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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Superbly evocative work from a certified genius of letters.
There are too many reviews that start with "Oh doesn't that nice young Colin Firth have a great voice on the free audiobook? Shame about the novel." This makes me sad. There's probably even too many reviews lauding the literary qualities, so I shall limit my review to my response to the text and in no way shall I analyse or critique the novel.
Essentially it is the story of a writer, a civil servant and the woman that is married to one and in love with the other. Then there's some stuff about religion and belief to complicate matters slightly. The setting is London in the aftermath of World War Two.
i) This book is almost claustrophobia inducing, the atmosphere invoked by Greene's prose so oppressive and tense in nature. Love is laid bare and the pain of loss there for all to witness with no attempt to pity or make judgement on those characters who experience it.
ii) How can anyone read this book and think "I can write a novel?" Graham Greene is so astoundingly good at what he does that it intimidates me; surely nobody can ever come close to reaching the same heights, capturing the content of the human heart with such mastery, the complexities of the human mind with such vivid precision?
iii) The novel examines in great depth two of my favourite subjects in the 'Great British Novel,' the natural repression in us as a people of our emotions and the conflict and pain that causes and the stilted nature of our passions when released from the generations of instinctual repression.
iv) The recent(ish) movie adaptation from Neil Jordan was somehow completely perfect if I am remembering correctly and I need to watch it again to establish this fact. It's rare to find this quality in a movie adaptation.
v) Why oh why do we have to put up with all of this religious business? I cannot help my reaction as somebody who has no religion to all this pained exploration of the nature of God and the writers struggle with his beliefs. It's, frankly, rather unnecessary and detracts from my enjoyment. The man preferred to be described as a novelist who happened to be a Catholic but devising novels to discuss Catholicism from the point of view of a Catholic surely actually makes him a Catholic Novelist, despite his preference?
vi) Should have been a 5 star novel but too much religion dampened my appreciation and took away a star, not that He cares about this.
There are too many reviews that start with "Oh doesn't that nice young Colin Firth have a great voice on the free audiobook? Shame about the novel." This makes me sad. There's probably even too many reviews lauding the literary qualities, so I shall limit my review to my response to the text and in no way shall I analyse or critique the novel.
“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.”
Essentially it is the story of a writer, a civil servant and the woman that is married to one and in love with the other. Then there's some stuff about religion and belief to complicate matters slightly. The setting is London in the aftermath of World War Two.
i) This book is almost claustrophobia inducing, the atmosphere invoked by Greene's prose so oppressive and tense in nature. Love is laid bare and the pain of loss there for all to witness with no attempt to pity or make judgement on those characters who experience it.
ii) How can anyone read this book and think "I can write a novel?" Graham Greene is so astoundingly good at what he does that it intimidates me; surely nobody can ever come close to reaching the same heights, capturing the content of the human heart with such mastery, the complexities of the human mind with such vivid precision?
iii) The novel examines in great depth two of my favourite subjects in the 'Great British Novel,' the natural repression in us as a people of our emotions and the conflict and pain that causes and the stilted nature of our passions when released from the generations of instinctual repression.
“It was as though our love were a small creature caught in a trap and bleeding to death: I had to shut my eyes and wring its neck.”
iv) The recent(ish) movie adaptation from Neil Jordan was somehow completely perfect if I am remembering correctly and I need to watch it again to establish this fact. It's rare to find this quality in a movie adaptation.
v) Why oh why do we have to put up with all of this religious business? I cannot help my reaction as somebody who has no religion to all this pained exploration of the nature of God and the writers struggle with his beliefs. It's, frankly, rather unnecessary and detracts from my enjoyment. The man preferred to be described as a novelist who happened to be a Catholic but devising novels to discuss Catholicism from the point of view of a Catholic surely actually makes him a Catholic Novelist, despite his preference?
vi) Should have been a 5 star novel but too much religion dampened my appreciation and took away a star, not that He cares about this.
“Insecurity is the worst sense that lovers feel; sometimes the most humdrum desireless marriage seems better. Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust.”
Much more philosophical than I expected. An enjoyable read.
If you’re looking for a book about jealousy, obsession, and the contemplation of God this book is for you. There’s method in this madness and it was worth the winding prose.
I made the best decision to listen to the audible version narrated by Colin Firth. I loved it.
I kinda hated it. It was dreary and boring without much plot and no real understanding of what the characters ultimately want from the entire affair. Maybe if you're into stuffy British love affair novels but I regret "sticking with it" and wish I'd have just stopped when I started to loathe it.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Complex characters Greene himself unfurls as he writes. Existential, theistic, emotional, and witty.
Not going to lie- the fact that Colin Firth narrated this audiobook made it all the more delightful. Oh that man!
Ik geef eerlijk toe een kleine zwak te hebben voor Colin Firth sinds ik de BBC-serie van Pride en Prejudice gezien heb, maar ik durf toch te stellen dat dit mijn beoordelingsvermogen hier niet beïnvloed heeft. Want ik kan me werkelijk niet voorstellen hoe je je nog beter kunt inleven in dit boek dan door naar deze audiobookversie ervan te luisteren.
Colin Firth IS Bendrix, een man die in twee gespleten wordt door haat en liefde voor Sarah, die niet de zijne is. Toegegeven, naar het einde toe komt er wat te veel herhaling opzetten, maar de pijn en de hopeloosheid van deze affaire worden beschreven met een zodanige schoonheid, dat ik heel vaak tot in het diepste toe geroerd was.
Prachtig audiobook, waarbij ik vrees dat, mocht ik het "gewoon" gelezen hebben, me het nooit in die mate zou geraakt hebben.
Colin Firth IS Bendrix, een man die in twee gespleten wordt door haat en liefde voor Sarah, die niet de zijne is. Toegegeven, naar het einde toe komt er wat te veel herhaling opzetten, maar de pijn en de hopeloosheid van deze affaire worden beschreven met een zodanige schoonheid, dat ik heel vaak tot in het diepste toe geroerd was.
Prachtig audiobook, waarbij ik vrees dat, mocht ik het "gewoon" gelezen hebben, me het nooit in die mate zou geraakt hebben.