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Rating: 
Summary: A Madame Butterfly type theme with a twist
Review: Forester brought his characters to life, however the plot development and character contrast development was a bit lacking. I didn't quite accept the growth, I didn't quite feel swept over with the scenes, but it kept my interest going steadly none the less. It was another shaming story of the English speaking people's mores and morals, some of it justifiable, some not, not well balanced anyway. It was also the Madame Butterfly theme but in this case the English, not the Americans, are the ones shamed: the English see life as a spectacle, view it from the third person, are prejudiced, and value the intellect, with all its faults, over feeling.
Forester, in a letter included in the Penguin edition, claims he has a limited intellect or grasp of philosophy. I would have to agree with him. He states, however, that there is another intangible quality that he brings to his writing, unique, another voice; I would agree with that to some extent, at least the method of delivery being so dialogue heavy, and it was fairly good, and the dialogue was mostly stupid, but then most of daily dialogue is stupid especially where intellect rules over feeling, and feeling and thoughts are not closely in harmony with the life one has chosen, and that seemed to be Forester's message, so something new might be jellying here and and he trys to show growth in this muck, although I didn't quite accept it. Byron said much the same thing about English mores and morals, and was much more passionate about it, eloquent, and brought more erudition to his views. Forester's effort is a minor contribution to literature.
If you like the humour in this novel you will probably also like Saki, HH Munro.
Rating: 
Summary: A Madame Butterfly type theme with a twist
Review: Forester brought his characters to life, however the plot development and character contrast development was a bit lacking. I didnÂft quite accept the growth, I didn't quite feel swept over with the scenes, but it kept my interest going steadly none the less. It was another shaming story of the English speaking peopleÂfs mores and morals, some of it justifiable, some not, not well balanced anyway. It was also the Madame Butterfly theme but in this case the English, not the Americans, are the ones shamed: the English see life as a spectacle, view it from the third person, are prejudiced, and value the intellect, with all its faults, over feeling. Forester, in a letter included in the Penguin edition, claims he has a limited intellect or grasp of philosophy. I would have to agree with him. He states, however, that there is another intangible quality that he brings to his writing, unique, another voice; I would agree with that to some extent, at least the method of delivery being so dialogue heavy, and it was fairly good, and the dialogue was mostly stupid, but then most of daily dialogue is stupid especially where intellect rules over feeling, and feeling and thoughts are not closely in harmony with the life one has chosen, and that seemed to be Forester's message, so something new might be jellying here and and he trys to show growth in this muck, although I didn't quite accept it. Byron said much the same thing about English mores and morals, and was much more passionate about it, eloquent, and brought more erudition to his views. Forester's effort is a minor contribution to literature. If you like the humour in this novel you will probably also like Saki, HH Munro.
Rating:
Summary: Very British
Review: I admit that I have not read much of Forester, but I know how books of this "genre" are viewed by the "modern" reader, who is used to mixtures of language types, and unrealistic though "well realised" characters. After Merchant Ivory have had a go, they become "passe". However, this book cannot be heaped with all those other romantic penny dreadfuls. The story is from the beginning, obvious, but is so well written that you do not mind. Here, an English woman, not well thought of by her inlaws, finds romance and "love" with a younger, and (how awful) "foreign" man. She recklessly marries him, and comes to a bad end. She leaves behind a son, and her inlaws want him, sending "missionarys" to get him back, but all does not go to plan, and not in an obvious way. I did say that the plot is obvious, but only at the beginning, its latter stages and conclusion are surprising, as Forester's focus is placed left-of-centre and reveals more "modern" themes, such as stereotypes. I read this directly after "A Room with a View" and found it very different, and too short. I wanted it to conclude in the fashion that my mind, and conditioning expected, but it did not, and it was this that made it rewarding as a read. Forester's descriptive powers, especially when applied to Italian countryside, and English youth, are unparalleled in their eloquence. However, his failing, though small, has great consquences. Forester is not, at least in this book, very good at character forming, which leaves you on the last page wondering where all the depth went, and why you feel little for the characters you have left behind, and this is why he only gets 3 stars, when the story, especially for its time, deserves more.
Rating:
Summary: another winner by Forster
Review: It's Italy. Older English woman falls in love with young Italian stud. They marry and have a baby. English woman's relatives disapprove of the match and kidnap baby to be brought up "properly" in England. But terrible storm. Carriage flips over. Baby dies. Forgive me if it looks like I'm trying to be too clever or curt. Seriously speaking, if you really enjoyed "A Room With A View", you'll enjoy this novel as well. David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
Rating:
Summary: another winner by Forster
Review: It's Italy. Older English woman falls in love with young Italian stud. They marry and have a baby. English woman's relatives disapprove of the match and kidnap baby to be brought up "properly" in England. But terrible storm. Carriage flips over. Baby dies. Forgive me if it looks like I'm trying to be too clever or curt. Seriously speaking, if you really enjoyed "A Room With A View", you'll enjoy this novel as well. David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
Rating:
Summary: Very British
Review: This is a novel about character development. At the same time, the author enlightens the world of a few people. There is not so much story in this book; its strength lies elsewhere. However, having read Forster before, this novel made me a little bit disappointed. To me, the development of Philip is not thoroughly enough described. It does not seem so likely that such a development would occur, either. Philip goes from "blind" to "seeing". He does not take the world as is anymore, but thinks for himself. There is a chain of events that makes him develop, but the events in themselves are not so important. The other characters do not develop at all in my opinion. That is not to say that they are not complex; some are indeed, but they do not develop. Philip is naturally a complex character, too. England is used to illustrate the world we already know, whereas Italy is used to illustrate "the foreign". This concept works today, still, although "the foreign" would probably have been moved further away. Irony is a big part of Forster's writing: anyone who "loves everything Italian" should laugh. Forster is very subtle here, too subtle in my opinion. This is not to say that this is not a good book, but not as good as, for instance, A room with a view.
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