Tag: English literature
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Sons and Lovers
Review: An excellent example of transitional literature, from Victorian to more modern sensibilities. There was not one person in the whole novel that I liked or admired. They were all dysfunctional in one way or another. The pace was solid and dependable, but it did drag in parts, nothing too bad, just got a bit… Read more
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The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories
Review: An excellent selection of tales from the mid 19th to the early 20th century, the golden age of spooky stories, séances, and spiritualism. Not horrifying, but terrifying. Mood is created and well created too. Lots of lonely heaths and dark mansions. Excellent! Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Finishing half-read books… Read more
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The Mill on the Floss
Review: The remarkable Maggie Tulliver. The unremarkable family from an unremarkable village who have an extraordinary story. Or at least, a story made more remarkable by it being an experience that to varying degrees we all experience: interfamily squabble, intrafamily disputes with our extended relations, money worries, frustrated goals and having to adapt or present… Read more
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The Secret Agent
Review: Conrad is credited with his introduction of true realism to English literature, and this is a great example of that. Dirty, poverty stricken violent anarchists. Unlikeable protagonists, and everybody dies or wants to by the end. Loved this. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Read a quote from it somewhere Noteworthy… Read more
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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Review: It’s a very unsettling sort of book. The author was a queer customer, and I could not get past the sense of unease reading this, knowing his weird fascination/obsession with little girls. Coming on the heels of Thoreau did not help things. Creepy. But well written and important in the LRP. Overall rating: How… Read more
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To The Lighthouse
Review: Stream of consciousness as narrative form. Beautiful scenery evoked. Another example, like Der Zauberberg of how WWI changed the way people think. An extraordinary book. Fast and delightful. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Kindle Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Check out author’s other books? Y Recommend this book?… Read more
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Three Men in a Boat
Review: Funny, charming tale of 3 Holmes & Watson era dudes on a boat trip down the Thames. Humor but also lovely descriptive passages that make you feel as though you were there, and bits of history thrown in for good measure. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Noteworthy experiences while… Read more
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The Return of the Soldier
Review: Amazing book. Heart lifting and heart rending at the same time. What would you do if you lost all memory of the last 15 years? Could you recapture past love? Would you want to/ Life is a bitter draught but you have to drink it to be an adult. 5 stars. Overall rating: How… Read more
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The Return of the Native
Review: Life on Egdon Heath. Learned about trades on the heath: You feel the moonlight, the desolation, the warmth of the firesides. The dialect is spot on. The life must have changed forever with steam power and machinery to reclaim arable land from the heath. Maybe someone wrote about that?? Very good read. Solid classic.… Read more