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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Actually pretty funny at times, but Lucy is just intolerable. All the characters are, actually. I got so sick of them all.
It didn't resonate with me as a teenager but it tore me apart as a 24 year old. Since then the concept of having a room with a view haunts me, I keep asking myself "do I have it?", "is this it?", "what am I doing?", "did I give up?".
I don't love this book but I love the themes and the social commentary it tries to tackle. It may be set 100 years back but, in a way, feeling repressed and feeling like you need to go along with other people's expectations to survive is still very real.
The biggest lesson I learned in my 20's was (and let's quote Bogart on this) to never resist an impulse, especially if it's terrible, and it made life so much more enjoyable, I don't think I would have the sense of self or confidence I do now otherwise. As someone said, this book is no Maurice, but it has its merits, and one of them is seeing Lucy make it in the end.
I don't love this book but I love the themes and the social commentary it tries to tackle. It may be set 100 years back but, in a way, feeling repressed and feeling like you need to go along with other people's expectations to survive is still very real.
The biggest lesson I learned in my 20's was (and let's quote Bogart on this) to never resist an impulse, especially if it's terrible, and it made life so much more enjoyable, I don't think I would have the sense of self or confidence I do now otherwise. As someone said, this book is no Maurice, but it has its merits, and one of them is seeing Lucy make it in the end.
I liked the movie better.
This was an extremely slow read for me.
This was an extremely slow read for me.
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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:
Yes
Miss Lucy Honeychurch escapes from her rigid middle-class life, and the future mapped out for her, for a sojourn in Florence under the watchful eye of her fussy spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett. Arriving at the Pension Bertolini (run by the incongruous Cockney Singnora), they find they have not been given the promised rooms 'with a view', which causes Charlotte consternation, especially when two complete strangers offer to swap with them - Mr Emerson and his son George. They are persuaded to accept by the Rev Beebe, a prior acquaintance from Tunbridge Wells.
Lucy's eyes are soon opened to the possibilities of wildly different opinions among the unconventional characters also staying at the Bertolini. She finds herself liking the unusual Mr Emerson and his son, despite it being clear from the comments of many of the Bertolini's residents that they are not quite the thing. She longs to be free of the tiresome Charlotte, and Charlotte's new found friend the exuberant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish. and is often perplexed about the contrasts between the way of behaving she has been taught and what she sees around her. She is even more confused when an unexpected series of events results in a kiss from George in the Italian countryside. A hasty removal to Rome is organised by Charlotte as a result of this 'offence'.
Later, Lucy is back with her family in Windy Corner, in a quiet corner of Surrey, where Mr Beebe has taken up residence as the local clergyman. Lucy has become engaged to the stuffy Cyril Vyse, who seems to despise everything about her family and home life. Cyril is determined to shape Lucy into the wife he wants, and Lucy seems content to comply - until the arrival of Mr Emerson and George in the village causes disturbance in the status quo... and her heart.
A Room with a View is an absolute gem of a novel, set in the early 1900s, which explores repressed morals in upper middle class England through the eyes of the wonderful Lucy Honeychurch. It is one which I have read several times, and each time I love it a little bit more.
Lucy is a fabulous character whose senses are assaulted by the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Italy, calling to the passionate soul she holds in check - unless she happens to be indulging herself with a little Beethoven on the piano. Her visit, and brush with different opinions (and the Emersons) awakens something inside her which is impossible to contain, even though she tries her utmost to be what her family expect her to be - hence her engagement to the terminally dull Cyril.
I will not spoil the surprises for you, just in case you have not read this enchanting novel, but suffice to say the characters are a joy, and there are some incredibly well observed comic scenes that poke fun at Edwardian manners, prepressed emotions, and the absurdity of the upper-middle classes (especially when abroad). It contains one of the loveliest romances within the pages of classic fiction... be still my beating heart.
Forster writes so atmospherically of Florence: its architecture, its environs, and its art come alive at his touch, and looking at it all through the eyes of Lucy is an emotional experience. He also captures time and place in suburban England to perfection - there are glorious scenes that take place around Windy Corner that will have you chuckling, and punching the air with glee.
It has been too long since I immersed myself completely in this gem - something I have been promising I will do since I read the stunning Still Life by Sarah Winman (which makes a brilliant companion piece for many, many reasons). Utter bliss, and highly recommended if you have not discovered it charms.
I can highly recommend the excellent audio book narrated by Joanna David too, which kept me company when I had to put the book aside.
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
It's a decent read.
It was pleasant enough to like the book in general. However, there are flaws to it, that made the story confusing to me. Because when romance is introduced in a book, I would at least expect some build up around it. It's not even because the pacing of the development between Lucy and George was fast, I actually like the premise of them meeting in a trip. But what I didn't like is how there was no progressive development of their relationship. During Italy, it felt more like Lucy was struggling to form any opinion on George the whole time.
So, it came unexpectedly to me when George had kissed Lucy, because it seemed like there was no indication of a budding romance between them. I had thought I missed a chapter or two for it. I wished there were at least two chapters showing their development, so that it wasn't so confusing to reread back and see any signs or semblances of feelings between them.
Then again, I need to put the period of the setting into consideration. This isn't modern romance. There's a lot of complications that set them apart. I can't really fault the book too much for focusing on it than the romance itself. I just wish there was more to be told about Lucy and George instead of getting it in the last few pages and the epilogue.
But I did enjoy those complications, which mainly involved people. A lot of snubbing over how the Emersons behaved that seemed entirely unacceptable during that period. There's a lot of conformity to societal standings in the book that was interesting to learn about. For example, Mr. Emerson's non-religious takes was frowned upon, Ms. Bartlett being overprotective of Lucy as someone with much older views, Cecil's idea of Lucy as a woman and shrouding her in music and literature instead of loving her for who she is. There's a lot of pointing out what was acceptable and what wasn't during that time.
