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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I think of E M Forster as the most technically brilliant author I have ever had the honour of reading. His prose is beautiful, his references pitch-perfect, his structure clear and precise and his characters vivid.
What convinced me of this is that I studied A Room With A View in sixth form; the way my English teacher demarcated the plot and the prose and the characters showed me that there is just so much going on behind the social satire and the observation and the wit.
I didn't feel that Howards End quite lived up to my expectations. It left me cold and its technical brilliance didn't correlate to a plausible story. But this book did.
In saying 'he is technically brilliant' is not to say 'he is the best'. What I mean is that he is master of his craft, not that his ideas themselves, the fuel for his furnace, are the best. That's why this book only gets four stars.
I was hooked from the start, and I found a lot of myself in the English characters. I came to love the adorable Aziz, rage at Miss Quested, sympathise with the quiet, confused Mrs Moore and respect the honourable Mr Fielding. I saw a lot of the India I have read so much about. I understood what the caves represented, I found the use of religion really interesting as a parallel for the characters' understanding of life and I found the small romance really touching (the scene with the hyena especially). He dealt with the same ideas as I've seen him deal with before: tourist apathy; English superiority; misunderstanding; cowardice; confusion; friendship. The friendship, incidentally, at the end of the novel, really touched me.
Forster's writing is quiet and powerful. He puts so much thought into everything he writes. And you can't help but appreciate that.
"[The Sun] was not the unattainable friend, either of men or birds or other suns, he was not the eternal promise, the never-with-drawn suggestion that haunts our consciousness; he was merely a creature, like the rest, and so debarred from glory."
"Trouble after trouble encountered him, because he had challenged the spirit of the Indian earth, which tries to keep men in compartments."
"She felt increasingly (vision or nightmare?) that though people are important the relations between them are not, and that in particular too much fuss has been made over marriage; centuries of carnal embracement, yet man is no nearer to understanding man."
"'Aziz, are you awake?'
'No, so let us have a talk; let us dream plans for the future.'
'I am useless at dreaming.'
'Good night then, dear fellow.'"
"'The first time I saw you, you were wanting to see India, not Indians, and it occurred to me: Ah, that won't take us far. Indians know whether they are liked or not - they cannot be fooled here. Justice never satisfies them, and that is why the British Empire rests on sand."
What convinced me of this is that I studied A Room With A View in sixth form; the way my English teacher demarcated the plot and the prose and the characters showed me that there is just so much going on behind the social satire and the observation and the wit.
I didn't feel that Howards End quite lived up to my expectations. It left me cold and its technical brilliance didn't correlate to a plausible story. But this book did.
In saying 'he is technically brilliant' is not to say 'he is the best'. What I mean is that he is master of his craft, not that his ideas themselves, the fuel for his furnace, are the best. That's why this book only gets four stars.
I was hooked from the start, and I found a lot of myself in the English characters. I came to love the adorable Aziz, rage at Miss Quested, sympathise with the quiet, confused Mrs Moore and respect the honourable Mr Fielding. I saw a lot of the India I have read so much about. I understood what the caves represented, I found the use of religion really interesting as a parallel for the characters' understanding of life and I found the small romance really touching (the scene with the hyena especially). He dealt with the same ideas as I've seen him deal with before: tourist apathy; English superiority; misunderstanding; cowardice; confusion; friendship. The friendship, incidentally, at the end of the novel, really touched me.
Forster's writing is quiet and powerful. He puts so much thought into everything he writes. And you can't help but appreciate that.
"[The Sun] was not the unattainable friend, either of men or birds or other suns, he was not the eternal promise, the never-with-drawn suggestion that haunts our consciousness; he was merely a creature, like the rest, and so debarred from glory."
"Trouble after trouble encountered him, because he had challenged the spirit of the Indian earth, which tries to keep men in compartments."
"She felt increasingly (vision or nightmare?) that though people are important the relations between them are not, and that in particular too much fuss has been made over marriage; centuries of carnal embracement, yet man is no nearer to understanding man."
"'Aziz, are you awake?'
'No, so let us have a talk; let us dream plans for the future.'
'I am useless at dreaming.'
'Good night then, dear fellow.'"
"'The first time I saw you, you were wanting to see India, not Indians, and it occurred to me: Ah, that won't take us far. Indians know whether they are liked or not - they cannot be fooled here. Justice never satisfies them, and that is why the British Empire rests on sand."
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Review written: 11/05/20.
A Passage to India is fascinanting in the way it presents itself. The colonists are (rightly) portrayed as ignorant at best, blatantly racist at worst, and the natives who have to put up with them are clearly the ones in the right.
