A review by apriltrepagnier
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

Sons and Lovers, the 1913 novel by D. H. Lawrence, is no. 9 on Modern Library's Top 100 Novels. I find myself at a bit of a loss on how to comment on it. I have a theory that the existence of redemption in a novel is necessary for it to be a great work; I cannot suffer a nihilistic worldview. I think there is something akin to redemption here. I want there to be, but the brokenness throughout is so all-encompassing that it is possible I just want it to be there. 

Set in early 1900s England, the novel centers on the Morel family. The story is bleak from the beginning. It is hard to encounter characters who seem to have been born with the possibility of happiness only to find themselves in lives that seem fruitless. This becomes harder still when the personalities irrevocably alter into despair. Once the brokenness is passed on to the children, it is a bonafide tragedy. 

Of course there is social commentary - the effects of industrialism, cheap labor, exploitation of class, and the like. But, while these are factors, there seems to be a more base human condition being interrogated. For me, at the center of the novel were the overarching questions concerning love. How much fear of solitude, abandonment, rejection can one person take? What manipulations, not just on others, but on ourselves, are we capable of committing to feel love? What are the effects on the essence of a person when they are loved unwell? What are we willing to sacrifice? How much grace do we give those who are doing the best they can with what they know? How can our stories be different when we commit to loving each other well? 

I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I don't think Lawrence was real sure either. But I think this novel suggests he was at least trying to work it all out.