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Work InformationMaurice: A Novel by E. M. Forster (1971)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. It took a little to get into, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It wasn't what I expected in a good way. ( ) I adored this book. It's romantic and passionate and beautifully written. Forster's prose is exquisite - filled with style and wit. There's also enormous wisdom to be found and he's clearly one of those authors who is a brilliant observer. Every scene rings with emotional truth: characters make speeches but they also get distracted halfway through them; they do or say exactly the opposite of what they intend to; harm is done by timing and tone as much as by action or speech. And the subject matter! The book is brave and fierce and hopeful at a time when that must have been almost impossible. I can't recommend this book highly enough and I'm already looking forward to rereading it. A subtle story of self discovery, class, emotional turmoil, friendship over a lifetime. Several characters are gay, and this is significant; the achievement of the novel is not, however, dependent upon this. Forster's prose again astounds in its limpid presentation of abstractions: private thoughts, emotions, social currents, interpersonal dynamics. While I did not find any instance of those supernatural events I found so curiously compelling in Celestial Omnibus, there were suggestive parallels. Chief example came at the close of Part One, with Maurice fleeing Clive's utterance ("Hall, don't be grotesque."). What reads on the page as a dream of Maurice's, or perhaps a waking vision -- it is not immediately clear what occurs bodily and what only as sensation -- easily could substitute for the supernatural occurrences in the short stories, the inner voice of Maurice's heart standing in for the titular Curate's Friend. "It [his heart] cried: 'You love and are loved.' He looked round the court. It cried, 'You are strong, he weak and alone,' won over his will." [66] I did not remark this parallel upon my initial reading of the passage, and wonder now whether several other "disguised" appearances escaped notice. Another point of interest was the question of whether the "disagreeable narrator" -- central to the Celestial short stories -- would make an appearance here, as well. Forster sidesteps this with his choice of third-person omniscient, and only later did it occur to me that any such appearance, were it to appear, necessarily would do so in another voice: a disagreeable character but not narrator, with that character's voice directed not to the reader but to other characters. With that idea in mind, the personality coming closest would be Dr Barry, especially their conversation in Maurice's consultation [K31]. Again, a second reading with this parallel in mind would be worthwhile. // Forster in what is styled a TERMINAL NOTE admits that he created Maurice essentially as the opposite of himself. Alongside my interpretation of Clive and Maurice as essentially contrasting ideal types of gay men in British society, this suggests that Clive could be autobiographical. Particularly interesting insofar as Clive is not presented altogether sympathetically or even apologetically. Forster completed writing Maurice in 1914 and the manuscript remained unpublished until 1970 because of its content. Maurice Hall is a young man growing up confident in his privileged status and aware of his place in society. He also finds himself increasingly attracted to his own sex, including men from his own social status and those beneath him. I found it interesting that views and opinions have not changed in some countries. Maurice is a beautiful story set in an era now gone; values and culture that is slowly changing. The story is beautifully presented, the characters are strong and believable and overall Maurice is an honest representation of what life was like for homosexuals in England at the time. Εάν το βιβλίο είναι η δύσκολη, αργή, επώδυνη συνειδητοποίηση ενός κοινού ανθρώπου ότι είναι ομοφυλόφιλος και, συνεπώς, απορρίπτεται από το κοινωνικό σύνολο, είναι επίσης η ιστορία της προσωπικής μας απελευθέρωσης από τη σωρεύουσα σκόνη των κοινωνικών συμβάσεων. Έργο βαθύτατα ηθικό, είναι η αντιπαράθεση συμβατικότητας και αλήθειας, σύγχυσης και συνείδησης, αυταπάτης και ειλικρίνειας. Γραμμένο με τρόπο μαγευτικό, το 1914, παρέμεινε ανέκδοτο μέχρι το θάνατο του συγγραφέα, το 1970, αφού ο ίδιος ο Φόρστερ δε θέλησε ποτέ να το δημοσιεύσει. no reviews | add a review
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Written during 1913 and 1914, Maurice deals with the then unmentionable subject of homosexuality. More unusual, it concerns a relationship that ends happily. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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