Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

* a note from the blogger *

Woohoo! One month into the challenge and I have 10 books checked off my list! Hopefully, if I keep up this pace, I'll be in good shape for August :)

* end of note *


When I was younger, my favorite series in the world was Anne of Green Gables. This was partly because I related to the lively young orphan who was full of wonder and curiosity about the world. But mostly, I loved Anne because the series seemed less like a novel, and more like a biography. Yes, her life had ups and downs, but there was no overlying story-arc or climax. The work was character-driven rather than plot-driven, and that was what I loved most of all.

Now, maybe it's because I've gotten older, but the character-driven Sons and Lovers just didn't do it for me. The entire time I was waiting for all of the rising action to go somewhere. I kept waiting for the exposition to make way for the conflict. And by the time I finally had created in my mind the illusion of a plot structure, the book was already over. I had already spent two days begging Mr. Lawrence to show me what I was supposed to get out of his work.

Alas, Mr. Lawrence didn't answer my prayers. What he did give me, however, was a slew of three-dimensional characters with emotional-attachment issues. Seriously -- all of the characters had trouble loving one another. The mother, Gertrude, wavers between disdain for her newborn son Paul and teary-eyed passion. When Paul grows up, he fluctuates between knowing that Miriam is the only woman he would marry, to hating her for understanding him so well. His older brother, William, describes his feelings for his new fiancée as such: "When I'm away from her I don't care for her a bit. I shouldn't care if I never saw her again. But, then, when I'm with her in the evenings I am awfully fond of her."

All of these emotional problems stem from the horrible marriage of Gertrude and Walter Morel. Walter comes home drunk from the mines every night and yells at his wife and kids. Surprisingly, this leads to everyone in his family hating his guts (one of his children prays that he dies in a mining explosion). While I felt for the plight of his family, they never actively tried to change his behavior, which bothered me.

At any rate, Sons and Lovers is not a book I particularly recommend for those who aren't hardcore D.H. Lawrence fans. For those who are, this book was apparently slightly autobiographical, so you might enjoy it more.


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