The more interesting points of the book came through the last seventy pages of the book. It was already getting there when Ms. Bartlett had intervened, and they went to Rome. Because I didn't expect for Lucy to be engaged to another man afterwards which created a whole set of more complications and impressively tied things in place quite well until the end. I liked how Lucy has been in denial the whole time since fleeing Florence, that her solution was to marry another man. I liked how Ms. Bartlett's intervention caused a rift in their relationship, and I really liked how unlikeable Cecil is.
Cecil wasn't violent nor infuriatingly mean for the sake of antagonizing. But he seems more like a modern antagonist, because there's a lot of him to this day, where they idealize a woman instead of loving her for who she is. It's also a nice touch that instead of being petty and causing some big argument when Lucy broke off the engagement, he was a lot tamer than expected.
Most of the characters are complex and well-rounded. Lucy was becoming more interesting the more she denied her feelings and ends up lying to everyone about it until Mr. Emerson saw right through her. I liked how unapologetically real and honest he was, which everyone disliked because he was not behaving as what society claimed acceptable. To me, Mr. Emerson is a modern man with progressive ideals that he was far ahead in time. George is also interesting for how different he was during Florence and after Rome, there was just an obvious difference where I could actually see the budding romance between them during the last few chapters in the book instead of at the start.
I say it's a decent read because at least when it came to dealing with the story's conflicts, there was no beating around the bush for it. Even though there's only about 10% romance with 50% people complicating things and 40% Lucy self-sabotaging, the epilogue made it all worth it to me.
I liked how Lucy and George were as a married couple. I liked that they were awfully sweet and affectionate, because their relationship illustrated what could have been if Ms. Bartlett hadn't kept them apart, if Lucy didn't leave for Rome, if she didn't accept Cecil's proposal. I also like how there were still complications when they got together, that not everything was solved because there were a lot of people who got affected, which was mostly from Lucy's side of the family.
I wish I understood the Florence portion of the book much better though. Maybe I could appreciate it better if I had.
It was pleasant enough to like the book in general. However, there are flaws to it, that made the story confusing to me. Because when romance is introduced in a book, I would at least expect some build up around it. It's not even because the pacing of the development between Lucy and George was fast, I actually like the premise of them meeting in a trip. But what I didn't like is how there was no progressive development of their relationship. During Italy, it felt more like Lucy was struggling to form any opinion on George the whole time.
So, it came unexpectedly to me when George had kissed Lucy, because it seemed like there was no indication of a budding romance between them. I had thought I missed a chapter or two for it. I wished there were at least two chapters showing their development, so that it wasn't so confusing to reread back and see any signs or semblances of feelings between them.
Then again, I need to put the period of the setting into consideration. This isn't modern romance. There's a lot of complications that set them apart. I can't really fault the book too much for focusing on it than the romance itself. I just wish there was more to be told about Lucy and George instead of getting it in the last few pages and the epilogue.
But I did enjoy those complications, which mainly involved people. A lot of snubbing over how the Emersons behaved that seemed entirely unacceptable during that period. There's a lot of conformity to societal standings in the book that was interesting to learn about. For example, Mr. Emerson's non-religious takes was frowned upon, Ms. Bartlett being overprotective of Lucy as someone with much older views, Cecil's idea of Lucy as a woman and shrouding her in music and literature instead of loving her for who she is. There's a lot of pointing out what was acceptable and what wasn't during that time.
The more interesting points of the book came through the last seventy pages of the book. It was already getting there when Ms. Bartlett had intervened, and they went to Rome. Because I didn't expect for Lucy to be engaged to another man afterwards which created a whole set of more complications and impressively tied things in place quite well until the end. I liked how Lucy has been in denial the whole time since fleeing Florence, that her solution was to marry another man. I liked how Ms. Bartlett's intervention caused a rift in their relationship, and I really liked how unlikeable Cecil is.
Cecil wasn't violent nor infuriatingly mean for the sake of antagonizing. But he seems more like a modern antagonist, because there's a lot of him to this day, where they idealize a woman instead of loving her for who she is. It's also a nice touch that instead of being petty and causing some big argument when Lucy broke off the engagement, he was a lot tamer than expected.
Most of the characters are complex and well-rounded. Lucy was becoming more interesting the more she denied her feelings and ends up lying to everyone about it until Mr. Emerson saw right through her. I liked how unapologetically real and honest he was, which everyone disliked because he was not behaving as what society claimed acceptable. To me, Mr. Emerson is a modern man with progressive ideals that he was far ahead in time. George is also interesting for how different he was during Florence and after Rome, there was just an obvious difference where I could actually see the budding romance between them during the last few chapters in the book instead of at the start.
I say it's a decent read because at least when it came to dealing with the story's conflicts, there was no beating around the bush for it. Even though there's only about 10% romance with 50% people complicating things and 40% Lucy self-sabotaging, the epilogue made it all worth it to me.
I liked how Lucy and George were as a married couple. I liked that they were awfully sweet and affectionate, because their relationship illustrated what could have been if Ms. Bartlett hadn't kept them apart, if Lucy didn't leave for Rome, if she didn't accept Cecil's proposal. I also like how there were still complications when they got together, that not everything was solved because there were a lot of people who got affected, which was mostly from Lucy's side of the family.
I wish I understood the Florence portion of the book much better though. Maybe I could appreciate it better if I had.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A romance novel written in the early 1900s, so it definitely holds many of the era appropriate social interactions. You can definitely tell that this was written by a man about a woman. I felt it lacked insight into the main character and generally plodded along. I can see how the events that take place would have made this a popular and impactful book of its time.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No