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ormai's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
krbkrbkrb's review against another edition
4.0
The first half is so multigenerational that it's a bit hard to follow, especially since they have so many of the same names. Individual identity gets lost in the family identity. After Ursula steps into the spotlight it's easier to manage. This is a book about love, and the way it changes over time. It does make loneliness seem inevitable, which I don't believe is true, but it's still good.
daed_eskai's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a great example of modern literature for me. Not in the same way that Joyce or Woolf or Faulkner are modern. It's form and structure is actually quite straight forward and simple. But the subject and the way they are presented are very unique.
It has one of the best depiction of the individuality of female characters that I have encountered. Free spirited women with desires that are portrayed without shame. With goals and the will to reach them.
The reationships in this book are not perfect and that is perfect! Sexuality play an important role in every day life, as it should. Marriages are not romantic fantastical worlds in which women must sacrifice themselves... I admire the bold reality of Lawrence story...
And alongside all these great stories... You get to the beautiful writing... Oh my god! I enjoyed reading the way the author described everything... It was amazing. And it reaches its peak in the last chapter. And what a masterpiece of a chapter it was!
It has one of the best depiction of the individuality of female characters that I have encountered. Free spirited women with desires that are portrayed without shame. With goals and the will to reach them.
The reationships in this book are not perfect and that is perfect! Sexuality play an important role in every day life, as it should. Marriages are not romantic fantastical worlds in which women must sacrifice themselves... I admire the bold reality of Lawrence story...
And alongside all these great stories... You get to the beautiful writing... Oh my god! I enjoyed reading the way the author described everything... It was amazing. And it reaches its peak in the last chapter. And what a masterpiece of a chapter it was!
farihaa_'s review against another edition
5.0
How to act, that was the question? Whither to go, how to become oneself? One was not oneself, one was merely a half-stated question. How to become oneself, how to know the question and the answer of oneself, when one was merely an unfixed something-nothing, blowing about like the winds of heaven, undefined, unstated.
She had an idea that she must walk for the rest of her life, wearily, wearily. Step after step, step after step, the monotony produced a deep, cold sense of nausea in her. How profound was her cold nausea, how profound! That too plumbed the bottom. She seemed destined to find the bottom of all things today: the bottom of all things. Well, at any rate she was walking along the bottommost bed - she was quite safe: quite safe, if she had to go on and on for ever, seeing this was the very bottom, and there was nothing deeper.
She had an idea that she must walk for the rest of her life, wearily, wearily. Step after step, step after step, the monotony produced a deep, cold sense of nausea in her. How profound was her cold nausea, how profound! That too plumbed the bottom. She seemed destined to find the bottom of all things today: the bottom of all things. Well, at any rate she was walking along the bottommost bed - she was quite safe: quite safe, if she had to go on and on for ever, seeing this was the very bottom, and there was nothing deeper.
mblewis's review against another edition
2.0
I gave it two stars! Because it could have been worse, I suppose. Why do we read D. H. Lawrence? Don't answer that. To be honest, I didn't quite finish this one. But I suffered it. And that's what counts.
alexandrarielle's review against another edition
I cried because of how much I did not want to read this book. (Read it for class! I'm such a happy English major, haha!)
iseefeelings's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5/5
The first book by D.H. Lawrence that I ever read left me surprised by how unconventional his work is, especially for his time. His prose is rich with imagery and poetically layered. Initially, I found the complex relationships among the Brangwen couples to be somewhat ridiculous; they all love each other deeply yet constantly cause each other pain & caught in their inner turmoil. There are several pages filled with religious musings that I had little interest in. However, as Ursula enters the story, there is a noticeable shift in Lawrence’s writing—it becomes more sensual and sensitive than before. He deliberately writes about sexual desire, yet it all seems abstract and aesthetically pleasing, which I genuinely admire. Despite the plot's shortcomings, D.H. Lawrence reignited my love for twentieth-century English literature after a long hiatus from reading it.
The first book by D.H. Lawrence that I ever read left me surprised by how unconventional his work is, especially for his time. His prose is rich with imagery and poetically layered. Initially, I found the complex relationships among the Brangwen couples to be somewhat ridiculous; they all love each other deeply yet constantly cause each other pain & caught in their inner turmoil. There are several pages filled with religious musings that I had little interest in. However, as Ursula enters the story, there is a noticeable shift in Lawrence’s writing—it becomes more sensual and sensitive than before. He deliberately writes about sexual desire, yet it all seems abstract and aesthetically pleasing, which I genuinely admire. Despite the plot's shortcomings, D.H. Lawrence reignited my love for twentieth-century English literature after a long hiatus from reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity
yellowishresin's review against another edition
3.0
It is messy, but it’s Lawrence so I could not expect any different. I enjoyed the elements of repetition both in the prose and in the repeating dynamics (Father-Daughter relationships and romantic relationships). However, once one generation progresses we see very little of the generation before, I wish there were more moments like the Anna-Will wedding and Ursula’s relationship with her grandmother. This would give more form to the novel, as it is now, this is Ursula’s story with a very long prologue.
I couldn’t really connect to the dynamics of the two marriages. There was too much internal dialogue and dissection compounding into symbolic moments of realization. His will this, her will that, etc, etc. I keep missing the moments of interaction and actual day-to-day living that really drew me into Sons and Lovers.
Spotted author self-insert: Tom Brangwen
I couldn’t really connect to the dynamics of the two marriages. There was too much internal dialogue and dissection compounding into symbolic moments of realization. His will this, her will that, etc, etc. I keep missing the moments of interaction and actual day-to-day living that really drew me into Sons and Lovers.
Spotted author self-insert: Tom Brangwen
benboy755's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes