Rating: Summary: Passion against the grain Review: A crafty love story, showing the passion of Victorian times, and how a cross-class love can be the best.
Rating: Summary: One of my favorites. Review: A very good story about the conflict between what we want to be and what others expect us to be. I liked this quite a bit better than "Howard's End."
Rating: Summary: ENTIRELY UNORIGINAL Review: A Room With a View is hardly what you could consider fine, classic literature. The plot runs off of a much more dramatic and insightful classic, Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The stories are the same: a woman, dissatisfied with her station in life, seeks happiness in an unorthodox way (namely a man) that entirely displeases her relatives and friends. The only difference is that Flaubert gives his heroine a realistically tragic end, while Forster opts for the happy, fairytale finale.It is this unoriginality, lack of plot depth, and dialogue reminiscent of a Hans Christian Anderson story that makes A Room With a View dissatisfying. Forster obviously felt the need to contribute a story that, with its tiresome protagonists and only somewhat interesting antagonists, would teach future writers one thing: change a famous writer's denouement around and you can gain all the fame and merit you could want off one piece of literature. Holly Burke, PhD. Georgetown U.
Rating: Summary: A great read!! Review: I had to read this book for my A-level english course and found that despite my expectations I actually enjoyed it. I found that I could relate well to a number of characters and was moved by the story of the development of a young and confussed girl. It really was a great read.
Rating: Summary: Inspiring Review: This novel has got to be one of the most sweetest, and romantic story that I have ever read. One could almost feel Lucy's joy for being in Italy, and her torment of trying to keep her feelings hidden. If anyone loves a period romance, this is it.
Rating: Summary: Captivatingly romantic! Review: I have read this book over and over after first being inspired by the movie of the same title (do see it). It is a true book to curl up with and get completely entwined within its rapture! Beautifully romantic, humorous and moving in a perfectly described landscape that you can almost picture; between the very lines as you read.
Rating: Summary: A beautiful love-story Review: I think the book is totally great. It's about love that can't be ignored or stopped and it has a happy ending. I think that one of the things the author tries to say with this book is that you sometimes should do what your feelings tell you to do. Just because a thing has been considered right or wrong for a long time, doesn't always mean that it actually is. The main character, a young English girl, has a hard time trying to figure out what she really feels inside. She loves but she is not sure if it is right of her to do so. The old English thoughts and beliefs influence her very much, but when she manages to get rid of a few of them, she shows her feelings more openly and is not ashamed of them.
I think this book is just as good as the old English classics, a well-written, overwhelming love-story
Rating: Summary: It's simply gorgeous! Review: I've read the book oh-so-many times and I've seen the movie twice. I love both versions to the extreme coz it's such a gorgeous story with gorgeous sceneries and characters. Everytime I read the book, I become entangled with Lucy's `muddled' (to quote Mr. Emerson in the book) emotions. It's hard not to, coz I for one, wouldn't want gorgeous George Emerson to slip from her fingers!
Rating: Summary: One of my favorite love stories Review: I LOVE this novel and the Merchant Ivory film of the same name, which I would give 10 stars! The film, by the way, is very faithful to the book. Anyway, I was extremely delighted by this story when I first read it long ago after seeing the film, and my impression of it has not changed with time. This is a parody of prim and proper English society, something the author E. M. Forster specialized in. For a novel written in 1907, this is an extremely easy read, nothing like a Henry James novel. The plot concerns a young woman named Lucy who goes to Italy on holiday chaperoned by her older spinster cousin, Charlotte. Lucy meets a handsome young guy named George, but he seems a bit odd and eccentric, and she doesn't quite know what to think of him. He takes her by surprise by walking up to her and kissing her in a secluded open field. Charlotte happens to see this and is determined not to let it go any further. You see, Lucy is already engaged to a snobby twit named Sistel back in England! But in the end, Lucy follows her heart. Ah man, I just love this story. See the movie and then read the book. David Rehak author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"
Rating: Summary: Not always an easy read, but a great book overall! Review: A Room With a View is a little hard to get into at first. The many references to Italian culture and British politics in the beginning confused me and made it hard to get into. However, after a little research, I understood the story better and really liked it. Get past the beginning, and you'll be fine. Forster presents very relatable characters in this story: characters trying to discover the meaning of life and feeling. He presents great ideas in this book about happiness and love. The text can be somewhat hard to understand at times; I would keep a dictionary handy. However, this book is truly a classic and an excellent read.
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