(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Introduction by David Ellis
The struggle for power at the heart of a family in conflict, the mysteries... read full description
Introduction by David Ellis
The struggle for power at the heart of a family in conflict, the mysteries... read full description
reviews
Sep 24, 2010
Leonard
rated it: 
William: How do you like Lawrence? I wasn't impressed. I came away thinking his rep rests on sensationalism.
Me: meh. the book seems to be about emotions, relationships: stuff i don't give a shit about.
Me: meh. the book seems to be about emotions, relationships: stuff i don't give a shit about.
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Jun 29, 2008
Cyril
rated it: 
I attempted to read this book twice years ago. I failed to finish each time, finding the novel laborious. Now, married and with children, I have read through this book eagerly. It is perhaps a half-lifetime of experience that has allowed me to see this story in a different light. The examination of Paul Morel's emotionally incestuous relationship with his mother and the way it cripples his love for other women is insightful. My Barnes and Nobles version of this book (I put this review under this
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Dec 16, 2009
Carolyn
rated it: 
"To him now, life seemed a shadow, a day a white shadow; night, and death, and stillness, and inaction, this seemed like being. To be alive, to be urgent and insistent--That was not-to-be. The highest of all was to melt out into the darkness and sway there, identified with the great Being."
"Where was he?--one tiny upright speck of flesh, less than an ear of wheat lost in the field. He could not bear it. On every side the immense dark silence seemed pressing him, so More...
"Where was he?--one tiny upright speck of flesh, less than an ear of wheat lost in the field. He could not bear it. On every side the immense dark silence seemed pressing him, so More...
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Jul 02, 2010
Jane-Rebecca
rated it:
It had taken me awhile to get invested in this novel and if I hadn't already had a relationship with other Lawrence literature, I probably would have put it down.
Thankfully I didn't and was significantly moved by all the characters that played a part in shaping the novel.
I was particularly interested in the duality of love between Paul and his mother. That the love that existed between the two of them bordered on hatred and agony in their dependence for one another. The shows More...
Thankfully I didn't and was significantly moved by all the characters that played a part in shaping the novel.
I was particularly interested in the duality of love between Paul and his mother. That the love that existed between the two of them bordered on hatred and agony in their dependence for one another. The shows More...
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Jun 15, 2008
Rick
rated it: 
It was mostly a bore. Some of the events had me interested, but overall i just kept waiting to be really moved and wasn't. I liked the descriptions of Paul in his discussions with Miriam about their relationship when they were getting close to "breaking off."
I kept wishing I could identify more with Paul. I read an interpretation that said the drive and ambition Mrs. Morel had driven into Paul to help him rise above his roots eventually hindered his ability to accept a More...
I kept wishing I could identify more with Paul. I read an interpretation that said the drive and ambition Mrs. Morel had driven into Paul to help him rise above his roots eventually hindered his ability to accept a More...
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Dec 06, 2009
Cristin
rated it:
This marks my first experience of D.H. Lawrence, apart from practically memorizing a famous, passionate excerpt from “The Rainbow,” read during a great episode of Northern Exposure (one of the greatest television shows of all time, in my humble opinion)…that excerpt may have generated some preconceived notions regarding the content of Sons and Lovers…in some ways, my predictions were correct…in others, wholly unmet and practically unfounded.
Sons and Lovers is the story of one family More...
Sons and Lovers is the story of one family More...
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Jun 05, 2011
Joseph
rated it:
eBook
Quite simply, this is a gorgeous book, and I'm more than a little ashamed that it's taken me this long to get around to reading it. Although, honestly, I never really bought into all the oedipal stuff, which seems to be the aspect of the book for which it is most revered.
It's a simple story, really, of a woman, her son, and the two women he pursues and rejects (often simultaneously), but it's the characters, rather than the plot (of which there isn't much), that are More...
Quite simply, this is a gorgeous book, and I'm more than a little ashamed that it's taken me this long to get around to reading it. Although, honestly, I never really bought into all the oedipal stuff, which seems to be the aspect of the book for which it is most revered.
