Paperback, 204 pages
English language
Published Sept. 27, 2007 by Book Jungle.
One of E. M. Forster's most celebrated novels, "A Room With a View" is the story of a young English middle-class girl, Lucy Honeychurch. While vacationing in Italy, Lucy meets and is wooed by two gentlemen, George Emerson and Cecil Vyse. After turning down Cecil Vyse's marriage proposals twice Lucy finally accepts. Upon hearing of the engagement George protests and confesses his true love for Lucy. Lucy is torn between the choice of marrying Cecil, who is a more socially acceptable mate, and George who she knows will bring her true happiness. "A Room With a View" is a tale of classic human struggles such as the choice between social acceptance or true love.
Smart cozy skewering of English class and respectability, old Europe's wonder and modern sensibility, flipping effortlessly between interior mental changes and a range of characters observations with the author's judgement right alongside.
I picked up the book at random via Guthrnberg. I hoped it would be a social parody of pompous people, but after finishing chapter one I realised it is a chic flick made 100 years ago. Nothing wrong with chick flicks, but at this time this is not for me.
Gorgeous, romantic prose
I try to get swept away by the romance of it, and I enjoy Forster's writing a lot, but I just can't believe that two people can love each other enough to build a life together when they've had like three conversations with each other. I just can't suspend that disbelief. Maybe I really am aromantic.
A bit of a struggle with the shallow characters. More old than classic
It took me a good while to get in to this book. Because of all the old English tye writing, I wasn't sure what to think. I'm so glad that I finished this book, because I genuinely liked Lucy. I also wanted to know who she was going to end up wih. :)
I appreciate some of the wording, cultural commentary, and pithy lines, but the story and most of the dialogue was not gripping.
I may have enjoyed this more if I had read it on paper. I had misinterpreted the digital "page count" on the goodreads copy of the book and was expecting a much shorter piece. I can't handle reading books on an iPhone any longer than 150 (normal) pages.
