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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I so love this book. Forster writes like an angel and I'm surprised to find how modern he is, what a feminist, in re-reading. All the good lines in the movie come from the book. The biggest difference is that the Emersons' atheism is made more of in the book, that religion is set up as the greatest obstacle to an unselfconscious life of the body, of love and nature. And in the end, Lucy's family doesn't come around. Because on some level, this is the fantasy of a gay man imagining what if he obeyed the dictates of his nature and married a man whom he loved instead of a woman he didn't love (the only option available to him). So much of this book makes more sense now that I understand Forster's own closeted homosexuality and how he suffered from it.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A thoroughly entertaining little novel with a few half-baked preoccupations (class, gender). I liked the romance, but there was so little of it after all. The Merchant/Ivory adaptation is gorgeous.
The reader travels with Lucy Honeychurch, a young woman born of the Edwardian bourgeois, on her first trip outside of England; specifically, and critically, Italy. This is a time when travel along the Grand Tour was no longer reserved for the monied and aristocratic echelons of society, but was now more financially and logistically viable for those who would have been excluded from such an experience in previous generations. Namely the middle class.
The Grand Tour was/is known as an educational and cultural tour throughout sites in western and central Europe that boast a rich history and inventory of aspirational art and architecture. Typically young gentlemen engaged in a prolonged sojourn along these historic and cultural hotspots as a part of their “finishing”. To complete the challenge was to gain that last bit of refinement and learning that could not be gained even by the finest educational institutions at home.
Through the trip in Italy with Lucy and her British peers, Forster shows us, ironically, that in the pursuit of polish and refinement the tourist abroad is ultimately seen as cheap, ignorant, and tacky in the eyes of natives and ex-pats. Obsessively reliant on guidebooks to inform them what art is or isn’t worthy of admiration and what is acceptable social behavior, the tourist is frequently victim to cultural blunders, misunderstandings, and helpless ignorance. And Lucy is no exception. Even at home in England she submits to the metaphorical social “guidebooks” that tell her how to act and what to think.
But there is a difference, in Italy to follow and comply with these guidebooks, real or metaphorical, is a faux pas. The Italians (in Forster’s world) are not ruled by repressive Victorian values that have carried on into Edwardian society in England. Their actions and moral compass are guided by passion, nature, and love. And ultimately Lucy has been enriched and bettered by her trip to Italy, but not in the discipline of art appreciation, but rather through acceptance of love (however improper the match) and by gaining a mind of her own (new and wider ‘view’ points). Her mind went from being a room without a view, to a room with a view.
I feel inclined to write pages upon pages on observations and quotes but I will conclude my thoughts here by saying Forster had a lot to comment on in this novel in his non-preachy, patient, and oft comedic prose. Feminism, religion, artistic temperaments, and (in my interpretation) intimacy and repression (in all its forms).
The Grand Tour was/is known as an educational and cultural tour throughout sites in western and central Europe that boast a rich history and inventory of aspirational art and architecture. Typically young gentlemen engaged in a prolonged sojourn along these historic and cultural hotspots as a part of their “finishing”. To complete the challenge was to gain that last bit of refinement and learning that could not be gained even by the finest educational institutions at home.
Through the trip in Italy with Lucy and her British peers, Forster shows us, ironically, that in the pursuit of polish and refinement the tourist abroad is ultimately seen as cheap, ignorant, and tacky in the eyes of natives and ex-pats. Obsessively reliant on guidebooks to inform them what art is or isn’t worthy of admiration and what is acceptable social behavior, the tourist is frequently victim to cultural blunders, misunderstandings, and helpless ignorance. And Lucy is no exception. Even at home in England she submits to the metaphorical social “guidebooks” that tell her how to act and what to think.
But there is a difference, in Italy to follow and comply with these guidebooks, real or metaphorical, is a faux pas. The Italians (in Forster’s world) are not ruled by repressive Victorian values that have carried on into Edwardian society in England. Their actions and moral compass are guided by passion, nature, and love. And ultimately Lucy has been enriched and bettered by her trip to Italy, but not in the discipline of art appreciation, but rather through acceptance of love (however improper the match) and by gaining a mind of her own (new and wider ‘view’ points). Her mind went from being a room without a view, to a room with a view.
I feel inclined to write pages upon pages on observations and quotes but I will conclude my thoughts here by saying Forster had a lot to comment on in this novel in his non-preachy, patient, and oft comedic prose. Feminism, religion, artistic temperaments, and (in my interpretation) intimacy and repression (in all its forms).
Eh it was ok. Far less enjoyable than A passage to India.
2016 Reading Challenge: Europe
I found this a delightful read. I particularly loved the character of Charlotte- she brought a level of humor and eccentricity. The often felt as though I was reading a Shakespearean comedy.
I found this a delightful read. I particularly loved the character of Charlotte- she brought a level of humor and eccentricity. The often felt as though I was reading a Shakespearean comedy.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes