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Loading... Snobs (edition 2005)by Julian Fellowes
Work InformationSnobs by Julian Fellowes
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Fellowes starts out with a scathing satire that morphs into a farce before becoming a tragedy which all too neatly resolves at the end. This could be an interesting and biting commentary about the social aspirations of those just outside (below) the British aristocracy, the lame efforts of the aristocracy to ward off those aspirations, and the dissipation of both by arrogance -- not to mention ephemeral actors of fleeting notoriety. But there needs to be some hook, some dynamic interaction, at least one character to sustain a reader's interest. Having spent considerable time in Northumbria, I understood the remoteness of the aristocracy from locals and most everyone else, the closed and small world they inhabit; I even understood the upward aspirations that marriage into the aristocracy can fulfill -- but entails a cutting of most if not all threads to the previous class. Consequently, I enjoyed some scenes, laughed aloud at several, and was hoping for something like the brilliant screenplay/film 'Gosford Park," but on the whole 'Snobs' was disappointing. Like the British, this book moved too slowly. It took 100 pages before I could get into the story somewhat emotionally. Trouble understanding exactly who the narrator was in the beginning. Edith was truly a snob in my mind, I am going to be rich, treat me special. Her affair with Simon was sexual as she eventually admitted after she found Hollywood life not as exciting as magazines make it seem added to her snobbishness. The mother-in-law was just as you'd expect rich Brits to be - her views were justified. Ended up liking the narrator and his wife - they understood being in love and living within society rules.
Fellowes can certainly write a decent sentence; his prose is as refined as his vowels. But what is the point of his book? However rarefied their realm, novels must speak of the wider human condition, of universal truths. The characters in Snobs don't even run the gamut of emotions from A to B; they start at A and then, distracted by the sight of dear old Googie guffawing at the other side of the room, they hiccup to a standstill. Which would be fine were this a biting satire. It is not. Awards
Fiction.
Humor (Fiction.)
HTML: Julian Fellowes, creator of the Emmy-Award winning TV series Downton Abbey, established himself as an irresistible storyteller and a deliciously witty chronicler of modern manners in his first novel, Snobs, a wickedly astute portrait of the intersecting worlds of aristocrats and actors. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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It really has very little plot and is more of a character study of the aristocrats and wannabes. It's not a comedy of manners, because it's not presented in a satirical way. It is a glimpse inside the world from an observer on the fringes. It seems nearly to be a Roman a Clef. The author admits that he was born and raised on the edge of this world and went to debutante dances and the like, so he is writing from experience--Talk about "write what you know..."
This is a great book for anyone fascinated by the British Aristocracy. It tells the secret codes that they use to know who is a real aristocrat and who is just a social climber. It reminds me of some friends' parents from the Main Line. The way they can put you in your place and let you know you are "not really one of them" and you don't realize what a put down it was because they are all sooo polite.
If you are interested in the Royals and British Aristocracy, this is a must read. If you are looking for a juicy soap opera, this isn't really it at all. Like the Britissh,it's all very low key. ( )