bigfrickingswede's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
melanie_page's review
2.0
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels. Please click the link to see covers of the original French work!
I would like to thank Sophfronia Scott for sending me a copy of her latest novel, Unforgivable Love, published by William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins. The expected publishing date is September 26, 2017.
At 509 pages, Unforgivable Love is a long novel full of tangles of relationships among several characters. The chapters are told from different points of view, all in 3rd-person past tense. I was very excited to read this book; it’s a re-telling of a famous novel, but now with an all-black cast set in Harlem.
As you can perhaps tell from the synopsis, Unforgivable Love is a big book of plots and schemes and sex. The characters aren’t what you’ve maybe read about the black community in Harlem in the 1940s because these are wealthy people. They don’t have to work; they mainly try to demonstrate who has the most power. Knowing that, I still had difficulty accepting the characters’ motivations.
In the first few pages, we find a teen-aged Mae with her best friend, Alice. Quickly we learn the girls are sexually attracted to each other, but because Alice has unprotected sexual relationships with men, she’s pregnant, which causes her mother to marry her off. This moment impacts Mae forever, increasing her resolve to never be under someone else’s control — including men.
Later, in her early 30s, Mae acknowledges she does want to be loved, despite her cold, calculating personality. But it’s all the work her mother did to make her a “respectable” heiress — trips to Europe, making sure Mae is beautiful, looking for the right kind of man to marry Mae — that has kept Mae safe from real love. Now, this moment is 32 pages into a 509-page book. Thus, readers need Mae thinking about her motivations throughout the book. She narrates her own chapters, so the opportunity is there. Without this thread of complex emotions running throughout the book, it’s easy for Mae to fall into a stereotype of villain.
Val was the most confusing character. He swings from emotional to cold, loving Elizabeth and/or Mae. I never knew which way he was going to go, but I knew the 3rd-person narrator wanted me to dislike him. He ruins women’s lives to “amuse” himself. He makes “subtle calculations” and “measured out time carefully.” He’s like a snake when he lets a woman “marinate in her escape, or what she thought was her escape.” Yet he’s happy that “there were always a few bribable people who had access to her.” I was uncomfortable with a character who both stalks and loves the same woman, but more importantly, I didn’t understand his feelings.
While I didn’t understand the characters, Sophfronia Scott’s writing was so spot on that in places it warmed me. Young Cecily, who spent a year with her great-aunt and uncle in North Carolina to keep her out of the city and “respectable,” learns to plant and sow, bake and feed, feel the rhythms of nature and her body. Thus, when she’s sexually excited, it’s so fitting that:
Unforgivable Love is a reimagining that slowly burns until closes with a bang. There are tangles that remain knotted because it’s unclear how they were tangled in the first place, and the goal to have revenge through manipulated sexual relationships was exhausting to this reader. I gather it makes a difference if you have read the 1782 French classic epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos first.
I would like to thank Sophfronia Scott for sending me a copy of her latest novel, Unforgivable Love, published by William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins. The expected publishing date is September 26, 2017.
At 509 pages, Unforgivable Love is a long novel full of tangles of relationships among several characters. The chapters are told from different points of view, all in 3rd-person past tense. I was very excited to read this book; it’s a re-telling of a famous novel, but now with an all-black cast set in Harlem.
As you can perhaps tell from the synopsis, Unforgivable Love is a big book of plots and schemes and sex. The characters aren’t what you’ve maybe read about the black community in Harlem in the 1940s because these are wealthy people. They don’t have to work; they mainly try to demonstrate who has the most power. Knowing that, I still had difficulty accepting the characters’ motivations.
In the first few pages, we find a teen-aged Mae with her best friend, Alice. Quickly we learn the girls are sexually attracted to each other, but because Alice has unprotected sexual relationships with men, she’s pregnant, which causes her mother to marry her off. This moment impacts Mae forever, increasing her resolve to never be under someone else’s control — including men.
Later, in her early 30s, Mae acknowledges she does want to be loved, despite her cold, calculating personality. But it’s all the work her mother did to make her a “respectable” heiress — trips to Europe, making sure Mae is beautiful, looking for the right kind of man to marry Mae — that has kept Mae safe from real love. Now, this moment is 32 pages into a 509-page book. Thus, readers need Mae thinking about her motivations throughout the book. She narrates her own chapters, so the opportunity is there. Without this thread of complex emotions running throughout the book, it’s easy for Mae to fall into a stereotype of villain.
