A Room With A View - E M Forster

[LynnB]

September - November 2010

A Room With a View

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[LynnB]

This is the book I'm starting with, and I think NicoleMichelle is reading it too. I'll be starting it today.

[LynnB]

NicoleMichele wrote: "I just finished it this morning! I gave it 5 stars. I enjoyed it more than "A Passage to India". My children go back to school tomorrow so hopefully I'll have more time to write-up a proper revi..."

I'm glad to hear it was a 5-star! The notes say it's a social comedy of that time, so I'm looking forward to some good reading.

[LynnB]

I just finished part I. All I'll say so far is that it's a very easy read and very amusing! I'm enjoying it!

[Stephanie]

I think I have this on my nook as one of the free giveaways they have on Fridays. Love the free classics each week...it makes me stay up until midnight on Thursdays so I can log in and get them!

[Elena]

I love free classics also! I have already downloaded this one.

[LynnB]

I'm in the second part now. I'm really enjoying it - but not having much time to read! The author pokes fun at all the established societal expectations of the time (early 1900's). Really clever.

[LynnB]

I found it easy to read and actually quite amusing. I liked Part II better than Part I, and I ended up giving it 4.5 stars (or would if I could!). I have a few sections of the book marked now, because I just liked how he put things. A tongue-in-cheek explanation of something with a blunt little ending that makes you snort in laughter.

I marked it down a bit because to me the ending (the last 5 pages or so) were rather weak compared to the rest of the book. The end was satisfying, but at the same time not quite as satisfying as it could be.

[Garlan ✌]

I started this one a few weeks back but have stalled on it... It doesn't help that I'm trying to read three other books at the same time...

[Stephanie]

I am in part two right now and plan on finishing it this week...more to come...

[Erin]

I just finished!! It's good to be back! :)

[LynnB]

Hi Erin - good to hear from you! How did you like A Room With a View? I thought it was amusing.

[John]

This was a somewhat frustrating read for me, in large part because I thought the characters had created their own trouble. I had the feeling that they were expending a lot of effort to go across the street in order to avoid a perceived issue, when they could have just remained where they were, dealt with the small issue, and avoided all the drama. Because of the difference between my post-modern setting and society in which I live and relish, where things are taken on their substance, and societal rules are challenged at every turn, I was unable to sympathize with these characters (particularly Lucy, Charlotte, and Mr. Eagers) who were so structured by the cultural mores of old-fashioned Victorian values.

It wasn't until the end of the book, that I was able to put my finger on a theme in "Room" that is more universal than a tale of "Lucy emerging as her own woman" and "Lucy struggling against old-fashioned Victorian values". It was in Mr. Emerson's instruction to "beware of muddle" that I saw the lesson of the book as being applicable to me today.

So, bottom line, a tolerable book, well written by its own standards, but very much up to the taste of the reader--sort of like meatloaf. I wouldn't call it entertaining, but then give Forster credit for making it short. It didn't require more effort than it was worth.

[LynnB]

John wrote: "This was a somewhat frustrating read for me, in large part because I thought the characters had created their own trouble. I had the feeling that they were expending a lot of effort to go across th..."

Part of the humor that I found in the story was exactly what you are writing about. They did make their own trouble out of perceived issues and that, along with their responses, was very amusing. I found the comparison between current life and their society added to this feeling. I enjoyed reading your review because your thoughts on the book were very different than mine and, in fact, it made me think about the book from a different viewpoint that I hadn't thought of when I read it.