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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Audio Edition by Paul Slack Is Brilliant, 30 Sep 2011
This is of course the masterwork by one of the great influential writers of the 20th century. It's autobiographical content is not only an explanation of the evolving souls of its characters, the Morel family and those they love, but a brilliant evocation of life in a working-class mining town and the struggle to escape such roots. It's one of those must read texts! Or rather, in the audio edition, it's become a must-listen text. Paul Slack, a former RSC actor and now the principal voice of Lawrence through his one-man touring production, Phoenix Rising, gives a virtuoso reading performance during which he brings to life the characters in all their rich vernacular and character. Normally, I'd prefer a book over an audio version unless I wanted something to listen to while driving, but this is such a fine rendering they did add significant value to the original book, particularly as the accent, indeed patois of the mining village is so important to the quality of the novel and its dialogue.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sons & Lovers by D H Lawrence, 26 Sep 2011
This review is from: Sons and Lovers (Kindle Edition)
This book begins with the story of Gertrude, a well educated girl with a passion for books and the arts who falls in love with and marries a charming and dashing coal miner, Morel. Once the initial passion wears off she finds herself unhappily married to someone with whom she has little in common. Her husband also loses his spark and becomes distant, aloof and somewhat cruel and violent towards his family. Stuck in a dull and loveless marriage, Gertrude pours her love on her three sons, living out her hopes and dreams through them. Following the loss of her eldest son, the attention of the story turns to the middle son, Paul, and his conflicting relationships with the women in his life. Paul is a gifted artist who shares his mother's love for culture and the beauty of nature. He meets a girl, Miriam who is his intellectual soul-mate and the two of them make an ideal match. However, Gertrude sees Miriam as a threat and Paul is torn between the two of them, ultimately choosing his mother. He then embarks on an affair with Clara, an older woman separated from her husband. Clara and Gertrude get on well and there is no conflict. Clara's loyalty remains with her estranged husband throughout the affair and she is no threat to the mother-son relationship. I found this book difficult and it took a long time to read. It jumps around a great deal and repeats the same thought processes and concepts ad nauseum. I also felt it was not that well written and could perhaps have done with some decent editing (can I say that about DH Lawrence?). I mean, how many times did Miriam's pupils dilate?! There again, there is so much to think about and talk about with this novel that perhaps it isn't the reading of it that makes it great, rather the analysis that goes alongside it. Furthermore, it is semi-autobiographical with Gertrude representing Lawrence's own mother and Paul being based on Lawrence himself, making it an important piece of literature. I felt the book was somewhat feminist in outlook and ahead of its time. It is set in the early 20th century just before the ourbreak of world war one and when the suffragettes were battling for women's rights and the vote. Lawrence seems to sympathise with the frustrations that intelligent women faced, being expected to stay at home and raise a family whilst men were free to pursue their dreams. That is why Gertrude Morel looked to her sons to go out in the world and make something of themselves though her jealousy of the women in her sons lives held them back. In the end it is only after the death of Gertrude that Paul can be free to choose his own destiny. Is he so dependent on his mother's love that he follows her to the grave or can he choose to live without her?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sons and mothers, 26 April 2011
I enjoyed the first part very much, and was expecting this to be a 4 or 5 star read, having recently enjoyed Lady Chatterly. The study of the struggling mining family was excellent. But as the second part went on, I found myself getting more and more bored. Irritated, too, with the endless analysis of the main character's relationships with his girlfriend (who isn't really his girlfriend) and his mother (which could be summed up as 'peculiar'). On and on it went, and I do feel sorry for any student who had this foisted on them. There are also a number of continuity and consistency issues that puzzled me; in the first part, the father is taken into hospital with what the reader is given to believe is a very serious leg injury sustained in the mine. But there's no resolution to this - a few chapters later he's back at home and the incident is never mentioned! Then there is Paul's birthday - the author tells us twice that he's twenty three, only for him to celebrate his twenty third birthday two chapters later. The relationship with the father in the second half differs radically from that in the first; the hatred of the sons has turned to indifference, while the mother seems to have accepted him and his behaviour. I suspect this wasn't written as a novel at all, but just as a series of character studies and exercises in writing that were cobbled together. Or maybe it's because it's an early novel. Certainly Lady Chatterly is far superior; this has me wondering whether to try another Lawrence or not.
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