1366 Howards End, by E. M. Forster (read 7 Nov 1975) This book was written in 1908-1910 but not published till 1921. I don't quite know what to make of it. It tells a story that moves along enough to keep one's interest, but it is all meaningful and intended to be very profound, but I am not sure I followed much of the inner meaning. I don't think I got nearly what I should have out of the book, but I don't regret reading it. It certainly wasn't the struggle to read that reading A Passage to India was back in January, 1951. ( )

This is an elegant book--one of those that gets better each time you come back to it and look further into the characters and settings. I'd see it as halfway between Kazuo Ishiguro and Charles Dickens, with thoughtful characters and clever conversation. I was too young for it when I first had it assigned to me in a class (twenty, maybe?), but coming back to it in my late twenties was a pleasure once I found my way back in. I'd recommend it for a quiet day by the fire--it's not a traditional page-turner by any means, but it's worth a look. ( )

Really enjoyed this, got caught up in Forster's world of the Schlegel sisters. At times it is a very sad book, there seems to be a lot of compromising and misunderstandings, but the Schlegel sisters are marvellous. Margaret is a thoroughly modern lady, if sometimes lacking the passion of her sister. Through an escapade with an umbrella, they meet Mr. Bast, a young man trying to "better himself" (through literature and art). They decide to try and help this man, though the end results aren't what they expected. There is also the parallel entanglement with the Wilcox family, Helen has the briefest of engagements with the younger son, and again neither sister could have predicted the outcome. ( )

I thought that it was beautifully written but the modern girl in me cringed every time Mr Wilcox opened his mouth! I really wished that I could jump into this novel and give him a piece of my mind.

For a full review go here:
http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/... ( )

Howards End is one of my favorite books, and every couple of years I pull it down off the shelf to reacquaint myself with it. It's one of those books that has become an old friend over the years.

The story revolves around the Schlegels, Wilcoxes and Basts, three families whose lives interconnect over the course of several years and not necessarily always for the better, and at the center of the story is always the country home, Howards End. The book is an amazing study of class distinctions; passion versus intellect; constraint versus action; wealth versus poverty.

The Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, are passionate for life; they want to experience as much as they can from it. The Wilcoxes come from a more conservative stock, more it tune with their wealth and possessions than anything else. After a hastily announced (as just as hastily broken) engagement between the youngest Wilcox son, Paul, and Helen, the families find themselves at odds, until an unlikely friendship forms between Mrs. Wilcox and Margaret Schlegel. Upon Mrs. Wilcox's death, she leaves Howards End to Margaret, but the Wilcoxes as a whole do not feel that Mrs. Wilcox was in her right frame of mind and never let Margaret know of Mrs. Wilcox's bequest. In amidst these settings we are also introduced to Leonard Bast, who lives on the brink of poverty and feels that through education and enlightenment he might better his life and that of his fiancée, Jacky.

There are so many subtle nuances to this story, I have a hard time getting it all down on paper. Forster has created an amazing story that is poignant in its telling and staggering in it depth. No matter how many times I read Howards End, I am always amazed at the intricacies of the story and feel that I take something new away with each reading. ( )