The main reason I wasn't thrilled with this book was due to a selfish impulse: If I can't stand, relate to or wrap my head around the main character, it's going to be an uphill battle with a lot of eye rolling. I was with Connie, slowly withering away, during the first part of her marriage, but once she morphed into that apathetic, selfish and lost little child act, I was gone. Her sudden clingy nature and constant need for reassurance was repulsive, and completely discredited her "lost soul" feelings to me. It turned what could have been a metaphysical awakening, or even at least a passionate love story, into a mismatched, awkward dance.
Mellors made the book for me. This is the only Lawrence book I've touched, and I was glad of that until the end. I knew what Mellors was trying to relay to Connie the whole time (what Clifford tried to intimate obnoxiously at times), that love and fighting for your happiness vs. the world order is exhausting and often a losing battle. It's best not to rattle the cage. I think seeing her family behind her was the only thing that blew some fight and belief into him. I don't think if the book continued they would have had a happy ending but an inevitable one, more like the one Mellors had originally predicted.
Lawrence wasn't necessarily delivering quiet pessimism, he was presenting the age old reality of the working class viewpoint in stark contrast to the boring surrealism and insatiability of the upper class, a viewpoint they could never comprehend. This was my favorite aspect of the book. Second favorite part is definitely when Clifford makes Connie come home after passively aggressively requesting a divorce, but don't get me started!
All in all, took me awhile to wrap my head around and I thought the story would be a lot different walking into it. Not letting my disappointment get the best of me though, a good read.
Mellors made the book for me. This is the only Lawrence book I've touched, and I was glad of that until the end. I knew what Mellors was trying to relay to Connie the whole time (what Clifford tried to intimate obnoxiously at times), that love and fighting for your happiness vs. the world order is exhausting and often a losing battle. It's best not to rattle the cage. I think seeing her family behind her was the only thing that blew some fight and belief into him. I don't think if the book continued they would have had a happy ending but an inevitable one, more like the one Mellors had originally predicted.
Lawrence wasn't necessarily delivering quiet pessimism, he was presenting the age old reality of the working class viewpoint in stark contrast to the boring surrealism and insatiability of the upper class, a viewpoint they could never comprehend. This was my favorite aspect of the book. Second favorite part is definitely when Clifford makes Connie come home after passively aggressively requesting a divorce, but don't get me started!
All in all, took me awhile to wrap my head around and I thought the story would be a lot different walking into it. Not letting my disappointment get the best of me though, a good read.
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