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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
3.5 stars (kinda spoilery review)
If this book didn’t solely focus on Paul for the second half, I think I’d have enjoyed it more. The first half wasn’t so bad and I found Paul to be a much more interesting character as a child and as a teenager… as an adult, he was boring. I’m not sure why there were so many chapters focusing on him when he was the second of 3 sons. What about getting to know the third son a bit? I think I’d have rather had more from Arthur’s life as a soldier than so much droning on and on with Paul and his lackluster love life. It wasn’t even a little bit interesting to me.
If this book didn’t solely focus on Paul for the second half, I think I’d have enjoyed it more. The first half wasn’t so bad and I found Paul to be a much more interesting character as a child and as a teenager… as an adult, he was boring. I’m not sure why there were so many chapters focusing on him when he was the second of 3 sons. What about getting to know the third son a bit? I think I’d have rather had more from Arthur’s life as a soldier than so much droning on and on with Paul and his lackluster love life. It wasn’t even a little bit interesting to me.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a mixed feeling towards this book. I mean it's so well written and it portrays characters and their life so accurately, it leaves you shivering, with an aching remorse and disquiet regarding their future, their brokenness, their alienation. I feel utterly unsettled.
A book that caused me emotional turmoil.
I can't even begin to describe how disturbing it sometimes was. The Oedipus complex that the sons had, would even have Freud turning in his grave, it was that upsetting. The tension between the two lovers (i won't name names, in order not to spoil) literally causes anxiety in the reader, and invests him/her deeply into the characters and the book itself. It was one of the most beautifully written books i've ever read and the scenery it causes you to imagine is just wonderful. The insight of the characters' thoughts and feelings was very masterful and i love how it represented love, and relationships very realistically. I scarcely read this book (i like to take my time) but when i did, i just couldn't put it down. It is a wonderful read, not very complex but astonishing. It reminded me very much of the classic russian novels and i would recommend it to everyone! I hope my review intrigues you to pick it up, it is very much worth it.
I can't even begin to describe how disturbing it sometimes was. The Oedipus complex that the sons had, would even have Freud turning in his grave, it was that upsetting. The tension between the two lovers (i won't name names, in order not to spoil) literally causes anxiety in the reader, and invests him/her deeply into the characters and the book itself. It was one of the most beautifully written books i've ever read and the scenery it causes you to imagine is just wonderful. The insight of the characters' thoughts and feelings was very masterful and i love how it represented love, and relationships very realistically. I scarcely read this book (i like to take my time) but when i did, i just couldn't put it down. It is a wonderful read, not very complex but astonishing. It reminded me very much of the classic russian novels and i would recommend it to everyone! I hope my review intrigues you to pick it up, it is very much worth it.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book has divided me. There's something about Lawrence that you don't get from the other authors of the period. He has a sincere and original voice. He speaks about the ordinary and working class England. The first half of the novel about the family life of Morrels and the last few chapters about the failing health and the death of the mother felt extremely sincere. It was devastating. Some of the domestic scenes painted by Lawrence is permanently etched in my mind. But the middle part of the novel was not very enjoyable.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A wonderful view of Industrial East Midlands through class, sex, gender and industry.
"Their intimacy was so abstract, he did not know he wanted to crush her onto his breast to ease the ache there. He was afraid of her. The fact that he might want her as a man wants a woman had in him been suppressed into shame."
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I found this to be a deeply moving story of how some children can become subsumed by their parents needs and fail to live their own lives. The lack of understanding and empathy between the Morel parents created a void that Mrs Morel filled with the love for, and from, her children. At first, she is a sympathetic character. As her children age she becomes the villain. William escaped her pull only in death. Paul was unable to move on from the Oedipal dynamic even after her death and made the choice to continue to live if only to carry her on. In Paul’s two romantic relationships he disassociated when physically intimate, almost as if keeping himself apart for his mother. It was hard to see his life break down around him and witness him never escape her orbit. Lawrence did a masterful job with pacing, settings, and capturing the humanity of such a tortured dynamic.
------
I found this to be a deeply moving story of how some children can become subsumed by their parents needs and fail to live their own lives. The lack of understanding and empathy between the Morel parents created a void that Mrs Morel filled with the love for, and from, her children. At first, she is a sympathetic character. As her children age she becomes the villain. William escaped her pull only in death. Paul was unable to move on from the Oedipal dynamic even after her death and made the choice to continue to live if only to carry her on. In Paul’s two romantic relationships he disassociated when physically intimate, almost as if keeping himself apart for his mother. It was hard to see his life break down around him and witness him never escape her orbit. Lawrence did a masterful job with pacing, settings, and capturing the humanity of such a tortured dynamic.
What a wonderful book! Really, really great - written beautifully, with a simple but at the same time complex storyline. The story itself, though spread over so many years, didn't have a lot of action, but in terms of themes & revelations I thought it was incredibly compelling. The ending was very sad, & I liked that it didn't come to the conclusion I thought it would. For the time it was written its surprising how racy it is, & how relevant a lot of it still is. I did feel it was a shame that for all their prominence in the story & in Paul's life, the women involved all seem quite weak both in terms of character development & in terms of themselves when it comes to Paul. Even though one is a suffragette, another quite independent & all fairly strong, they are still rendered second to the main, and at times quite dislikeable, character.