It's a simple story, really, of a woman, her son, and the two women he pursues and rejects (often simultaneously), but it's the characters, rather than the plot (of which there isn't much), that are More...
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Apr 12, 2008
Ian
rated it:
The thing about this book is I thought it was a story about incest. So, as I was reading it, I was waiting for the fateful scene where the son and his mother eventually have sex, which they don't, although they go on dates, caress each other, etc. I think the most provocative moment was where the son lays with his lips on her neck, tenderly feeling her pulse. Pretty provocative, I just wish I hadn't been misinformed, it would have saved me a lot of confusion. That having been said, this book is
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Oct 21, 2007
Michalyn
rated it:
I still am not sure what I think of DH Lawrence. This reads more like a Victorian novel in many senses because of the length and the omniscient perspective which tends to lead to moralizing. Lawrence needs an editor in the sense that all of his books could be "tightened" but I think that's just me judging it from a modern perspective.
That said, there are passages of incredible sensuality and beauty (and insight) in Sons and Lovers. I think Lawrence is at his best when the n More...
That said, there are passages of incredible sensuality and beauty (and insight) in Sons and Lovers. I think Lawrence is at his best when the n More...
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Mar 05, 2008
Roland
rated it:
I wanted to read this book for months, and now that I've finished it I can say that it was a terrible disappointment. The main character Paul treats the women in his life like absolute crap, and it's hard to care about a Mama's boy who can barely make decisions for himself. The mother in the book is a bitter, complaining shrew, and regardless of the first part of the book which explains why she's so protective of her son, you still want to slap her one. There are some good passages, but overa
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Aug 02, 2011
Maybe it's my close relationship with my adult son that gripped me throughout this book and turned my mind from generally detached reader to an emotional one, but I cannot ever remember reading a book with characters whose lives, so utterly different from my own, resonated as if they were part of my own thoughts, fears, loves, ambitions, regrets, happiness and sorrows. With one, very major exception, the feelings of every character, their behaviors and interactions were as real as if part of my
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Jan 16, 2009
Chad
rated it:
Lawrence writes beautifully; that I think no one can dispute. His style and character portrayals maintained my interest in the absence of any significant plot, which is no small task. There is something about these characters, their experiences and personalities, that does not ring true to anything I have seen in my own life. I recognize the son’s desire to make his mother proud and happy. I have seen the mother wanting the best for her son, fearing that his own decisions will never lead him the
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Aug 12, 2011
Julianne
rated it:
Blurb;
In Sons and Lovers, his masterpiece of naturalism, Lawrence wrestled with a serious and intimate emotional problem – his relationship with his mother.
The Morel family, the counterpart of his own, live on the Nottingham cornfield. Mrs Morel is disillusioned with her husband, a coarse-grained and hard-drinking miner, and centres all her expectations on her sons, especially Paul. As Paul Morel grows older, tensions develop in this relationships: and his passions for two other women More...
In Sons and Lovers, his masterpiece of naturalism, Lawrence wrestled with a serious and intimate emotional problem – his relationship with his mother.
The Morel family, the counterpart of his own, live on the Nottingham cornfield. Mrs Morel is disillusioned with her husband, a coarse-grained and hard-drinking miner, and centres all her expectations on her sons, especially Paul. As Paul Morel grows older, tensions develop in this relationships: and his passions for two other women More...
Apr 03, 2011
CaterinaAnna
rated it:
I repeatedly visited the area around Mansfield during the 1990s, but didn't really feel inspired to read any Lawrence at the time. Nor, in spite of the oft-talked about grapple between Oliver Reed and Alan Bates, have I ever seen the film. The area in which it is set has been beautified in the last twenty years or so, following the closing of the pits, but it is still recognisable as the countryside which itself is almost a character in this novel.
I got pulled into the story much more More...
I got pulled into the story much more More...
