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tasha_sarah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Incredibly written but it fights against itself, pride vs homophobia
I imagine it was a stepping stone, but I should've known by the title it would take us back in time to a harshness
The plot is slow for about 4 'books' and then everything happens all at once, but I felt the same about Jane Eyre and still recognise it as a work of art
My overall review for my future self would be - I dont need to revisit this book just because it was significant to the lgbt community in a different time long ago
I imagine it was a stepping stone, but I should've known by the title it would take us back in time to a harshness
The plot is slow for about 4 'books' and then everything happens all at once, but I felt the same about Jane Eyre and still recognise it as a work of art
My overall review for my future self would be - I dont need to revisit this book just because it was significant to the lgbt community in a different time long ago
lesbianlis's review
slow-paced
1.75
Truly WTF is wrong with you people that liked this. Its incredibly boring, does race science, and appeals to respectability politics.
For a while I was excusing the boringness as just a product of its time, however, there were so many passages that were unnecessary and felt like reading about paint drying.
For a while I was excusing the boringness as just a product of its time, however, there were so many passages that were unnecessary and felt like reading about paint drying.
beth_7's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
catherinedsharp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
DISCLAIMER - I read this text as a set text for university meaning I did not pick this up for myself. It does not necessarily fit my usual reading selection so my review may be rather biased.
I would never have found this book without university and I am so glad that I found it. Such a raw and beautiful text although deeply harrowing too.
Check the content warnings and remember that it is a book of its time but still, utterly stunning.
I would never have found this book without university and I am so glad that I found it. Such a raw and beautiful text although deeply harrowing too.
Check the content warnings and remember that it is a book of its time but still, utterly stunning.
unknownlegend's review against another edition
I wanted to like this so bad, but it was boring me. I couldn’t make myself care about any of the characters (maybe it’s the curse of too many white lesbian period pieces across all forms of media). It was putting me into a reading slump, so I gave up.
ari_dykery's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
brnineworms's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Strange book. It starts off as a bildungsroman but it’s also a bit of a manifesto, so I have to assess it from both angles. Stephen is a stand-in for the author, her mouthpiece. Around the midpoint of the book she gives an impassioned speech defending her queerness, arguing against her mother who deems it unnatural and wrong. It seemed almost like wish fulfilment on the part of the author, imagining a braver version of herself who has the guts to stand up to bigotry and fight back (though she does ultimately agree to leave her childhood home ). Later, these diatribes are delivered via narration rather than dialogue; they are suppressed to internal thoughts. This reflects Stephen falling into despair and becoming increasingly isolated and aware of the hostility which surrounds her, but it also seems as though Hall at this point wanted to make her declarations without having to convey them through a story.
There were a few elements that didn’t quite work for me as I was reading the book but, upon reflection, I can see what Hall was (maybe?) going for. An example: the First World War lasts only a couple dozen pages. Maybe Hall didn’t want to explore in-depth a recent real world horror. Understandable. But that short section does introduceStephen’s main love interest, Mary, and there’s that whole thing about war being an opportunity to prove one’s masculinity and worth, something which appeals to Stephen. There’s no time to delve into that, though. The war kind of just happens. It’s a blip. Maybe that’s how it felt to those who lived through it? But it was odd considering the first half of the novel had really taken its time to flesh out the characters and breathe life into the world – Mary is more of a plot device than a person and the quickening of the pace from this point forward gives the impression of a montage. As Stephen’s life falls apart, so too does the structure of the novel.
It’s an interesting artefact of queer history. For modern readers it blurs the line between lesbianism and transmasculinity; the prevailing concept at the time (or the one Hall subscribed to, at least) was inversion. It’s fascinating to see how concepts of gender, sex, and sexuality were (and to some degree still are) intertwined in the public consciousness – a woman who loves women must be on some level a man, and a woman who wants to be a man is and will always be a woman. And every invert has some physical sign of their disorder, like Brockett having feminine hands. It’s proof that queerness is true, that it’s more than an affectation or a behavioural choice. I think Hall was interested in exploring/explaining the origins of queerness. It is stated very clearly in this book to be a natural phenomenon. But the born this way narrative does in some way concede that queerness is undesirable, only we can’t help it. This entire novel is built on that foundation.
It is a sympathetic portrayal – sympathy really is the key word here. We are urged to understand Stephen and to pity her plight, because queerness is inseparable from tragedy.
Well.
CONTENT WARNINGS:war, injury, death (including animal death), terminal illness, suicide, grief/depression, anxiety/self-consciousness, toxic/abusive relationships, cheating, outing, dysphoria, sexism, lesbophobia (including internalised lesbophobia), racism, drugs and addiction (and prejudice against addicts)
There were a few elements that didn’t quite work for me as I was reading the book but, upon reflection, I can see what Hall was (maybe?) going for. An example: the First World War lasts only a couple dozen pages. Maybe Hall didn’t want to explore in-depth a recent real world horror. Understandable. But that short section does introduce
It’s an interesting artefact of queer history. For modern readers it blurs the line between lesbianism and transmasculinity; the prevailing concept at the time (or the one Hall subscribed to, at least) was inversion. It’s fascinating to see how concepts of gender, sex, and sexuality were (and to some degree still are) intertwined in the public consciousness – a woman who loves women must be on some level a man, and a woman who wants to be a man is and will always be a woman. And every invert has some physical sign of their disorder, like Brockett having feminine hands. It’s proof that queerness is true, that it’s more than an affectation or a behavioural choice. I think Hall was interested in exploring/explaining the origins of queerness. It is stated very clearly in this book to be a natural phenomenon. But the born this way narrative does in some way concede that queerness is undesirable, only we can’t help it. This entire novel is built on that foundation.
It is a sympathetic portrayal – sympathy really is the key word here. We are urged to understand Stephen and to pity her plight, because queerness is inseparable from tragedy.
Well.
CONTENT WARNINGS: