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Banned, burned, and the subject of a landmark obscenity trial, Lawrence's lyric and sensual last novel is now regarded as "our time's most significant romance." -- "The New York Times. "This classic tale of love and discovery pits the paralyzed and callous Clifford Chatterley against his indecisive wife and her persuasive lover.… (more)
bluepiano: A good follow-up or perhaps corrective. Plot is broad, conventional stuff; it's Brown's great gift for language and sense of humour that make the book.
Surprisingly I’d never read this book before although as a schoolboy we would often pass around books for the passages relating to sex. I’ve also read a lot of Lawrence’s other books and enjoyed them. When I saw there was an audiobook version read by Holliday Grainger I decided it was time I discovered what all the fuss was about and the first thing to say is that she was an inspired choice to be narrator and even made the sometimes dull parts listenable. My guess is that, if the book was published today, it would be more rigorously edited to take out some of the repetitive and redundant parts though I wouldn’t want to see Lawrence’s mystical passages excised. For me it was more about class and the rapaciousness of modern technology than about the affair between Connie and Mellors and even their relationship was as much about a clash between the classes as it was about how men and women approach sex. It helped, I think, that I grew up in Lawrence country and I could recognise all of the characters portrayed in the novel. Though many would deny it I see little difference with the type of people we encounter now to the ones Lawrence was writing about. As John Lennon put it: “You think you’re so clever, so classless and free but you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see.” ( )
It seemed very long and boring, although in fact it was a short book. The sex scenes were quite brutal and didn't seem really necessary to the book, and I really didn't like the heroine of the book, I found her quite stupid and insipid. I could hardly finish and I didn't enjoy this experience at all. I don't think I'll ever re-read this book.
It seemed very long and boring, although in fact it was a short book. The sex scenes were quite brutal and didn't seem really necessary to the book, and I really didn't like the heroine of the book, I found her quite stupid and insipid. I could hardly finish and I didn't enjoy this experience at all. I don't think I'll ever re-read this book.
It seemed very long and boring, although in fact it was a short book. The sex scenes were quite brutal and didn't seem really necessary to the book, and I really didn't like the heroine of the book, I found her quite stupid and insipid. I could hardly finish and I didn't enjoy this experience at all. I don't think I'll ever re-read this book.
Could have used more smut. When John Thomas and Lady Jane are properly covered up there's dreary philosophizing in their stead: about how Connie thinks everything is nothingness, and how industrialization is emasculating British men, and how Mellors thinks strong willed women should be shot. Though there's also a sharp critique of the English class system, not that that is all that rare a beast by these days.
Much more entertaining are passages like this lovely, in which Connie bemoans the withdrawal of the post-ejaculatory penis:
And only now she became aware of the small, bud-like reticence and tenderness of the penis, and a little cry of wonder and poignancy escaped her again, her woman's heart crying out over the tender frailty of that which had been the power.
Merged review:
Could have used more smut. When John Thomas and Lady Jane are properly covered up there's dreary philosophizing in their stead: about how Connie thinks everything is nothingness, and how industrialization is emasculating British men, and how Mellors thinks strong willed women should be shot. Though there's also a sharp critique of the English class system, not that that is all that rare a beast by these days.
Much more entertaining are passages like this lovely, in which Connie bemoans the withdrawal of the post-ejaculatory penis:
And only now she became aware of the small, bud-like reticence and tenderness of the penis, and a little cry of wonder and poignancy escaped her again, her woman's heart crying out over the tender frailty of that which had been the power.
Had not read this before; an interesting historical snapshot from a century ago of the state of the art in free love. Lawrence veers off into various rants on his particular obsessions—lack of manly men, poisonous nature of capitalism, and "how few people have live, alert legs". In fact he has a slight obsession with the importance of men wearing tight red trousers that show off their buttocks, under a little white jacket. Mellors' letter in the last few pages is derailed by a rhapsody on tight scarlet trousers, and nostalgia for "the old group dances", which sounds worryingly like endorsing Morris dancing. Perhaps that's what the censors objected to. ( )
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a few years now and finally got around to it. While I understand why this book was banned during its hay day, by today’s standards it’s a bit calm in comparison.
I struggled at the beginning as it seemed a lot of background information before things really picked up. I saw very little in way of major character development outside of Connie finding herself and her voice again. I found Clifford rather dull, as with Michaelis. Mellors was an interesting sort, and a challenge at first but as the story progressed I better understood him.
While yes, this is a classic in its own right, I’m not sure it’s one I will re-read in the future. However, I’m glad I finally read it nonetheless. ( )
Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been reissued by the Grove Press, and this fictional account of the day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is still of considerable interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on pheasant raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. Unfortunately one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material in order to discover and savor these sidelights on the management of a Midland shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion this book cannot take the place of J.R. Miller's Practical Gamekeeping.
added by Cynfelyn | editField and Stream, Ed Zern(Nov 1, 1959)
Publisher's dedication : "......to the twelve jurors who returned a verdict of 'Not Guilty' [on 2 November, 1960] and thus made D.H. Lawrence's last novel available for the first time to the public in the United Kindom"
First words
Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.
Quotations
Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new litle habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble ver the obstacles. We've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.
The beautiful pure freedom of a woman was infnitely more wonderful than any sexual love. The only unfortunate thing was that men lagged so far behind women in the matter. They insisted on the sex thing like dogs.
"No, I don't hate you," she said. "I think you're nice." - "Ah!" he said to her fiercely, "I'd rather you said that to me than said you love me! It means such a lot more..."
The world is supposed to be full of possibilities, but they narrow down to pretty few in most personal experience. There's lots of good fish in the sea... maybe... but the vast masses seem to be mackerel or herring, and if you're not mackerel or herring yourself, you are likely to find very few good fish in the sea.
"I can't see I do a woman any more harm by sleeping with her than by dancing with her... or even talking to her about the weather. It's just an interchange of sensations instead of ideas, so why not?"
"If you HAVE the proper sort of emotion or sympathy with a woman, you OUGHT to sleep with her," said May. "It's the only decent thing, to go to bed with her. Just as, when you are interested talking to someone, the only decent thing is to have the talk out."
Perhaps the human soul needs excursions, and must not be denied them. But the point of an excursion is that you come home again.
It was the last bit of passion left in these men: the passion for making a display.
"A woman wants you to like her and talk to her, and at the same time love her and desire her; and it seems to me the two things are mutually exclusive."- "But they shouldn't be!" - "No doubt water ought not to be so wet as it is; it overdoes it in wetness. But there it is! I like women and talk to them, and therefore I don't love them and desire them. The two things don't happen at the same time in me." - "I think they ought to."
All the great words, it seemed to Connie, were cancelled for her generation: love, joy, happiness, home, mother, father, husband, all these great, dynamic words were half dead now, and dying from day to day. Home was a place you lived in, love was a thing you didn't fool yourself about, joy was a word you applied to a good Charleston, happiness was a term of hypocrisy used to bluff other people, a father was an individual who enjoyed his own existence, a husband was a man you lived with and kept going in spirits. As for sex, the last of the great words, it was just a cocktail term for an excitement that bucked you up for a while, then left you more raggy than ever. Frayed! It was as if the very material you were made of was cheap stuff, and was fraying out to nothing.
All that really remained was a stubborn stoicism: and in that there was a certain pleasure. In the very experience of the nothingness of life, phase after phase, étape after étape, there was a certain grisly satisfaction. So that's that! Always this was the last utterance: home, love, marriage, Michaelis: So that's that! And when one died, the last words to life would be: So that's that!
It seemed as if most of the `really good' men just missed the bus. After all you only lived one life, and if you missed the bus, you were just left on the pavement, along with the rest of the failures.
"A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it."
Society was terrible because it was insane. Civilized society was insane. Money and so-called love are its two great manias; money a long way first.
Last words
John Thomas says good-night to Lady Jane, a little droopingly, but with a hopeful heart.
Banned, burned, and the subject of a landmark obscenity trial, Lawrence's lyric and sensual last novel is now regarded as "our time's most significant romance." -- "The New York Times. "This classic tale of love and discovery pits the paralyzed and callous Clifford Chatterley against his indecisive wife and her persuasive lover.
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For me it was more about class and the rapaciousness of modern technology than about the affair between Connie and Mellors and even their relationship was as much about a clash between the classes as it was about how men and women approach sex. It helped, I think, that I grew up in Lawrence country and I could recognise all of the characters portrayed in the novel. Though many would deny it I see little difference with the type of people we encounter now to the ones Lawrence was writing about.
As John Lennon put it: “You think you’re so clever, so classless and free but you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see.” (