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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
relaxing
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Classism
emotional
reflective
fast-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
dark
funny
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While in some ways this book tells an extremely common story, it does so with a charm that makes it absolutely wonderful. It is funny, endearing, and excellently written. I enjoyed it greatly.
In Lucy, Forster creates a main character we watch grow while also staying the same. It's very true to life in that way. I suppose the depiction of the British tourist and country life of the early 20th century can come across as dated, but to me it was very easy to read past that. The supporting characters are an amusing and delightful, if sometimes tedious, cast.
Spoiler
Watching Lucy fumble her way towards George and seeing the straightforward way in which he approaches the world is at times painful, but ends up being rewarding. As predictable as it was to see her break off her engagement with Cecil, it was also satisfying in the end.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
There is some beautiful writing in this book. But what should be the real meat of the story, the love story, seems missing; like it happens off the page. What the reader is left with are the "stuff upper-lip" twitterings of annoyingly stuck up Brits in Italy and at home, complaining and judging each other. Meanwhile, our protagonist Lucy, who seems like she's good for fainting and falling down hills and not much else, is vehemently avoiding George, the most interesting character, though with the least screentime, while apparently actually falling in love with him for reasons I'm not sure of, since they have so little interaction. Is it because her fiance is controlling and wants her only to regurgitate his own ideas? In the end, when Lucy is calling off the engagement, she does so by regurgitating George's ideas as her own. Many dull pages later, we finally find George and Lucy together, with the whole them getting together totally missing. Instead we fast forward to them acting syrupy cute, having eloped and angering ( maybe?) Lucy's family. It's hard to say, because you get the feeling that no one really says what they mean. I was bored and disappointed with what I assumed could have been a very lovely, juicy love story but was instead a dry, crusty story of pseudo aristocrats whose most exciting adventure was an afternoon game of tennis.
funny
lighthearted
medium-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