Oct 16, 2010
Lit
rated it:
One notable aspect of Lawrence's work is the simplicity of how it is written. Lawrence does not go overboard with his descriptions and drama. Everything is kept just right. Never focusing too long on details that would not matter, such as how the view looked from head to toe, what tree did they pass, how many items were there in the house - he gave just the right amount of attention to every detail in the novel to ensure that the readers would not grow bored from reading things which they have a
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Sep 28, 2010
Jim
rated it:
For some reason, I have read only some of the lesser known works of D. H. Lawrence. I thought I would redress the balance by reading a Kindle version while I was traveling through several Canadian National Parks in the Rocky Mountains.
Sons and Lovers is the story of Walter and Gertrude Morel, a Midlands coal miner and his wife, concentrating on their relationship with their four children, especially the artistic Paul. As he grows up, Paul yearns to be free -- and yet is emotionally More...
Sons and Lovers is the story of Walter and Gertrude Morel, a Midlands coal miner and his wife, concentrating on their relationship with their four children, especially the artistic Paul. As he grows up, Paul yearns to be free -- and yet is emotionally More...
May 20, 2009
Kacie
rated it:
Warning: the book deals with sex. If you're sensitive to that, don't read the book or my review.
I loved this book. It reminded me again of my love for classic English literature. I love the realism in it. "Sons and Lovers" is essentially about relationships. I thought it was going to focus on the relationships of the mother in the book because the first part deals with her marriage and the stages it goes through. It describes the disintegration of love and what it's like t More...
I loved this book. It reminded me again of my love for classic English literature. I love the realism in it. "Sons and Lovers" is essentially about relationships. I thought it was going to focus on the relationships of the mother in the book because the first part deals with her marriage and the stages it goes through. It describes the disintegration of love and what it's like t More...
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Jan 09, 2012
Nicholas
rated it:
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1828546.ht...
It was not many pages into this book before I realised it was the basis of a Monty Python sketch, and after that I began to have problems taking it seriously. Yes, it's intensely and often beautifully written; but I kept feeling that Paul Morel, the viewpoint character who represents Lawrence himself, just needed a good slap. His relationship with his mother is too close to be healthy; he has two girlfriends and treats them both badly; and he More...
It was not many pages into this book before I realised it was the basis of a Monty Python sketch, and after that I began to have problems taking it seriously. Yes, it's intensely and often beautifully written; but I kept feeling that Paul Morel, the viewpoint character who represents Lawrence himself, just needed a good slap. His relationship with his mother is too close to be healthy; he has two girlfriends and treats them both badly; and he More...
Mar 06, 2011
After hearing endless plaudits about Sons and Lovers (1913), I got incurably curious and decided to read the book. By midway, I was getting a little disappointed that it was not holding me as magically as expected.
And that’s not to mean the book’s boring really. Far be it from me to impugn the skillfulness of D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), who some critics have called the greatest English writer. But I feel this book’s weakened by the rootlessness of its plot.
I couldn’t figure More...
And that’s not to mean the book’s boring really. Far be it from me to impugn the skillfulness of D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), who some critics have called the greatest English writer. But I feel this book’s weakened by the rootlessness of its plot.
I couldn’t figure More...
Oct 09, 2011
Felix_aurelian
rated it:
I have read other books by D.H Lawrence but this was the one book that I put off reading for 20 years, and I am fairly certain after reading it now I would have hated it as a teenager. It is a beautifully written book and whilst it is true I enjoyed 'Sons and Lovers, I hated Paul Morel for how he allowed his mother to influence him so heavily. He is, to put it bluntly, a bastard to women and his relationship with his mother must be one of the most unhealthy in world literature. Paul's inability
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Jul 27, 2011
I really loved this book. It was at times really hard to read due to the structure or the dialogue and the references to plants and outdated technology with which I was unfamiliar. I thought the characters were really well developed and the storyline was intriguing. There were a lot of different themes adressed through the many conflicts that arose both between characters but more notably within them. The omniscient perspective allowed the reader to evaluate the plot in a deeper way. Reading sum
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May 15, 2011
Daisyjess
rated it: 
Sons and Lovers is one of the most boring books I have ever read. It goes on, and on, and on... if its narrative has a beginning, a middle and an end, the first 520 pages are all beginning. The last 24 may have been much more interesting but by the time I got to them, I'd lost the will to live. I only finished because it was on my A level reading list, but after about 200 pages I could happily have slit my wrists. I dislike all of the D.H.Lawrence's long novels that I've read (although his n
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Apr 09, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 16, 2009
susan
rated it:
this novel turns out to be autobiographical so it was neat to read into DH Lawerence's life growing up. It was a wonderful story and I loved the writing style- very easy to read and intelligent. the book addresses the complex relationship between son and mother when the mother resents the husband/father and so pours her love onto her children- who then have great difficulty forming meaningful relationships with potential mates for marriage.