Val was the most confusing character. He swings from emotional to cold, loving Elizabeth and/or Mae. I never knew which way he was going to go, but I knew the 3rd-person narrator wanted me to dislike him. He ruins women’s lives to “amuse” himself. He makes “subtle calculations” and “measured out time carefully.” He’s like a snake when he lets a woman “marinate in her escape, or what she thought was her escape.” Yet he’s happy that “there were always a few bribable people who had access to her.” I was uncomfortable with a character who both stalks and loves the same woman, but more importantly, I didn’t understand his feelings.
While I didn’t understand the characters, Sophfronia Scott’s writing was so spot on that in places it warmed me. Young Cecily, who spent a year with her great-aunt and uncle in North Carolina to keep her out of the city and “respectable,” learns to plant and sow, bake and feed, feel the rhythms of nature and her body. Thus, when she’s sexually excited, it’s so fitting that:
When she reached the pinnacle of this exquisite ache she felt herself burst open like a bag of sugar…Most of these shining moments come from Cecily’s chapters. After a time in North Carolina, Cecily compares her new location to her home in Harlem. In the city:
. . . there seemed to be fewer ways to mark time here, aside from a clock and a calendar. . . . The flowers couldn’t tell her the season because the ones she saw were often forced to bloom out of time. . . The people here were always insisting on their own time — time for drinks, time for church, time for dinner, time to dance, time to play bridge.And Harlem did seem like a rather odd setting for Unforgivable Love. Characters spend the most time in the country at Val’s wealthy aunt’s house. Based on everything I know about Harlem, I wanted to read more about what it was like to come off the back of the Harlem Renaissance, which ended in the mid-1930s. In the 1940s, there were riots and black politicians elected. At one point, Elizabeth has a debate with Val about the book The Street by Ann Petry, published in 1946. It’s contemporary, set in post-WWII Harlem. Elizabeth makes connections to the book, but Val says there are none because the main character doesn’t represent their Harlem lives. And I agreed. Even the one club the characters in Harlem visit is cut off from the rest of the city’s culture and people. I wanted more signs that I was in Harlem through characters reflecting on why Harlem is unique. Otherwise, any city would do.
Unforgivable Love is a reimagining that slowly burns until closes with a bang. There are tangles that remain knotted because it’s unclear how they were tangled in the first place, and the goal to have revenge through manipulated sexual relationships was exhausting to this reader. I gather it makes a difference if you have read the 1782 French classic epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos first.
stormqueen's review
4.0
I'm so glad I found this book. I absolutely adore all retellings of Dangerous Liaisons; it's a story that lends itself particularly well to almost any time period and there's been adaptations set in 18th century Korea, late 1990s Manhattan prep schools, 1920s Brazil. Sophfronia Scott sets Unforgivable Love in 1940s Harlem to great effect.
As in Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Unforgivable Love mainly focuses on the machinations of two of society's most privileged, most beautiful and most cunning - the Vicomte de Valmont, here named Val Jackson, and the Marquise de Merteuil, called here Mae Malveaux.
I adored Mae Malveaux immediately. I've always had a penchant for prickly, complex female characters and Mae is certainly that. I know that Les Liaisons Dangereuse is often cited as an exploration of human malice, a morality tale about the corruption of the rich. Like the other adaptations, Unforgivable Love is also about the affluent, the upper echelons of society that has its own rules, but I've always found that what attracted me to the story, to so many adaptations, is that underneath it all, it's about gender. Merteuil's character is always frustrated by the freedom, sexual and otherwise, that maleness grants Valmont, yet she will use the very chains that bind her to destroy other women.
Unforgivable Love alternates viewpoints between Mae and Val as well as the intelligent yet inexperienced Elizabeth Townsend (Madame de Tourvel) and the young and naive Cecily Vaughan (Cécile de Volanges). I enjoyed Val's chapters, particularly the way Scott describes how meticulous he is, in business as well as in his sexual conquests, though I prefered the women's chapters. I enjoyed that each woman's perspective felt unique, their voices elegantly crafted by Scott.
What I liked about the perspectives of Elizabeth, Cecily and Mae was that they were all such disparate women. Mae is beyond complicated, intensely beautiful, clever, cunning, and worst of all, viciously empty, whereas Elizabeth is open, compassionate, devout, and ultimately changeable. Cécile de Volanges can often be played as a joke, the ingenue who lacks the depth and cleverness of the older women, but what I loved about Cecily's chapters is that Scott didn't do that at all. Cecily is young, naive, perhaps wholly without a calculating mind, but she's solid. She watches and learns, she finds peace in the simple labour that makes her body feel strong and roots her to the earth.
