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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am stunned to see so many mealymouthed reviews of this brilliant novel. Perhaps some modern readers find Bowen's finely wrought prose and elliptical dialogue off-putting. This was just as good on a third reading as when I first encountered it.
i think i would have enjoyed this more as an audiobook
And she could not try to explain the magnetism they all exercised by their being static. Or how, after every return--or awakening, even, from sleep or preoccupation--she and these home surroundings still further penetrated each other mutually in the discovery of a lack.
Undeniably some of the most beautiful prose of early 20th century literature; Bowen fashions a landscape of uncertainty, at once political and personal, making such meticulous use of architectural and geographical detail (and what some may insist on calling purple prose, pejoratively or not). What I found to be lacking is emotional depth; the novel doesn't foreground Lois's coming-of-age narrative, but jumps from one character to another, never fully exploring their psychological intricacies.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
funny
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
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/10/27/review-2053-1929-club-the-last-september/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/10/27/review-2053-1929-club-the-last-september/
In my one sentence review era because I have too many essays! Lots to love about this, for me it was how you think it’s going to be one thing (country house novel full of parties and drawing room conversations set in an idyllic countryside), but the writing is pervaded by unease, tension and dark irony. Definitely one to reread, there are so many hidden nuances!
More complex than it appears at first. The characters aren't particularly likable, but I don't think they're supposed to be. Once I actually started to understand the storyline, I enjoyed the book much more, but it took a while to get into the story.
An interesting fictional account of what life was like in Ireland during colonization and the cognitive dissonance and fatigue that submerged upon England’s arrival. I say cognitive dissonance and fatigue specifically in reference to the character’s attitudes towards the British soldiers (for example, inviting them to tennis parties and getting romantically involved when the English are there to force them into oppression) but it is prevalent as well in their attitudes towards the war itself. I gave this book two stars for the aforementioned qualities but only three stars because it was a bit of a drag and I would likely have DNF’d it had I not been forced to read it for school.