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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
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:
Yes
Okay, so I have really tried with Henry Green. I worked my way through "Living" and "Party Going" and while I didn't enjoy them a great deal, I found them interesting and different in terms of style. I was looking forward to reading "Loving" as it is so highly regarded by a lot of people, including here on Goodreads.
Well, I found it a plod to get through. I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the people in the book, and I kept finding more interesting things to do than to get back to reading a bit more of it. I did finish it because I pushed myself, but I won't be looking to read any more of his books. My loss no doubt.
Well, I found it a plod to get through. I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the people in the book, and I kept finding more interesting things to do than to get back to reading a bit more of it. I did finish it because I pushed myself, but I won't be looking to read any more of his books. My loss no doubt.
B-oring! Not my kind of character development book. Maybe I’m just not high brow enough. But I didn’t find the prose beautiful, nor the dialogue snappy, just ugh. Not for me.
I'm going to start this over from the beginning and finish it, inspired by my desire to learn about subtle but powerful dialogue. I think I can handle the subtlety now.
The upstairs/downstairs life we’ve seen on Downton Abbey and similar shows is always high drama. They’re soap operas with great clothes and better manners. The upstairs/downstairs life in Henry Green’s Loving is much more satirical. The servants are not polished and the family are always complaining about their first-world problems. This book is the perfect antidote for people who roll their eyes at the terrible seriousness of Downton Abbey...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from Edelweiss for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from Edelweiss for review consideration.
Reminiscent of Godsford Park (so much so, I wonder if it wasn’t an influence on Altman) or Upstairs Downstairs; Loving is a slice of life look at WWII era landed gentry and their servants. The servants have their own pecking order as they polish the silver, make the beds, embezzle and gossip. The masters complain about the help, yet can’t function without them (10 servants in the house for two adults and two children?). Most of the characters are English, who consider the Irish savages and are avoiding the war in neutral Ireland, feeling occasionally ashamed for it (for avoiding the war, not hating the Irish). Not much happens, otherwise. It took me a while to realize that the book is supposed to be funny.
Read this as part of a trilogy and it was the easiest to digest. It's good but takes a lot of work.