I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that there's enough of a deviation that even ardent fans won't find it a complete retread. All in all, I really enjoyed Unforgivable Love and I'm looking forward to more of Sophfronia Scott's novels.
As in Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Unforgivable Love mainly focuses on the machinations of two of society's most privileged, most beautiful and most cunning - the Vicomte de Valmont, here named Val Jackson, and the Marquise de Merteuil, called here Mae Malveaux.
I adored Mae Malveaux immediately. I've always had a penchant for prickly, complex female characters and Mae is certainly that. I know that Les Liaisons Dangereuse is often cited as an exploration of human malice, a morality tale about the corruption of the rich. Like the other adaptations, Unforgivable Love is also about the affluent, the upper echelons of society that has its own rules, but I've always found that what attracted me to the story, to so many adaptations, is that underneath it all, it's about gender. Merteuil's character is always frustrated by the freedom, sexual and otherwise, that maleness grants Valmont, yet she will use the very chains that bind her to destroy other women.
Unforgivable Love alternates viewpoints between Mae and Val as well as the intelligent yet inexperienced Elizabeth Townsend (Madame de Tourvel) and the young and naive Cecily Vaughan (Cécile de Volanges). I enjoyed Val's chapters, particularly the way Scott describes how meticulous he is, in business as well as in his sexual conquests, though I prefered the women's chapters. I enjoyed that each woman's perspective felt unique, their voices elegantly crafted by Scott.
What I liked about the perspectives of Elizabeth, Cecily and Mae was that they were all such disparate women. Mae is beyond complicated, intensely beautiful, clever, cunning, and worst of all, viciously empty, whereas Elizabeth is open, compassionate, devout, and ultimately changeable. Cécile de Volanges can often be played as a joke, the ingenue who lacks the depth and cleverness of the older women, but what I loved about Cecily's chapters is that Scott didn't do that at all. Cecily is young, naive, perhaps wholly without a calculating mind, but she's solid. She watches and learns, she finds peace in the simple labour that makes her body feel strong and roots her to the earth.
I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that there's enough of a deviation that even ardent fans won't find it a complete retread. All in all, I really enjoyed Unforgivable Love and I'm looking forward to more of Sophfronia Scott's novels.
libscote's review
4.0
If you are interested in a retelling of Dangerous Liaisons that is well-written, this is for you. The late 1940s Harlem setting is just icing on the cake.
becquebooks's review
4.0
This is a re-telling of Dangerous Liaisons set in 1940s Harlem. I picked it up because Sophronia Scott came to speak at the Lawrence Public Library and I'm glad I found it. (The only other adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons I'm familiar with is Cruel Intentions, so this was different, but in a good way). Hopefully, someone has the movie rights to this because I think it would be a lot of fun.
arisbookcorner's review
2.0
IQ "There are people in this world who can never get other people to love them the way they want to be loved. It’s like they spend their whole lives on their knees in the dirt in the woods trying to light a wet match. Can’t spark nothing. The more they can’t, the more they want to burn the whole forest to the ground."
I've never read the original DANGEROUS LIAiSONS but I have seen (and loved) Cruel Intentions so I was excited for this retelling. This rarely happens but for once I'm really surprised by the fact that I didn't love this book and so many others did. I think the pace of the novel is what truly turned me off, it crawls along, a languid pace that reflects the story's primary setting of the summer but quickly bored me. It's also very long which makes the slow pace even more unbearable. The writing is lush and finely detailed, the story elegantly told and described. But at the same time it can be overbearing, the characters prone to theatrical monologues and overly formal inner musings that further slow things down and caused me to roll my eyes.
But I wholeheartedly agree that the premise is where the book shines, setting this novel in 1940s upper class Black Harlem society truly sets it apart both from other retellings and other novels period. The outfits and settings are as sexy as the characters, the clothes heavily described (almost too much so but I enjoyed that bit of detail personally) and many of the scenes take place in jazz clubs or exquisite mansions. It's historical fiction that works within the time frame, it doesn't try to be too modern but still manages to be revolutionary about its treatment of sexuality. And the characters are compelling, at turns innocent, vicious and always complicated. The only exception being Elizabeth's husband who remains a hazy figure we only hear about, it was never clear to me if they truly had a happy but long distance marriage or if they were actually incompatible. Excluding him most of the characters have rich inner lives that have resulted in their horrible decisions.
