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9th out of 9 books
—
8 voters
Albert Nobbs
by
George Moore
Long out of print, George Moore's classic novella returns just in time for the major motion picture starring Glenn Close as a woman disguised as a man in nineteenth-century Ireland.
Set in a posh hotel in nineteenth-century Dublin, Albert Nobbs is the story of an unassuming waiter hiding a shocking secret. Forced one night to share his bed with an out-of-town laborer, Alber...more
Set in a posh hotel in nineteenth-century Dublin, Albert Nobbs is the story of an unassuming waiter hiding a shocking secret. Forced one night to share his bed with an out-of-town laborer, Alber...more
Paperback, 112 pages
Published
December 21st 2011
by Penguin Books
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Jan 14, 2012
Ivan
marked it as to-read
I only just ordered this today. The story seems interesting. Tallahassee lost its art house movie theatre so this film with Glenn Close will probably never come here. I hadn't known there was a book. So, I'll read the novella first.
Albert Nobbs est un film que j’ai vu il y a quelques temps en DVD, et il m’avait bien plu ; j’ai appris récemment qu’il était tiré d’un livre. J’ai été surprise que le livre soit si court, mais je me suis dis pourquoi pas, j’ai déjà eu de jolies surprises avec ce type de roman ou de nouvelle.
L’action se passe à la fin du 19ème siècle, en Irlande. La plus grande partie de cette nouvelle, nous est racontée par Albert Nobbs, lui-même, il nous conte son histoire, de ses débuts difficiles à Londres,...more
L’action se passe à la fin du 19ème siècle, en Irlande. La plus grande partie de cette nouvelle, nous est racontée par Albert Nobbs, lui-même, il nous conte son histoire, de ses débuts difficiles à Londres,...more
May 18, 2012
Joy H.
marked it as watched-film-only
Added 5/18/12.
I wrote the following at my group:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I watched "Albert Nobbs", starring Glenn Close, via a Netflix DVD yesterday.
"Albert Nobbs" (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602098/
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Alber...
It was great. Very compelling. I gave it 5 Netflix stars. The character of Albert Nobbs was very touching and Glenn Close played it so well. I was also impressed with the acting of Janet McTeer, a very likable character.
In the bonus section...more
I wrote the following at my group:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I watched "Albert Nobbs", starring Glenn Close, via a Netflix DVD yesterday.
"Albert Nobbs" (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602098/
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Alber...
It was great. Very compelling. I gave it 5 Netflix stars. The character of Albert Nobbs was very touching and Glenn Close played it so well. I was also impressed with the acting of Janet McTeer, a very likable character.
In the bonus section...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A very interesting story of a man who lived in mysterious circumstances. He worked for years and years as a waiter at a hotel, never known for being anything but a hard working serious man. Then after one chance encounter everything changes.
Albert Nobbs becomes obsessed with the thought of a normal life, something that would have been in the grasp of any normal man, but is illusive to Albert. The story of his life is rather tragic, but Albert never dwells on it, the story concentrates more on hi...more
Albert Nobbs becomes obsessed with the thought of a normal life, something that would have been in the grasp of any normal man, but is illusive to Albert. The story of his life is rather tragic, but Albert never dwells on it, the story concentrates more on hi...more
Albert Nobbs is a sad story, as 19th century gender-bending tales often are. I just found it a little difficult to read and a little formal for my taste.
My biggest problem with it is that there are almost no paragraph breaks and no quotations. It makes it hard to figure out who is speaking to whom. It's just unclear. I like punctuation.
The formality is the same formality that accompanies any kind of 19th century story about looking for love. I think that is more a product of the society about w...more
My biggest problem with it is that there are almost no paragraph breaks and no quotations. It makes it hard to figure out who is speaking to whom. It's just unclear. I like punctuation.
The formality is the same formality that accompanies any kind of 19th century story about looking for love. I think that is more a product of the society about w...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
À l’occasion de la sortie du film avec Glenn Close, je me suis jetée sur cette nouvelle insolite avec un grand plaisir. Je ne connaissais pas l’auteur et je le découvre avec Albert Nobbs, qui relate l’histoire étonnante d’une femme de l’époque victorienne qui a choisi de se faire passer pour un homme pour mieux gagner sa vie. Albert Nobbs est serveur dans un hôtel, on ne lui connaît ni amitiés ni amours, il remplit son rôle à la perfection et sa conscience professionnelle lui vaut le respect de...more
I started reading Albert Nobbs when I stumbled upon it and recognized that it was cheap, short and a recent movie.
After reading the intro, a lovely one by Glenn Close (did you know she played Albert in NYC as one of her first characters ever?), I knew that I must read it.
Alfred is a girl who doesn't realize she has dreams. As head waiter at a prestigious restaurant she uses her secret identity as a man to grow a nice nest-egg for herself. She understands that it is this identity that enables her...more
After reading the intro, a lovely one by Glenn Close (did you know she played Albert in NYC as one of her first characters ever?), I knew that I must read it.
Alfred is a girl who doesn't realize she has dreams. As head waiter at a prestigious restaurant she uses her secret identity as a man to grow a nice nest-egg for herself. She understands that it is this identity that enables her...more
1 like · like · see review
I feel very thoughtful after this little story by George Moore. Albert Nobbs has served as a hotel waiter for years when a housepainter sharing his room for the night discovers a well-kept secret: Albert is a woman. What follows after their midnight conversation is a surprisingly feminist story for one written by a man in 1918.