Yet despite this, all of the characters are fully realised people. Mrs Moore seems like the best of the English lot, yet she still peaces out at the soonest opportunity, leaving everyone to flounder by themselves. Miss Quested is frankly stupid and superficial in a very real way, wanting to see the "real India" but having no interest in it where it presents itself. Then when she realises the big error she made she willingly opens herself up to fire from both sides of the divide, proving that she is not at heart a bad person.
Aziz is the tale's greatest injury, trying so hard throughout to win favour which so grimly backfires in the way anyone could predict. He holds the most sympathy throughout, to such an extent that at the end, his becomes genuinely surprising. But that's another example of the characters being so well realised. Aziz is the best character in the novel, so kind throughout only to slide into very understandable, but still disappointing to see, maliciousness at the end.
I loved it all because of this realism. Mrs Moore is good, but not particularly kind; Miss quested is well-intentioned but totally naive, leading to serious consequence for others; Aziz does everything right and still pays a price for it.
Each step of the way I had no idea what to expect. Having gone in blind, I thought, upon reaching part two, that the book would be about the Marabar Caves. I never guessed that they would play so small a part in the overall story. When the story abruptly turned onto which perhaps was Forster's intention. Maybe my own idea of what the story was going to be was a bit 21st Century, I don't know.
Either way, I'm glad to have been wrong. The injustice, the bigotry, the reality of India's occupation was breathtaking to read, and to see the colonists lose was very cathartic. I need to read more Forster, I think.
A Passage to India is fascinanting in the way it presents itself. The colonists are (rightly) portrayed as ignorant at best, blatantly racist at worst, and the natives who have to put up with them are clearly the ones in the right.
Yet despite this, all of the characters are fully realised people. Mrs Moore seems like the best of the English lot, yet she still peaces out at the soonest opportunity, leaving everyone to flounder by themselves. Miss Quested is frankly stupid and superficial in a very real way, wanting to see the "real India" but having no interest in it where it presents itself. Then when she realises the big error she made she willingly opens herself up to fire from both sides of the divide, proving that she is not at heart a bad person.
Aziz is the tale's greatest injury, trying so hard throughout to win favour which so grimly backfires in the way anyone could predict. He holds the most sympathy throughout, to such an extent that at the end, his
Spoiler
hatred of Miss Quested, and the nearly malicious way he behaves towards her once his future is safe and he knows she is leaving,I loved it all because of this realism. Mrs Moore is good, but not particularly kind; Miss quested is well-intentioned but totally naive, leading to serious consequence for others; Aziz does everything right and still pays a price for it.
Each step of the way I had no idea what to expect. Having gone in blind, I thought, upon reaching part two, that the book would be about the Marabar Caves. I never guessed that they would play so small a part in the overall story. When the story abruptly turned onto
Spoiler
Aziz's arrest I was completely blindsidedEither way, I'm glad to have been wrong. The injustice, the bigotry, the reality of India's occupation was breathtaking to read, and to see the colonists lose was very cathartic. I need to read more Forster, I think.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
While dated, a great story of imperialism and nationalism. Shades of TKAM but I definitely think it is superior.
How do I talk about how much I love E.M. Forster's novels? Gossamer beauty.
I’d wanted to read this book as part of my project of reading those books I’d always meant to but never did. I’ve finished it now and I did love all the characters in the book and how they interacted with each other. They were all well described and portrayed in the book and I got to know them well and felt I could relate to them. My only disappointment is that I found the book a bit slow and in the absence of what I call action I found I lost interest at times. Saying that I found that I got into the culture and the characters attitudes and I realise that was an important thread through the book so it was well done in that regard. Maybe I’ve been a bit harsh with my rating but I balance that with how I measure my book reading overall. I am glad though I’ve read the book.
I had never heard of EM Forster before I started my mission to read quote/unquote the classics. I had also not read much of India either. Then, I had read several fictions set in India, and grew a new appreciation. When I came across this book, it seemed rather basic, but given its "classic" status, I grew excited for it.
It is not at all what I expected. There's a somewhat of a twist in the book, and I think this is where the book really pivots from a mundane tale to something interesting. The first section of the book, one worries about how this book has aged, but the second part of the book really focuses and zooms in on the British-Indian interaction. It was a refreshing break from what the first part of the book was implying. Likewise, the prose of EM Forster makes the book a delight to read. Overally very interesting and aged surprisingly well, in my opinion.
It is not at all what I expected. There's a somewhat of a twist in the book, and I think this is where the book really pivots from a mundane tale to something interesting. The first section of the book, one worries about how this book has aged, but the second part of the book really focuses and zooms in on the British-Indian interaction. It was a refreshing break from what the first part of the book was implying. Likewise, the prose of EM Forster makes the book a delight to read. Overally very interesting and aged surprisingly well, in my opinion.