First, current and potential future Reading Buddies, if you haven’t voted for the March book yet, please do so! The poll is over on the right. It’s a close race this month, so be sure to voice your opinion!
Ah, Room with a View. How did you like it? I very much enjoyed it myself. As was the case two weeks ago, though, I find myself without a whole lot to say. It was the sort of book with which I could sit back and just enjoy the story. Under Forster’s skillful guidance, the novel unfolded just as it needed to, I thought.
Begin spoilers!
I very much liked Lucy. Oh, did she grow as a character. I don’t think her growth was unbelievable, though. I thought Forster portrayed her magnificently, especially her movement away from Cecil as she came into her own.
I also found George intriguing. I wasn’t completely sold on him for most of the novel — he seemed a bit awkward and maybe a little immature. The final scene, though, with Lucy and George in Italy was, I thought, lovely. They both seemed somehow to have settled into their right selves, the people they were at heart. And, with my penchant for clever titles, I quite enjoyed how the novel began and ended with the same “room with a view.”
I also appreciated that Forster didn’t wrap up all the loose ends to make a nice, tidy package of the tale. I liked that Lucy and her family were still on the road to reconciliation when we left them, and that Lucy and George were just starting their life together. I think there is a sweet spot (or perhaps several) at which an author can end a novel perfectly, with just enough having happened that the reader is satisfied but with enough left unresolved that the story lives on. In A Room with a View, I think Forster hit that spot.
And so I have nothing but praise for A Room with a View, a novel I very much believe has earned its classic status, and not so much to discuss. Perhaps February’s book (The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, if you missed the announcement!) will have me writing more?
If you posted about A Room with a View on your blog, please leave a link in the comments!
I actually sometimes really like it when an author doesn’t tie up all the loose ends and leaves things dangling for the readers to sort out for themselves, so this book has just moved up a notch in the pile. I am also heartened to hear how much you loved it and that you totally feel like it’s earned it’s classic status. I really enjoyed this series of reviews, and need to read this one soon!
I really enjoyed this one as well. It’s a surprisingly easy and fast read. I loved how much Lucy grew throughout the book–finally figuring out what she wanted rather than what was expected. I really disliked Charlotte.
I do agree that the ending was just right. When an author ties up all the loose ends for a perfect ending, it lacks reality, in my opinion. Life is messy sometimes, and even if you do the right thing for you, there are consequences that aren’t always ideal.
I loved that the book began and ended in the same place with the story really centering around the “room with the view.” I don’t have much to say about this one either, but what I loved about it was its simplicity.
I read this book after watching the movie (which I do recommend) and like you, I loved it but didn’t have much to say after reading. It was more a sweet feeling than an intellectual pursuit for me.
I read this recently too and really liked it. Now I want to see the movie!