UNFORGIVABLE LOVE is a retelling that is fresh and engaging, it provides an originally steamy story with a healthy attitude towards sexuality, particularly for the female characters. There are so many glorious historical details as well, no aspect of 1940s Black life is left untouched from the fashion to baseball to pop culture of the time. I think it would have been a lot more of fun read for me if I didn't keep putting it down out of boredom around page 300 or so. But it was a wild ride with complex twisted characters and a sad ending I didn't expect.
"Though she still loved him, every day she didn't see him was a day in which she had learned something, even if it was just a minuscule thing, about living without him." (Elizabeth, 356)
I've never read the original DANGEROUS LIAiSONS but I have seen (and loved) Cruel Intentions so I was excited for this retelling. This rarely happens but for once I'm really surprised by the fact that I didn't love this book and so many others did. I think the pace of the novel is what truly turned me off, it crawls along, a languid pace that reflects the story's primary setting of the summer but quickly bored me. It's also very long which makes the slow pace even more unbearable. The writing is lush and finely detailed, the story elegantly told and described. But at the same time it can be overbearing, the characters prone to theatrical monologues and overly formal inner musings that further slow things down and caused me to roll my eyes.
But I wholeheartedly agree that the premise is where the book shines, setting this novel in 1940s upper class Black Harlem society truly sets it apart both from other retellings and other novels period. The outfits and settings are as sexy as the characters, the clothes heavily described (almost too much so but I enjoyed that bit of detail personally) and many of the scenes take place in jazz clubs or exquisite mansions. It's historical fiction that works within the time frame, it doesn't try to be too modern but still manages to be revolutionary about its treatment of sexuality. And the characters are compelling, at turns innocent, vicious and always complicated. The only exception being Elizabeth's husband who remains a hazy figure we only hear about, it was never clear to me if they truly had a happy but long distance marriage or if they were actually incompatible. Excluding him most of the characters have rich inner lives that have resulted in their horrible decisions.
UNFORGIVABLE LOVE is a retelling that is fresh and engaging, it provides an originally steamy story with a healthy attitude towards sexuality, particularly for the female characters. There are so many glorious historical details as well, no aspect of 1940s Black life is left untouched from the fashion to baseball to pop culture of the time. I think it would have been a lot more of fun read for me if I didn't keep putting it down out of boredom around page 300 or so. But it was a wild ride with complex twisted characters and a sad ending I didn't expect.
"Though she still loved him, every day she didn't see him was a day in which she had learned something, even if it was just a minuscule thing, about living without him." (Elizabeth, 356)
dc7's review
2.0
DANGEROUS LIAISONS is one of my favourite classics and I know countless of its many retellings. Unfortunately this wasn't one of the best. It's not a bad book per se, but I found it quite slow. There was a lot of superfluous description that could have been cut to help with the pacing.
In the original, Merteuil (here: Mae) was my favourite character, she is a marvellous villain. Unfortunately this retelling didn't quite capture her character as well as some of the other adaptations did.
That being said, the book is a good read for anyone who loves DANGEROUS LIAISONS and doesn't mind a slower paced story. The writing style is good and the story follows the original fairly closely.
In the original, Merteuil (here: Mae) was my favourite character, she is a marvellous villain. Unfortunately this retelling didn't quite capture her character as well as some of the other adaptations did.
That being said, the book is a good read for anyone who loves DANGEROUS LIAISONS and doesn't mind a slower paced story. The writing style is good and the story follows the original fairly closely.
readermonica's review
4.0
I read this one as part of the #ReadSoulLit reading for 2019.
Really enjoyable retelling. Nicely written, atmospheric, with characters that are really well developed. I especially liked they way Scott made all of the character's secrets, desires, and weaknesses so interconnected, that the way the story unfolds seemed inevitable.
I enjoyed this one so much that I am going to order All I Need to Get By. It sounds like a page turner too.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Really enjoyable retelling. Nicely written, atmospheric, with characters that are really well developed. I especially liked they way Scott made all of the character's secrets, desires, and weaknesses so interconnected, that the way the story unfolds seemed inevitable.
I enjoyed this one so much that I am going to order All I Need to Get By. It sounds like a page turner too.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
cortingbooks's review
3.0
*Book Club Read*
I’ve seen the movie Cruel Intentions so I knew what was going to happen.
I’ve seen the movie Cruel Intentions so I knew what was going to happen.