anyone than by his beloved, flying or throwing away his arms; rather he would be ready a thousand times to die." (s. 362)