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floatwiththesticks's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second book I've read by this author and MY GOSH!? I guess 1920s literature is my thing now, this absolutely enthralled me from beginning to end. I want to cry??
I laughed out loud, gasped, cringed, swooned, everything, all the emotions; which is precisely the point of this novel. The fabric of love in its myriad thread.
I laughed out loud, gasped, cringed, swooned, everything, all the emotions; which is precisely the point of this novel. The fabric of love in its myriad thread.
ansatejones's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mamatoca's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Can't say I really enjoyed this one, but I continued reading out of voyeuristic curiosity....is this really how these people are?! Aunt Dot was the unsung hero. I much preferred Rebecca.
bridget_r's review against another edition
4.0
Ingeborg is surrounded by overbearing, self-absorbed men: her father, her husband and her friend (and would-be lover, if he had his way). I hated them all.
ken_bookhermit's review against another edition
2.0
With such an overachieving title as Love I knew from the start that this text might have the tendency to be overwrought. For this one, I actually read the blurb (a rare occurrence; I am a creature of impulse, after all). An age-gap romance? This isn't my first rodeo. Hence, I gave it a chance.
But the reason for my low rating is the insufferable way Christopher carries himself. It's like, Jesus Christ, man. You're twenty-five and you act and live like this? Eager to a fault? The kids might even say, cringe? Usually I hesitate to use that word when I mean eager, and I don't like to mock or make fun of someone's eagerness, but Christopher is just, plain old exhausting. In the scene where...
What I mean to say is that. Partly it gives the impression that Christopher is an altogether sheltered character despite having a friend like Lewes with whom he could rhapsodize about love. But alas, just because Christopher thought himself in love (he wasn't; he's delusional at best), he thought himself better than anyone who isn't. And that's fucking annoying.
But the reason for my low rating is the insufferable way Christopher carries himself. It's like, Jesus Christ, man. You're twenty-five and you act and live like this? Eager to a fault? The kids might even say, cringe? Usually I hesitate to use that word when I mean eager, and I don't like to mock or make fun of someone's eagerness, but Christopher is just, plain old exhausting. In the scene where
Spoiler
he takes Catherine to dinner and their conversation made a turn to Catherine's dead husband, Christopher's insistence on saying "Any man" grew irritatingWhat I mean to say is that. Partly it gives the impression that Christopher is an altogether sheltered character despite having a friend like Lewes with whom he could rhapsodize about love. But alas, just because Christopher thought himself in love (he wasn't; he's delusional at best), he thought himself better than anyone who isn't. And that's fucking annoying.
hainesh's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
tlsouthard's review against another edition
4.0
This book was not quite what I expected. I expected a frothy little love story, but there was much more here than meets the eye in the beginning.
It is about love, indeed. But it is also about the expectations of society. It's about aging and the changes that come with it. The ending was not what I anticipated as I read along. von Arnim had things to say underneath that froth.
Worth the read.
As a postscript: It was surprising to me how much has changed, at least in some ways, since the 20s when this was set. Catherine is 47 years old and no one has a problem considering her "elderly". And she notices such a difference in her energy level and her "fatigue". While I'm not saying that a 47 year old is as spry as a 25 year old, that 47 year old is much better able to "keep pace" today than von Arnim would have it be in the 1920s. That part was kind of disconcerting.
It is about love, indeed. But it is also about the expectations of society. It's about aging and the changes that come with it. The ending was not what I anticipated as I read along. von Arnim had things to say underneath that froth.
Worth the read.
As a postscript: It was surprising to me how much has changed, at least in some ways, since the 20s when this was set. Catherine is 47 years old and no one has a problem considering her "elderly". And she notices such a difference in her energy level and her "fatigue". While I'm not saying that a 47 year old is as spry as a 25 year old, that 47 year old is much better able to "keep pace" today than von Arnim would have it be in the 1920s. That part was kind of disconcerting.