Review by greenghost - Maurice

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greenghost 's review for:

Maurice by E.M. Forster

5.0

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

[MAURICE SPOILERS AHEAD! I'm feeling uber pretentious today, this review might be a longy!] Without further ado, here is my OBLIGATORY PSEUDO-INTELLECTUAL REVIEW OF MAURICE BY E.M. FORSTER!

I loved this book, and the fact that it ended with a happy, non tragic ending for the protagonist added to my enjoyment, especially considering the time period in which it was written (the year 1913!). I understand why Forster published this posthumous, I would've done the same. And if there really is an afterlife

(perhaps in the sun, as Mr. Grace theorized LOL, though I don't believe that one bit)

, I hope he can see how impactful this book has been for people today, me included. With this being the first work of Forster's that I've read, I am scared to read his other books, because I fear that they simply won't compare to Maurice. I think what really made this such an emotional and real-feeling book was that Forster himself and his experiences were so heavily reflected in it, i.e. him writing Maurice's character as the almost exact opposite of Forster's perception of himself:

"Happiness," Forster wrote, "is its keynote.... In Maurice I tried to create a character who was completely unlike myself or what I supposed myself to be: someone handsome, healthy, bodily attractive, mentally torpid, not a bad businessman and rather a snob. Into this mixture I dropped an ingredient that puzzles him, wakes him up, torments him, and finally saves him." -excerpt from E.M. Forster's Terminal Note in Maurice

Adding onto the topic of the characters, I wish Alec had been introduced a bit earlier into the story, perhaps during Maurice's first visit to the Penge.. I would've liked to see his personality and motivations be more fleshed out, and since they were not, the development of

Maurice's romance with Alec

felt a tad rushed. Some of my immediate questions after the ending were:

How did they manage after Maurice quits his job, what're Alec's familial relations afterwards (i.e. are there any complications? I feel like that new job offer for Alec was a pretty big event to them, surely they would not brush off his missing it just like that), do they keep their relationship a secret from Kitty and the others?

All trivial questions, of course, but questions nonetheless.

I was NOT a fan of the misogyny, tsk tsk Forster☝️! I'm glad that it wasn't the whole drive or "reason" for Maurice, Clive, and Alec's homosexuality, as I've seen in some other books, but it wasn't necessary to the story, and should've been left out.

Another thing that brought the rating down was the plot could be hard to follow; for example, who is Mr. Fetherstonhaugh??? He just popped up every 100 pages! Am I supposed to know who he is? The dialouge felt unnatural at some points, and it confused me from time to time, when it was vague as to who was saying what. I had to go back and read over a page a second time to ensure I knew what, who, when, where, etc etc. I am not ashamed to admit that for the entirety of Part 1 I was confident Clive and Durham were two different people, when in reality it was just Clive Durham. One person.

I cannot emphasize enough that no matter how many complaints I have, they do not mean this was a bad read, nor did anything I listed above make me feel Maurice was a waste of time. I would also like to add that this book is not for everyone; it can be boring at times, and is very much hit or miss. You either hate it with a burning passion, or you love love love it.

Overall, not one of my all-time favorites, but it was definitely a memorable read, and I will not be forgetting it anytime soon. I checked it out from my library, and I might consider getting my own copy to add to my at-home shelf; it would be nice to reread every once in a while. I highly recommend you go read Maurice if you're looking for an LGBTQIA+ historical fiction that doesn't end in absolute despair. Maurice went through quite the emotional rollercoaster, and you probably will too.

Content Warnings