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3.91k reviews for:
A Room with a ViewA ROOM WITH A VIEW by Forster, E. M. (Author) on Oct-23-1989 Paperback
E.M. Forster, E.M. Forster
3.78 AVERAGE
3.91k reviews for:
A Room with a ViewA ROOM WITH A VIEW by Forster, E. M. (Author) on Oct-23-1989 Paperback
E.M. Forster, E.M. Forster
3.78 AVERAGE
I listened to "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster on audiobook. Written in 1908, it tells the age old story of a girl who has to choose between the socially acceptable and her heart/mind.
"It is a great opportunity, the possession of leisure."
The story starts in Florence, where the naive young Lucy Honeychurch meets the brutally honest George Emerson, and has a brief moment (and I do mean moment, as lovely as it is) of passion with him.
"The garden of Eden which we say is in the past is yet to come. We shall be equal when we stop despising our bodies."
It then continues to the English countryside, where Lucy decides to marry the stodgy Cecil Vyse (him of good snobby stock) but has all her plans upended by George's arrival and ardent engagements.
"Choose a place where you don't do very much harm and stand there for all you're worth facing the sunshine."
The landscape is beautifully laid out, and the language is precise and hilarious, in that way only the English can describe.
"She gave up trying to understand herself and joined the vast armies of the benighted who followed neither the heart nor the brain and march to their destinies by catchwords."
E.M. Forster skewers society and its stuffy hierarchies and mincing debates, and not a bit of is dated, despite the Edwardian era. If you like this sort of thing - clever funny period pieces that resonate in the modern world, I highly recommend this book.
"It is a great opportunity, the possession of leisure."
The story starts in Florence, where the naive young Lucy Honeychurch meets the brutally honest George Emerson, and has a brief moment (and I do mean moment, as lovely as it is) of passion with him.
"The garden of Eden which we say is in the past is yet to come. We shall be equal when we stop despising our bodies."
It then continues to the English countryside, where Lucy decides to marry the stodgy Cecil Vyse (him of good snobby stock) but has all her plans upended by George's arrival and ardent engagements.
"Choose a place where you don't do very much harm and stand there for all you're worth facing the sunshine."
The landscape is beautifully laid out, and the language is precise and hilarious, in that way only the English can describe.
"She gave up trying to understand herself and joined the vast armies of the benighted who followed neither the heart nor the brain and march to their destinies by catchwords."
E.M. Forster skewers society and its stuffy hierarchies and mincing debates, and not a bit of is dated, despite the Edwardian era. If you like this sort of thing - clever funny period pieces that resonate in the modern world, I highly recommend this book.
Forster, nonostante il suo essere anticonvenzionale, non riesce ad uscire completamente dalla mentalità britannica moralista e bigotta della sua epoca. La rappresentazione dell'Italia è da stereotipo. Per il resto il libro è leggibile e scorrevole per essere stato scritto in quegli anni. Personalmente ho detestato la protagonista.
"Love felt and returned, love which our bodies exact and our hearts have transfigured, love which is the most real thing that we shall ever meet, reappeared now as the world's enemy, and she must stifle it". This book surprised me, both in terms of its extremely scandalous plot and the prominence of individualism as a clear theme. Lucy's narrative was very intriguing to follow, and Forster's way of inviting the reader to speculate Lucy's decisions and perspective was cunningly clever. I will always hold the overall message of this novel close to my heart. The ending was pleasant, and I love how Lucy's sense of self becomes increasingly stronger throughout (in addition to how other characters' directness in their words encourages her to come out of her shell and express her true thoughts). In conclusion, I LOVED reading this, and I must say that novels of manners remain superior!
You know, I can't decide whether Forster had serious literary intentions when he wrote this book. Yes, it has some wonderful, profound moments, but at the same time it read as if Forster was busy chuckling at the naivety of the characters, not taking them very seriously. For instance Lucy. Was Forster siding with her, was she a heroine, or did he think she was slightly ridiculous? I just can't tell. I have a hard time thinking Forster considered her to be a very serious creation at all. There was an air that the characters and the story were all somewhat beneath Forster, like Forster knew this was just a silly little book he wrote to amuse somebody other than himself, and that Forster probably would have looked down upon anyone who said that they'd considered it to be an insightful, serious work.
What an oddity. I think I liked it, though... Or it was very readable, at least. Maybe too much so.
What an oddity. I think I liked it, though... Or it was very readable, at least. Maybe too much so.
after the halfway point, I found many a good quote. I think I love this book now... definitely worth a reread.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Really, really enjoyed. I liked that it jumped right into the story - no introduction. Great philosophy - especially for its time. A lot of liberal thought - what we now call conservative. I read this book in great timing for myself.
"...and the traveller who has gone to Italy to study the tactile values of Giotto, or the corruption of the Papacy, may return remembering nothing but the blue sky and the men and women who live under it."