I really don't want to give any more of the plot away - this is such a short book that there's no reason you shouldn't just read it yourself - but I will say that Moore's...more
I really don't want to give any more of the plot away - this is such a short book that there's no reason you shouldn't just read it yourself - but I will say that Moore's...more
I made the mistake of reading the about the movie version of this novella before reading the novella. The movie is based on a play based on the book. Both the play and the movie take this simple and straightforward tale and turn it into a serious and gut-wrenching drama.
I won't give away too much in my review except to say that this book is not about LGBT issues. This is a book of its time, which looks at what happens to a person who never loses her innocence, has an identity or experiences rea...more
I won't give away too much in my review except to say that this book is not about LGBT issues. This is a book of its time, which looks at what happens to a person who never loses her innocence, has an identity or experiences rea...more
Je lis peu de nouvelles mais celle-ci, sortie tout récemment et adaptée au cinéma par Glenn Close, m'avait beaucoup intriguée au point que j'étais très impatiente de la lire. Très courte, elle était parfaite pour finir mes lectures de février et j'en ai sans doute trop attendu ! J'espérais quelque chose de différent, en tout cas quelque chose de plus passionnant ! L'histoire singulière d'Albert Nobbs m'a pourtant interressée. Je me suis interrogée sur la confusion des sentiments, sur la question...more
3.5 stars The premise of this book is rather strange, but it isn't unlikely that some women of that era were at least tempted to make the lonely choice the main character makes. As I read about the sad course of Albert's life, I felt some of the melancholy and discouragement "he" must have felt with his solitary and guarded life.The end seems rather abrupt and I'm not sure I understood the author's purpose in the last few pages. But it gave me a new glimpse into the difficulties women encountere...more
I wanted to read this after seeing the movie. The movie is pretty accurate until the ending. The movie had more violence, of course. The ending of the novella was lame and unbelievable. Well, the movie's ending was also a little unbelievable, but not as much as the novella's.
George Moore's novella was told by one person to another so we see it from arm's length rather than seeing it through Albert's viewpoint as most modern books are told. It's a quiet story with interior thoughts although not...more
George Moore's novella was told by one person to another so we see it from arm's length rather than seeing it through Albert's viewpoint as most modern books are told. It's a quiet story with interior thoughts although not...more
This was an intriguing premise told in a unique way. I was frustrated with Albert, felt he could have done more to further himself and his dreams. I am easily annoyed by characters who dither and let control of a situation slip from their grasp. That's just my personal prejudice -- I am not one to choose inaction.
In the end, I was sorry that it ended sadly, I but could see no other conclusion, given the situation and characters.
I imagine the movie will be spiced up a bit, as this is not enough...more
In the end, I was sorry that it ended sadly, I but could see no other conclusion, given the situation and characters.
I imagine the movie will be spiced up a bit, as this is not enough...more
I came across this and my curiosity was roused because of the film (which I hadn't seen. It's a bit of an oddity, but draws a picture of Dublin at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries which I found interesting. It's a long short story or a short novella,so it's a quick read. When I did rent the film last week it was obvious that it didn't provide enough meat for a 90 minute movie, which I abandoned halfway through.
Learned about this story due to the movie starring Glenn Close. Albert Nobbs is a long time member of the wait staff of a hotel who has kept a secret from the hotel employer and all who come in contact with Albert for years. The secret is accidentally discovered one night when Albert is forced to share a bed with another worker. The sharing of the secret opens up possibilities that Albert had never thought about.
The subject matter was very interesting. I can see how this will be a good movie.
I didn't like that there were no quotation marks in the book (and when someone else started talking, it didn't change lines or anything...leaving the reader a bit disoriented). I don't know if this is common for novella's or if it is just this one.
I didn't like that there were no quotation marks in the book (and when someone else started talking, it didn't change lines or anything...leaving the reader a bit disoriented). I don't know if this is common for novella's or if it is just this one.
Very disappointing ending, considering it had such potential with its strong ideas throughout the whole book. I truly felt for the characters and appreciated the realism but the end could have used some work. It was almost like an apologia, like "hey if I had more time I could have made this a good book"
I read this rather quickly during the days I had jury duty (on lunch breaks- not when I was supposed to listen to the judge and lawyers). It's short, and I should re-read it sometime. There are some great moments in it, and a real sense of the strange.
Mar 08, 2013
Wanda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
3Ms
Shelves:
2013,
fiction-and-literature
8 MAR 2013 - I am glad to have met Albert through this short story. I am having a difficult time writing a review for Albert's story. You must read Albert Nobbs to understand her experiences and to appreciate Albert for yourself.
1 like · like · see review
Alberts loneliness is what I got out of this book. Her almost desperation to achieve her dreams and plans is heartbreaking. It was a really touching, really quick look into confused womans mind. It was a really heartfelt read.
Quite short, and the great premise suffers for it. I found the ending too abrupt. I don't even mind so much the tragic ending, although I was hoping for Albert to find happiness.
An unusual and very moving story highlighting the plight of women in Victorian times. Well worth reading whether you've seen the movie or not.
Depressing and odd. I was left wanting to know more about the back story of the characters.
Jun 13, 2012
April
is currently reading it
After seeing the movie I thought this would be an interesting read.
Poor Albert Nobbs. She expected so little of life and could not even find that much. Women unprotected by family had so little choice in life.
Really really makes you think about gender, judgment, and roles in our society.
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I just finished this book.... It was a sad story..a bit hard to read for my taste because it was hard to tell who was talking, but I enjoyed it..
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George Augustus Moore (24 February 1852 – 21 January 1933) was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic, memoirist and dramatist. Moore came from a Roman Catholic landed family who lived at Moore Hall in Carra, County Mayo. He originally wanted to be a painter, and studied art in Paris during the 1870s. There, he befriended many of the leading French artists and writers of the day.
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Sep 08, 2012 03:28am