Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
no author can write the intensity and complexity of romantic and sexual relationship as dh Lawrence does - phenomenal
VERY freudian tho. very interesting but a bit disturbing
VERY freudian tho. very interesting but a bit disturbing
'And then he hated her', 'and then she hated her', and then I hated this book.
I certainly did not expect to enjoy this after my experience with Lady Chatterley's Lover. I was hesitant to try Lawrence again but I thought it would be unfair to not give him a chance since I had a similar experience with Fitzgerald where I found that I preferred his excellent "The Beautiful And Damned" to the overrated "The Great Gatsby". Behold Lawrence's Sons and Lovers because it is beautiful, sensual not in the sexual sense but in his descriptions of everything - of nature, emotions, thoughts, a woman's love, a mother's love, a son's love - and yet it is absolutely exciting and fun to read, followed with inexpressible heaviness. There are undertones of depression that led me to feel quite blue as I read. I have found that I could come out of sadness in literature just alright because it is only a surface emotion and can be moderately adjusted, but coming out of this was very hard because it is a deeper cavity. Possibly more so because I just read about Ethan Frome. However if you love literature this shouldn't faze you! I am so glad I read it.
"There must be many women who at some point in their lives feel as if the prospect of her life is burying her alive, wonder if things were never going to alter and begin to realize that they would not. All the while she goes about her tasks with the chores, and the kids, she thinks how to make the most of what she had for the childrens' sakes."
"She still had a high moral sense, inherited from generations of Puritans." Pg.19 - That's what I think I am.
"The pity was, she was too much his opposite. She could not be content with the little he might be; she would have him the much that he ought to be. So in seeking to make him nobler than he could be, she destroyed him." (Pg.20) - This is me. Was me. Maybe not every wife but possibly most wives. Until we learn the art.
She was more tolerant of him, and he felt happy. "Neither knew that she was more tolerant because she loved him less."
Lawrence is possibly pro co-sleeping or consistently sharing a bed with a loved one.
She teaches him about not taking offense or taking things personally because people have their own ways, thoughts, and life. We get on. The victim mentality doesn't get one ahead.
"If you don't like it, alter it, and if you can't alter it, put up with it!" Pg.126
Words: lachrymose
"There must be many women who at some point in their lives feel as if the prospect of her life is burying her alive, wonder if things were never going to alter and begin to realize that they would not. All the while she goes about her tasks with the chores, and the kids, she thinks how to make the most of what she had for the childrens' sakes."
"She still had a high moral sense, inherited from generations of Puritans." Pg.19 - That's what I think I am.
"The pity was, she was too much his opposite. She could not be content with the little he might be; she would have him the much that he ought to be. So in seeking to make him nobler than he could be, she destroyed him." (Pg.20) - This is me. Was me. Maybe not every wife but possibly most wives. Until we learn the art.
She was more tolerant of him, and he felt happy. "Neither knew that she was more tolerant because she loved him less."
Lawrence is possibly pro co-sleeping or consistently sharing a bed with a loved one.
She teaches him about not taking offense or taking things personally because people have their own ways, thoughts, and life. We get on. The victim mentality doesn't get one ahead.
"If you don't like it, alter it, and if you can't alter it, put up with it!" Pg.126
Words: lachrymose
Spoiler
Read Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence.
Read The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek.
If you relate strongly with either Paul Morel or Erica Kohut, you spend an unhealthy amount of time with your mother and thus must dispose of her immediately to stand any chance of conventional romantic possibilities in your life.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-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
More than 2.5 but definitely less than 3 stars.
Right, so the first read of 2022 was pretty much a disaster. No one should start off their year this way.
The story is of a boy named Paul who is so emotionally attached to his mother that he is unable to develop enduring connections with other women. The only reason I give this book 3 stars - or any for that matter - is because of the first 6 chapters (since Paul does not come to life in the first half) and the beautiful, omniscient storytelling technique Lawrence uses. The storyline, otherwise, was terrible; the characters were terrible (our Mr. Protagonist definitely was). The plot seemed repetitive at a lot of places, and Paul literally gaslights everyone. Come to think of it, his mother should have put him up for adoption as soon as he was born.
Right, so the first read of 2022 was pretty much a disaster. No one should start off their year this way.
The story is of a boy named Paul who is so emotionally attached to his mother that he is unable to develop enduring connections with other women. The only reason I give this book 3 stars - or any for that matter - is because of the first 6 chapters (since Paul does not come to life in the first half) and the beautiful, omniscient storytelling technique Lawrence uses. The storyline, otherwise, was terrible; the characters were terrible (our Mr. Protagonist definitely was). The plot seemed repetitive at a lot of places, and Paul literally gaslights everyone. Come to think of it, his mother should have put him up for adoption as soon as he was born.
I haven't read this book in years, but I still think about it all the time. The character of the Father may be the most detailed, nuanced portrait I can think of in any novel. It's rare that an author can "write the accent" without it seeming mocking or tacky, but the specificity of Walter's dialect is such a joy. He's a character you can smell. Gertrude's inner life is no less deftly captured.
Sons and Lovers is a life more than a story. If you just want to get deep inside a family with an author interested in showing you every emotional detail, this book is it. I've read three Lawrence books now, and this is easily my favorite. So honest. So sad. So total in its descriptive power.
D.H. Lawrence's personality isn't going to be for everyone, but this is hardly a mark against the book. It's a masterpiece.
Sons and Lovers is a life more than a story. If you just want to get deep inside a family with an author interested in showing you every emotional detail, this book is it. I've read three Lawrence books now, and this is easily my favorite. So honest. So sad. So total in its descriptive power.
D.H. Lawrence's personality isn't going to be for everyone, but this is hardly a mark against the book. It's a masterpiece.