A Room With a View (original 1908; edition 2011)

From The Book Wheel
How lucky am I that I have read TWO fantastic books in a row? I am so glad that I joined the Classics Club, or I never would have picked this one up, despite its popularity. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster is definitely going into my top 5 books. This is not just a book, it’s an experience. The entire book is a roller coaster of emotions, at times leaving me angry and at others leaving me beaming like an idiot.
A Room with a View is the story of Lucy Honeychurch, who unwittingly enters into a picture perfect love triangle after vacationing in Italy. Forster does such a fantastic job with describing the scenery that I had one of those rare experiences where I completely forgot where I was and came to, wondering why my surroundings were my living room and not a veranda with a spectacular view of Italian landscapes.

Here’s a snippet of a cultural description that transported me:
“He knew the people who never walked about with Baedekers, who had learnt to take a siesta after lunch, who took drives pension tourists had never heard of, and saw by private influence galleries which were closed to them. Living in delicate seclusion, some in furnished flats, others in Renaissance villas on Fiesole’s slope, the read, wrote, studied, and exchanged ideas, thus attaining to that intimate knowledge, or rather perception, of Florence which is denied to all who carry in their pockets the coupons of Cook.” (p. 48)

As for the story itself, I laughed, cried, and yelped out loud. Young and unaware of even her own feelings, Lucy’s emotions are both exasperating to the reader (who knows the truth) and incredibly realistic for the times. I won’t go into too much detail because I despise spoilers of classics (not everyone has read them and it’s silly to think that they have), but A Room with a View manages to weave a tale that leaves no stone unturned. The betrayal by (someone) was so palpable that my stomach was in knots, and more than once my husband asked me why I was grinning like an idiot.
That said – GO READ THIS BOOK! It’s FREE ON KINDLE! And when you read it, remember this quote from the book:
“It is a wonderful opportunity, the possession of leisure.” – Mr. Beebe (p. 93)

For the full review, click here. ( )

Well, following the movie, I knew I was going to love the book. If you like Jane Austin and George Elliot...you'll like this as well.

Any book that leaves me wanting more, wishing that it went on for just one more chapeter so that I could know more that happened to the characters is a good book to me!

The Author states, "Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to pracitce..." How true that statement is!

This is now a new "old favorite"! ( )

A very difficult book to listen to. Possibly because of the lengthy dialogue sections that go on without much action -- I often found myself totally confused by what was happening, but it's not as easy to 're-read' in audio as it is in print. So I think I missed a lot of the romance and beauty of the story-telling. It was alright; interesting enough, but I can say I've read it now, not that I "got it." ( )

Eh gads - a time when unbecoming behavior was such a big deal. A slowly unfolding story of a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, traveling through Italy (with a chaperone, of course) who encounters an unconventional and socially unacceptable father and son. The pair, Mr. Emerson and George, appeal to Lucy and she finds their views on life/love unrestrained and more real than what society prescribes. Back in England Lucy encounters the Emersons once again but this time as an engaged young woman. I love the subtlety of the story as Lucy breaks out of the societal constraints and terminates her engagement to follow her heart. I would imagine that Lucy was definitely an exception and not the rule during this time period. This was a book that I read slowly, enjoying each line and a true favorite to be re-read. You have to also chuckle a bit with a chapter titled, 'How Miss Bartlett's Boiler Was So Tiresome". ( )

In my head, I'd constructed my own version of A Room With a View, which never works out well for a reader. In this case, I'd imagined Lucy's trip to Florence as being a great deal more subversive than it turned out to be. Only the first third of the novel even takes place in Italy as the second and third act are set back in England as (heavens!) a marriage to a bore looms. Still, I liked it just the same. Forster has a nice way of using language and I also enjoyed his narrative style: popping in and out of characters' thoughts--often in the same scene--or, sometimes, editorializing or even addressing the reader directly.

It's of course important to understand the book in its historical context and the pressures and taboos inherent in that society. A modern reader can be tempted to say, "If you don't like him, don't marry him," but of course it wasn't such an easy thing to do. But some things are constant. Music--in this case, Schumann--serves as both outlet and input for thoughts that can't quite be put into words. So it shall ever be. ( )