Reading 1001 discussion

Rating: 4 Stars
Read: January 2017

This is my 3rd list book by this author out of 4. Howard's End tells about the intersection of people from three different classes in an English house during the early 20th century. It reminded me a lot of Sense and Sensibility in a lot of ways, even though it has a different plot and takes place during a later time period (if that even makes any sense). In the book we see conflicts between social standing, gender, family, and what is considered acceptable vs. non-acceptable. Typical themes for the time period, but well-executed, overall. I really enjoyed this book, although not quite as much as A Room with a View.

April 27, 2015 – Finished Reading
Rating: 4 stars
Review: The novel examines England at the turn of the century through three families; the Wilcox (representing Imperialism), the Schlegels (½ German siblings who pursue cultural of reading, education, art and philosophy), and the Basts (a young couple representing the lower middle class). Through these three groups, the author shows us Edwardian England social conduct and manners, the upper class idealism and materialism, and the effects of poverty on the poor.

I enjoyed the story and so far consider it the best of E. M Forster though I've only read one other, A Room With a View. The Schlegel sisters were such strong female characters to the point that I wondered how a male author of the time could write so well of these women. This was a contemporary novel of its time. Women suffrage was something that was discussed but not realized. Meg and Helen were both well read, intellectuals who enjoyed philosophy and expressing their opinions. I liked Meg best and found Helen a bit annoying but in the end, she came through. Meg is more conventional and Helen more adventurous and emotional.

My review: A young woman befriends an older woman who has a nice old home in London. The young woman is sad because her own childhood home is no longer theirs and their lease is ending soon on it. As a result of this brief friendship, the young woman is drawn into the family drama surrounding the London home, Howard's End. Starting as a who-marries-whom novel, this book gets a bit more interesting after a while. The story examines the value of home, and sentimental connections to places, and also the double standard that allows men to 'disgrace' women by getting them pregnant, while shunning the impregnated women. I am not really drawn to these longer family saga/romantic drama classics, but this one was readable and I did enjoy it.
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

3 stars

I seem to just not get on very well with E.M. Forster. This is the third of his books that I rate three stars. There are parts and odds and ends that I find quite profound and enjoyable. There is especially one monologue held towards the end of the book that almost had me jumping up in standing ovation. Forster was clearly a proponent of women's rights and challenging the status quo. Although he sometimes looses sight of his supporting cast, and they are clearly all just there to drive the narrative and development of his upper middleclass women. I find his main characters impenetrable and unrelatable. Their motivations are a mystery to me, and and they act in very strange ways.

Read 2015 The novel examines England at the turn of the century through three families; the Wilcox (representing Imperialism), the Schlegels (½ German siblings who pursue cultural of reading, education, art and philosophy), and the Basts (a young couple representing the lower middle class). Through these three groups, the author shows us Edwardian England social conduct and manners, the upper class idealism and materialism, and the effects of poverty on the poor.

I enjoyed the story and so far consider it the best of E. M Forster though I've only read one other, A Room With a View. The Schlegel sisters were such strong female characters to the point that I wondered how a male author of the time could write so well of these women. This was a contemporary novel of its time. Women suffrage was something that was discussed but not realized. Meg and Helen were both well read, intellectuals who enjoyed philosophy and expressing their opinions. I liked Meg best and found Helen a bit annoying but in the end, she came through. Meg is more conventional and Helen more adventurous and emotional.

This is the first of the Forster books that I have read that are on the list.
I started off expecting the usual look at family struggles and class structures in England around 1910. It is certainly that. The two sisters who are the main characters were not completely comprehensible to me given the era difference and their own variance from the expected English norms of that time. However, slowly I came to really appreciate the subtle and unique thinking of Meg and how she made decisions that were life changing for those around her and yet contained an adherence to a strong, solid moral code. She made mistakes and misjudgments but managed to find a way to right them to some extent. The ending of the book was really unexpected to me and I so appreciated Meg standing up for herself and her sister. Also, as someone with two sisters, I loved that the sisters recognized the hold that they had on each other and that through all the drama, the love could not be questioned or diminished. Like Kristel, I was amazed that a male author took such a feminist stance and yet was disappointed that one of the woman, a lower class and "unworthy" one was simply disregarded in the end. However, overall, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Read in 2022
I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I have heard of the book for many years but did not know what it was about. The story surrounds two families; the Wilcoxes and the Schlegels. The themes are about wealth, poverty, feminism, communication and relationships. E.M. Forster was a modern man indeed. The book was written in 1910 and I think it was way ahead of its time. I also watched the PBS 4 part series in tandem with the book which increased my love of the story. I look forward to reading more books by E.M. Forster.

I'm with Leni, the feminism aside, I did not like this as a novel. Its a novel full of characters, but really pretty light on character development. I think that is because no one really felt all that real to me. There was a fair amount of exegesis about peoples' characters, but that isn't the same thing as creating a convincing portrait. Henry, who is set up as the foil and anti-hero for Margaret is actually the most believable and consistent of the lot. I have not read a lot of Forster, but also in a Room with a View, the women are rather vague, so I suppose its rather unfortunate that he wants to center women so particularly when he has so little feel for them. Only Margarets fiery speech towards the end sizzled, but to what effect? None, it was the fact that his son did wrong by his own standards that felled Henry, and Margaret went right back to tending him and forgiving him, all of that water under the bridge, without him ever having to really acknowledge her.