- Hardcover: 359 pages
- Publisher: Thorndike Press; Large Print edition edition (April 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0786248831
- ISBN-13: 978-0786248834
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 12.7 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,511,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
I loved it. My first intimation of the possibilities of fiction (Zadie Smith )
He says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and we can go on reading Forster indefinitely (The Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
He says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and we can go on reading Forster indefinitely (The Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
I loved it. My first intimation of the possibilities of fiction -- Zadie Smith He says, and even more implies, things that no other novelist does, and we can go on reading Forster indefinitely The Times
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This charming little novel which has recently celebrated its centennary can be easily put down as a period piece. E M Forster foresaw it already in his note which he added to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first edition. Yet a prospective reader would be most wrong to do so. There is a lesson here which still needs to be learned by many.
The title gives away some of the content - the main heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, needs to get away from the stuffy atmosphere of late Victorian England in which she was brought up - the symbol of which is for EMF the room. Her escape takes place in stages - the first of them is her trip to Italy where she finds landscapes and people most different from those she was accustomed to. It is also there that she meets the man she falls in love with, George Emerson. Yet these changes come too quickly for her. Lucy yields to the demands of her chaperone and escapes back to England, finding on the way a more appropriate suitor, Cecil Vyse.
When the three young people meet again in England, a fight for Lucy's soul begins anew. Lucy has to decide whether she prefers Cecil who will keep her under his protection in his house as a work of art for others to admire, or George with whom she will have to face the challenges of the world but be free.
What is the lesson for us today in a world where there are no chaperones or stage-coaches? We also must make similar decisions - choose freedom which always comes at a cost or safety for which we must pay with our freedom. We choose between being true to ourselves or satisfying the demands of others. Lucy's adventures may serve as a perfect food for thought for those facing seemingly dissimilar but actually very similar decisions. It is the more valuable as Forster does not show easy decisions or easy solutions. The happy ending is never free and yet still worth striving for.
The title gives away some of the content - the main heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, needs to get away from the stuffy atmosphere of late Victorian England in which she was brought up - the symbol of which is for EMF the room. Her escape takes place in stages - the first of them is her trip to Italy where she finds landscapes and people most different from those she was accustomed to. It is also there that she meets the man she falls in love with, George Emerson. Yet these changes come too quickly for her. Lucy yields to the demands of her chaperone and escapes back to England, finding on the way a more appropriate suitor, Cecil Vyse.
When the three young people meet again in England, a fight for Lucy's soul begins anew. Lucy has to decide whether she prefers Cecil who will keep her under his protection in his house as a work of art for others to admire, or George with whom she will have to face the challenges of the world but be free.
What is the lesson for us today in a world where there are no chaperones or stage-coaches? We also must make similar decisions - choose freedom which always comes at a cost or safety for which we must pay with our freedom. We choose between being true to ourselves or satisfying the demands of others. Lucy's adventures may serve as a perfect food for thought for those facing seemingly dissimilar but actually very similar decisions. It is the more valuable as Forster does not show easy decisions or easy solutions. The happy ending is never free and yet still worth striving for.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic book about a girl who is torn between love and duty - between truth and hypocrisy. Set in florence and england at the turn of the century it is less a love story than a psychological study and a comedy-of-manners. Endlessly engaging and with Forsters characteristicaly beautiful prose, this is a must-read for fans of classic literature. To my thinking, this is a better book by far than all of its nineteenth and eighteenth century contemporaries (including Austen, whom i think overated)
One is given to think, as the novel closes, that the book marks the border between the old world of English manners and social rules and the new free-thinking twentieth century.
Read it! Read it now!
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio Cassette
It's hard to know which to praise more, E. M. Forester's witty comedy of manners, or Joanna David's nuanced and entertaining reading of the book. Clearly, the combination of the two is that rare marriage of great writing brought to life by a talented actress. If you only listen to one audio book this year, you would do well to make it this one.
Forester writes about an England that is long gone . . . but not forgotten. The middle class has its wits and its respectability to defend itself from the vagaries of a challenging world. Naturally, the middle class prefers its own company and so-called manners are merely an excuse to keep everyone else at bay. The absurdity of this way of living is highlighted when Forester takes a young Englishwoman, Lucy Honeychurch (don't you love that name?), off for a trip to Florence in the company of her maiden cousin, Charlotte, who also serves as chaperone.
A variety of English tourists are gathered in a small Italian pensione in Florence when Lucy and Charlotte arrive. Both women had asked for and been promised rooms with a view. Upon arrival, they got just the opposite. Complaining over dinner about this, two men, a father and his son, immediately offer to exchange rooms. This offer breaks most rules of good manners at the time, and the women turn down the kind, well-intentioned offer. Thus far can manners cause one to go against one's best interests. During their time in Florence, the women find themselves confounded and redirected by the honest helpfulness of the Emerson men. But the familiarity raises dangerous challenges for Lucy, and she flees their company.
The rest of the story looks at the consequences of the flight and focuses on Lucy's attempts to find a way of life that makes sense for her . . . rather than being a slave to social convention.
Describing the story's plot doesn't do justice to the witty satires and ironic comments about the pompously respectable. It's a delicious romp, and Ms. David makes it all the more so.
If you are like me, you'll find yourself racing to the end to find out what Lucy does with herself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
My view on 'A room with a view'
Yep Good value for money! It was witty, interesting and contained some all too familiar characters as well as making some poignant points about society. I would recommend it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Hak
"Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice...."
""Pull out from the depths those thoughts you do not understand, and spread them out in the sunlight and know the meaning of them. Read more
Published 5 months ago by LittleMoon
use for school
I bought this for my daughter studying this in English,its great size book to put in bag for school. Had to re-purchase it though she had a water incident in her bag.
Published 6 months ago by Mser
Pleased with result
The novel, of course, is excellent.
I found the book itself to be a little bit flimsy, but unlike a lot of paperbacks, it managed to keep all of its pages (or leaves), which... Read more
I found the book itself to be a little bit flimsy, but unlike a lot of paperbacks, it managed to keep all of its pages (or leaves), which... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Titus
Unashamedly romantic....
A Room with a View is one of Forster's lighter books - but it is still infused with humour and wit and offers a satirical dissection of the middle class both at home and... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Wynne Kelly
Penetrating and sharp edged but witty and sympathetic
I love Forster's world of acid etched characters being made to dance through situations they find increasingly uncomfortable. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brownbear101
Classicly funny and excellent romance story
I read this book thinking it may be difficult to get into however i have read books from the same period(Jane Austen) and found it was very easy to get into the story. Read more
Published on 26 July 2009 by bluebellmango
Not the real version
This book is a VERY condensed version of the original, not worth buying. Its basically what your friend would tell you if you asked what the book is about its so short. Read more
Published on 2 July 2009 by Ms. N. C. Maple
Lucy awakened? She should have done it sooner.......
I first read 'A Room with a View' when I was studying
it for my English Literature O-level back in 1975 and
yes, gentle reader, I passed! Read more
it for my English Literature O-level back in 1975 and
yes, gentle reader, I passed! Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by Peter S. Kinnison
A Room with a View by E.M.Forster
I bought the novel because I lost or lent out my existing copy. I read it years ago and wouldn't be without it; it's a classic and there is a wonderful film of it. Read more
Published on 4 May 2009 by Delma
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