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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This is one of the few times I did not mind having the movie characters and scenes running through my head while reading the book. It is one of my favorite movies (I remember when I was younger pausing the VHS and taking pictures of my favorite scenes with my discman camera), and it turns out to be pretty true to the book. As ever, E.M. Forster skewers British classes (especially those traveling abroad, reminiscent of Passage to India) and has family relationships down to a tee. So right on. And, of course, incredibly romantic and witty.
adventurous
slow-paced
The audiobook reading was very good, but this clearly wasn't meant for audio. The story took ages to get off the ground, and by that time I was missing out big chunks of the narrative and character building. The last couple of chapters were an insightful take on late/post-Victorian family morals, but I should reread/listen the beginning to get the whole picture. So many books, so little time...
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Quite enjoyed Forster's study of class and romance. Loved the scenes in Italy. How is it they fall in love so fast?
I saw this film when I was a teenager (over 20 years ago) and it must have stayed with me because I heard Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter saying all their lines as I read. They are such wonderful characters. Oh and Mr Beebe too. I love the way Lucy talks. I'm not sure George is the right guy for Lucy, but Cecil? Urgh, he's such a cad. I find it hard to believe he managed to talk her into saying yes in the first place.
I found the 100+yo text a bit harder to read than modern lit, so I was glad it was a pretty short book. I really enjoyed it tho!
I found the 100+yo text a bit harder to read than modern lit, so I was glad it was a pretty short book. I really enjoyed it tho!
This is wonderfully read by Juliet Stevenson but it is marred by the fact that it is abridged. I so wish it were the entire text.
Warning: there will be gushing in this review, and lots of it.
“Where have you been all my life?” is the question that keeps running through my head the more I read by and about Forster. I loved “Arctic Summer”, and Wendy Moffat’s biography about him is fascinating so far. I also really enjoyed “Maurice” when I read it in January, but I absolutely will have to re-read it now that I know more about Forster.
I picked “A Room with a View” because I wanted to read one of his earlier novels first. The thing is, I knew “about” it, in the sense that it existed and that it was a classic of modern English literature. And while I had now idea what it was about, I was surprised that it was about this English girl traveling to Italy who ends up in some kind of love triangle. And that it was as funny as it was. I laughed out loud several times, which is rare. But he somehow manages not to be mean while still being sharp. Add to that his observations about men and women that were startingly modern (sadly, more modern than what we find in some books today) and about life itself, some of which I found really profound. I loved every sentence in this book.
But even more than all that - there is something in his writing that strikes a chord in me, that just resonates. When I read in Wendy Moffat’s biography that his “aesthetic enterprise in a single subject [was]: the search of each person for an honest connection with a human being.”, I thought, right, that’s why I love his writing so much. So yeah. E.M. Forster is my discovery of the year.
Edit: I re-read this in preparation for my book club and if anything I like it even better now. It's a book that absolutely stands up to close scrutiny and re-reading and it is SO funny. I mean, sure, sense of humour is something extremely subjective, but Forster's is brilliant imho. So there.
“Where have you been all my life?” is the question that keeps running through my head the more I read by and about Forster. I loved “Arctic Summer”, and Wendy Moffat’s biography about him is fascinating so far. I also really enjoyed “Maurice” when I read it in January, but I absolutely will have to re-read it now that I know more about Forster.
I picked “A Room with a View” because I wanted to read one of his earlier novels first. The thing is, I knew “about” it, in the sense that it existed and that it was a classic of modern English literature. And while I had now idea what it was about, I was surprised that it was about this English girl traveling to Italy who ends up in some kind of love triangle. And that it was as funny as it was. I laughed out loud several times, which is rare. But he somehow manages not to be mean while still being sharp. Add to that his observations about men and women that were startingly modern (sadly, more modern than what we find in some books today) and about life itself, some of which I found really profound. I loved every sentence in this book.
But even more than all that - there is something in his writing that strikes a chord in me, that just resonates. When I read in Wendy Moffat’s biography that his “aesthetic enterprise in a single subject [was]: the search of each person for an honest connection with a human being.”, I thought, right, that’s why I love his writing so much. So yeah. E.M. Forster is my discovery of the year.
Edit: I re-read this in preparation for my book club and if anything I like it even better now. It's a book that absolutely stands up to close scrutiny and re-reading and it is SO funny. I mean, sure, sense of humour is something extremely subjective, but Forster's is brilliant imho. So there.
I loved it. The way Lucy Honeychurch grows as a character and matures into an admirable young woman is splendidly written and I just really like it. It makes me feel good. The movie is gorgeous, too, and has a fantastic cast (except Julian Sand, who seems to be auditioning for the part instead of actually playing it).