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A review by backpackfullofbooks
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
“Let her go to Italy”, he cried “let her meddle with what she doesn’t understand!”
“Don’t be mysterious, there isn’t time.”
“I seem fated to pass through the world without colliding with it or moving it.”
~
A repressed and privately dysfunctional British family inflict their “well breed” chaos onto the residents of an unsuspecting Italian town. When one of the members of the family decides to marry a most unsuitable Italian what can a family of self respecting busy bodies do but to endeavour to make themselves and everyone else miserable, for the sake of propriety.
~
I came into this with fairly high expectations as “A room with a view” (Forsters other novel set in Italy) is one of my favourites. It is fair to say that I was quite disappointed.
The characters in this book are much less eccentric and much more unlikable than those in a room with a view. Also, the action is much more dramatic but delivered in a more banal manner. Overall I would say that for a book with such high stakes melodrama it amazingly succeeds in being quite boring in places.
This was Forsters first book his writing definitely improved dramatically as time went on.
I do think that it has value if you want to asses his work as a whole, there are certainly similar themes in this and his other writing, but it wouldn’t be my first choice out of his writing.
~
I recommend this book if you are interested in how Forsters style evolved and developed. If you want to read just one of his novels I recommend a room with a view, which has similar themes but is much more enjoyable.
“Don’t be mysterious, there isn’t time.”
“I seem fated to pass through the world without colliding with it or moving it.”
~
A repressed and privately dysfunctional British family inflict their “well breed” chaos onto the residents of an unsuspecting Italian town. When one of the members of the family decides to marry a most unsuitable Italian what can a family of self respecting busy bodies do but to endeavour to make themselves and everyone else miserable, for the sake of propriety.
~
I came into this with fairly high expectations as “A room with a view” (Forsters other novel set in Italy) is one of my favourites. It is fair to say that I was quite disappointed.
The characters in this book are much less eccentric and much more unlikable than those in a room with a view. Also, the action is much more dramatic but delivered in a more banal manner. Overall I would say that for a book with such high stakes melodrama it amazingly succeeds in being quite boring in places.
This was Forsters first book his writing definitely improved dramatically as time went on.
I do think that it has value if you want to asses his work as a whole, there are certainly similar themes in this and his other writing, but it wouldn’t be my first choice out of his writing.
~
I recommend this book if you are interested in how Forsters style evolved and developed. If you want to read just one of his novels I recommend a room with a view, which has similar themes but is much more enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Religious bigotry, Violence, Child death, and Death of parent