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Aug 14, 2010
Steve
rated it:
This semi-autobiographical novel is important in understanding Lawrence's relationships to class, to his mother, and to love and sex. And it's a remarkably modern read, considering that it was published in 1913, which is testament to both Lawrence's talent as a writer and the influence he had on the development of the novel in the 20th century. So it's difficult to deny its importance.
But it's not a particularly thrilling read. I might even go so far as to say it borders on dull and More...
But it's not a particularly thrilling read. I might even go so far as to say it borders on dull and More...
Mar 16, 2010
Alexander
rated it:
There has never been a book that made me want to inflict physical pain upon a character -- until Sons & Lovers that is...
The really devious thing about this dreadful book is that the Sons half, the first half, isn't all that bad. Lawrence spends an immense amount of time on what one supposes to be the backstory for the Lovers section. One learns of Paul's youth and temperment, Paul's mother, Paul's parents relationship and his brothers' exploits. It is time consuming and not alway More...
The really devious thing about this dreadful book is that the Sons half, the first half, isn't all that bad. Lawrence spends an immense amount of time on what one supposes to be the backstory for the Lovers section. One learns of Paul's youth and temperment, Paul's mother, Paul's parents relationship and his brothers' exploits. It is time consuming and not alway More...
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May 24, 2009
Chris
rated it:
The book's strong suits are its depiction of working class English life in the early 20th century and of a young man cautiously diving into a sexual life and all the confusion that comes with doing so. The son's intense passion for his mother is clearly a pre-Fruedian analysis of the Oedipus complex, even if there is no real sexual conotation as Freud would argue. However, this is the fundamental basis of the book, and it gets quite agonizing to trod through all the indecision and restlessness d
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Dec 18, 2011
Eva
rated it:
"A son is a son until he takes a wife, a daughter's a daughter for the rest of her life."
Paul's love for his mother through her life and after her agonizing death tormented him, it tormented his lovers.
"She had borne so long this cruelty of belonging to him and not being claimed by him."
Some find Paul to be a bit of an egotist, to have a Odepipus complex, to me he was deep and brooding; as a result of his mother's passion for life and his late realization t More...
Paul's love for his mother through her life and after her agonizing death tormented him, it tormented his lovers.
"She had borne so long this cruelty of belonging to him and not being claimed by him."
Some find Paul to be a bit of an egotist, to have a Odepipus complex, to me he was deep and brooding; as a result of his mother's passion for life and his late realization t More...
Apr 08, 2011
Ian
rated it:
First DH Lawrence I have read and initially I was beguiled by his use of language, his evocation of working class life in a mining village and the Notts/Derbyshire dialect. Reminded me of an uncle, who although a Scouser by birth, lived in Derbyshire most of his life and spoke fluent woollyback.
The start closely mirrors the author's own life - a woman marries a miner and comes to believe herself better in class than him.
She then grows to hate him. and instead pours all h More...
The start closely mirrors the author's own life - a woman marries a miner and comes to believe herself better in class than him.
She then grows to hate him. and instead pours all h More...
Mar 06, 2011
T.P.
rated it:
Haven't read this book in almost 40 years. I thought it wonderful then and wonderful now, but now read it with a different perspective and see more of its flaws. I think it is overly long, and an editor could have had a firmer hand with the material. Having said that, it is remarkably emotional, very honest, painfully so, at times, which makes it wonderful. I was struck by the flower imagery that recurs constantly, a terrific contrast with the rainy, gloomy English landscape and the godawful
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