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tayyloranne's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
natreadsthings's review against another edition
4.0
I understand,” I cried to myself, “I understand at last. Life, life, life, this is life, full to overflowing with every ecstasy and every agony. It is mine, mine to hug, to exhaust, to drain.
What a delight the narration was! A nostalgic, almost foreboding tone, as we go back in time to when Olivia, then 16, attended a school in France and fell in love with her female teacher. In just over 100 pages Dorothy Strachey managed to create a story that both captured my heart and made me feel it was dangling in front of me just out of reach to live in the moments myself. Despite what that might sound like I actually adore stories like that. Stories that make me feel but that still keep their distance from me. Stories about young people experiencing something for the first time, and then looking back at it all after it has ended. And of course, the boarding school setting, which I will always love, doesn't hurt.
The only thing that keeps this from being a favorite is that I took too long to read it. It was deliberate, at first, but then I realized I had waited too long to pick it up again and I felt my attention had waned a bit, but that's not the fault of the book. It was lovely, heartbreaking, with beautiful prose and nostalgia.
What a delight the narration was! A nostalgic, almost foreboding tone, as we go back in time to when Olivia, then 16, attended a school in France and fell in love with her female teacher. In just over 100 pages Dorothy Strachey managed to create a story that both captured my heart and made me feel it was dangling in front of me just out of reach to live in the moments myself. Despite what that might sound like I actually adore stories like that. Stories that make me feel but that still keep their distance from me. Stories about young people experiencing something for the first time, and then looking back at it all after it has ended. And of course, the boarding school setting, which I will always love, doesn't hurt.
The only thing that keeps this from being a favorite is that I took too long to read it. It was deliberate, at first, but then I realized I had waited too long to pick it up again and I felt my attention had waned a bit, but that's not the fault of the book. It was lovely, heartbreaking, with beautiful prose and nostalgia.
delmeyz's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
beatricem5's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
erna19's review
4.0
aaahhhh. the universal Sapphic™ experience of being infatuated with a teacher.
it’s very short but the prose is quite heavy and the feelings the main character evokes are quite complex which means i totally shouldn’t have skimmed through this book as quickly as i did. which is why i’m, for now, giving it a 3.5 but rounded up because i think that once i’ll actually sit down and read it more slowly and more “properly” i’ll like it even more.
it’s very short but the prose is quite heavy and the feelings the main character evokes are quite complex which means i totally shouldn’t have skimmed through this book as quickly as i did. which is why i’m, for now, giving it a 3.5 but rounded up because i think that once i’ll actually sit down and read it more slowly and more “properly” i’ll like it even more.
20thmay's review
4.0
Reading this book was a perfectly wonderful experience! I love how accessible Dorothy Strachey's writing is (to me at least). She captured the feeling of infatuation and affection perfectly well with enough subtle intimacy between characters, such as Mlle. Julie and Cara, and by portraying characters such as Signorina with acts that are borderline infatuation. Olivia was such a relatable character to anyone who has ever experienced such passion and longing for someone out of their reach. A delightful read with a tad sombre ending (but then again, it was sort of expected, no?), a very memorable read for me!
isabellaisabella's review against another edition
4.0
sexual awakenings, obsessive love, and problematic relationships, what more could you want