Strangers and Brothers

Strangers and Brothers #2

by C.P. Snow

Classic Novel. C.P. Snow

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Known British scientist Charles Percy Snow, baron Snow of Leicester, wrote especially his 11-volume series Strangers and Brothers (1940-1970).

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Snow

Reviews

[Helen Carolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

First volume telling of Lewis Elliot from the early 1900's to the 1950's. His family loves career and friends are all dealt with here but I found it a bit of a slog. A dull read for me.

[Toby Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coincides with 'a time of hope' to a large extent, however focusses on George Passant and his libertarian 'group' set at the end of the roaring 20's. Essentially a lesson on noble ideals that are set in shaky foundations may become a warped version of themselves. Getliffe's summary argument and Lewis' realisation that the man he once idolized was very human and foible were highlights. Despite Passant being a mentor and brother to Lewis, Passant was also a stranger with a duality Lewis had only glimpsed until the diary and the trial. It's a well written and engaging book, provoking thought and self reflection.

[Trevor Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always the same with C P Snow: it takes a while to engage with what seems a slightly ponderous prose style, but then one becomes immersed in the plot and the era, and enjoys the penetrative observations made by the lead character, the grounded and erudite Lewis Elliot.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, but somehow unsatisfying

[Tina Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Phew. Okay so this is one of those books that I was honestly just glad to be done with. This is another mystery book I received from Bookishly. And those are turning out to be super hit or miss for me. Some are really fun, wonderful little mysteries. And then others are like this one. Weird commentaries on British life that have no real point or purpose or, honestly, plot.

So the first half of this meandered along, supposedly introducing us to the characters but honestly all it did was bore and confuse me. I never really got all of the characters straight and I read the whole book. Plus the main character seems more like a narrator than an actual character and it honestly took me a lot longer than it should've to realize that he actually WAS a character and had a point in the story. He was more like a background assessor until the trial at the end.

Given how long its been since I last reviewed a Bookishly (I only add things to GR after I've read 100 pages so my read dates are never entirely accurate), I think we can all gather that I struggled through this one for a while. Honestly, the first pages were the hardest? But then I ended up just meandering through it because I had time to kill (I literally read 100 pages of this when work was slow and I had absolutely nothing else to do) and because I just wanted to be done with it so I could move on to other things. And if I weren't so positively stubborn and really want to read all the books that Bookishly sends me, I probably would've abandoned this long ago.

But I finished it and here, on the other side, I really can't even tell you what this book was about. I can tell you more about the trial and the ending. But I don't really see what point or purpose there was to this story. It was more of a commentary on a time period that doesn't particularly interest me and that I didn't really want to know more about. So. I spent most of this book bored and just reading to be reading. Though, I will admit, the reason why this book ended up with two stars is because I did get a little bit more interested during the section about the trial.

Overall, this book just wasn't for me. I read a few other reviews and people have said that this is a great view of the time period so I guess this book is for some people. But I honestly wouldn't recommend it. It was a long slog that, for 300 pages, shouldn't have taken me as long to read as it did. But I'm finished-- FINALLY --and now I am so glad to move on to other things. Especially the next few Bookishly books. I have hit a string of mysteries that I can't wait to read and, hopefully, fly through!!!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an old (like from the sixties old) copy of this, so it had the original title of the novel, which went on to become the title of the series of which it was the first (written) volume. Eventually, though, Snow wrote a prequel which predates this in the sequence of events, and as "Strangers and Brothers" had become the name of the entire series, the name of this volume was changed to "George Passant". The series deals with the generation that came of age in England shortly after The Great War.

Class issues are a large part of the story in this volume, particularly the efforts of the lower middle class and their efforts to rise, along with a sense of the breakdown of the moral system. The book's namesake is the center of a group of other young people that he tries to give guidance to, but who struggles to reconcile his idealism with his own needs.

A good read, and an interesting view of English social issues during the twenties and early thirties.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious book. The story was not particularly engaging at first but gradually reeled me in. The picture painted is one of a very particular time and place - a culture that shouldn't seem that different from ours but is. The characters and motives are complicated and the story unfolds in a slightly back-and-forward manner. I enjoyed the book, but couldn't find a reason particularly to recommend it to anyone else.