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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
His best novel (of those I've read so far).
The many, mostly short, chapters, are written in such a way that feel episodic, almost like a play. Around the time of revising this he did complete a couple of plays. I suppose what I mean is that the action of each scene is compelling. The Rainbow is intense but drawn out and at parts dull. Women in Love is never dull.
Continuing from The Rainbow, in the third generation modern society is here. The world has mechanised externally but also internally. Most people's lives have become empty: "They are apples of Sodom, as a matter of fact, Dead Sea Fruit, gall-apples." So they look to complete themselves with other people. 'The Sisters' Ursula and Gudrun are bound by blood, and Birkin later attempts at something like this with Gerald.
Ursula is different to The Rainbow's Ursula, perhaps slightly less interesting, and less of a Lawrence stand-in, who is personified by Birkin. I was much more interested in those two than Gerald and Gudrun, until the end. Lesser characters like Hermione, Pussum and Halliday, and the repulsive Loerke are excellent. By far my favourite is Hermione, who is completely artificial in a tragic way. Pussum and Halliday are ridiculous, or widicuwus (the audiobook read by Ruth Golding does a great version of this scene).
There are so many great scenes, take the opening scene, with them hiding and watching the wedding.
"Ursula wondered if the trees and the flowers could feel the vibration, and what they thought of it, this strange motion in the air."
Then the cafe, with the cartoonish Pussum and Halliday. Then Breadalby, with Hermione being bossy.
""Rupert! Rupert!" The first syllable was high and slow, the second dropped down. "Roo-o-opert""
Another is her attempt on Birkin with the crystal (which is reflected later on). The water-party has several great scenes (dancing with Highland cows, and later, the lamps)
"Birkin looked away, and went to light Ursula's second lantern. It had a pale ruddy sea-bottom, with black crabs and sea-weed moving sinuously under a transparent sea, that passed into flamy ruddiness above."
The famous wrestling scene, then the transfiguration of Gerald and his workers into manifestations of the machine.
"He had his life-work now, to extend over the earth a great and perfect system in which the will of man ran smooth and unthwarted, timeless, a Godhead in process."
Immediately after, the sheer lifeforce of a rabbit (and earlier and later the comments about Mankind being replaceable) provide a counter-example to man-machine supremacy. A chapter that could've been done without probably was 'Chair' which felt like a pointless episode at the street market. Then the long chapters 'Continental' and 'Snowed Up' take us outside of England and to the end.
There was much that I loved from this novel, but because of the slow pace I read it at and it's large size, I am finding it hard to remember. I most liked the theme of the mechanical (mankind, apples of Sodom, ticking clocks) versus passionate (sap flow, the rabbit, going with the wind, love, or whatever Birkin is on about).
This was published before darker work like The Captain's Doll and The Plumed Serpent (which I am excited to read). Next up: The Lost Girl.
The many, mostly short, chapters, are written in such a way that feel episodic, almost like a play. Around the time of revising this he did complete a couple of plays. I suppose what I mean is that the action of each scene is compelling. The Rainbow is intense but drawn out and at parts dull. Women in Love is never dull.
Continuing from The Rainbow, in the third generation modern society is here. The world has mechanised externally but also internally. Most people's lives have become empty: "They are apples of Sodom, as a matter of fact, Dead Sea Fruit, gall-apples." So they look to complete themselves with other people. 'The Sisters' Ursula and Gudrun are bound by blood, and Birkin later attempts at something like this with Gerald.
Ursula is different to The Rainbow's Ursula, perhaps slightly less interesting, and less of a Lawrence stand-in, who is personified by Birkin. I was much more interested in those two than Gerald and Gudrun, until the end. Lesser characters like Hermione, Pussum and Halliday, and the repulsive Loerke are excellent. By far my favourite is Hermione, who is completely artificial in a tragic way. Pussum and Halliday are ridiculous, or widicuwus (the audiobook read by Ruth Golding does a great version of this scene).
There are so many great scenes, take the opening scene, with them hiding and watching the wedding.
"Ursula wondered if the trees and the flowers could feel the vibration, and what they thought of it, this strange motion in the air."
Then the cafe, with the cartoonish Pussum and Halliday. Then Breadalby, with Hermione being bossy.
""Rupert! Rupert!" The first syllable was high and slow, the second dropped down. "Roo-o-opert""
Another is her attempt on Birkin with the crystal (which is reflected later on). The water-party has several great scenes (dancing with Highland cows, and later, the lamps)
"Birkin looked away, and went to light Ursula's second lantern. It had a pale ruddy sea-bottom, with black crabs and sea-weed moving sinuously under a transparent sea, that passed into flamy ruddiness above."
The famous wrestling scene, then the transfiguration of Gerald and his workers into manifestations of the machine.
"He had his life-work now, to extend over the earth a great and perfect system in which the will of man ran smooth and unthwarted, timeless, a Godhead in process."
Immediately after, the sheer lifeforce of a rabbit (and earlier and later the comments about Mankind being replaceable) provide a counter-example to man-machine supremacy. A chapter that could've been done without probably was 'Chair' which felt like a pointless episode at the street market. Then the long chapters 'Continental' and 'Snowed Up' take us outside of England and to the end.
There was much that I loved from this novel, but because of the slow pace I read it at and it's large size, I am finding it hard to remember. I most liked the theme of the mechanical (mankind, apples of Sodom, ticking clocks) versus passionate (sap flow, the rabbit, going with the wind, love, or whatever Birkin is on about).
This was published before darker work like The Captain's Doll and The Plumed Serpent (which I am excited to read). Next up: The Lost Girl.
Infuriating at every turn, but I'm still glad I read it. Was pretty sure this was all the Lawrence I'd ever have to read, but I was wrong.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Feeling conflicted… I liked the twist at the end and I found Gerald’s and Birkin’s relationship interesting… but otherwise I was just mostly annoyed 😬😬
Complex portrayal of gender and class in 20th century England, all bound up in the beautiful description of Lawrence's prose. If you want a book to get lost inside, it's perfect.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
no “women” to be seen in women in love…
Though there are elements in The Rainbow that are missing in Women in Love, I still enjoyed the sequel more. It is less dense than the former, though I don't know if I find that to be good or bad.
Ursula and Gudrun are fascinating characters, as are Birkin and Gerald. I rather like the men's relationship with each other. Even as I felt Lawrence was losing me in the events near the end of the book, the final scene, conversation, and statement were satisfying to me.
Ursula and Gudrun are fascinating characters, as are Birkin and Gerald. I rather like the men's relationship with each other. Even as I felt Lawrence was losing me in the events near the end of the book, the final scene, conversation, and statement were satisfying to me.
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow at times, but when it picks up, it really picks up. Lawrence really has a keen eye and a handle on relations between men and women and the wants and needs and expectations they have for each other, many of which still hold up today in the relations between heterosexual men and their relations with women. the ending made me sad, but maybe i just consume too much gay media as it is. i wonder if that was on purpose or if i'm reading too much into it. in any case, i enjoyed this read quite a bit and it made me consider whether you can be everything to one person (you can't and you shouldn't lol).