kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
the joys of a new madeleine l'engle book being published after her death! i cannot seem to review l'engle without using the word "quaint." but it was. quaint. 20 year old elizabeth is spending the summer as a theater apprentice on the shore. there's a delightful campy feeling, with all the theater employees living in a big cottage and going to get hamburgers at diners and whatnot. unfortunately i'm not that keen on stage people myself (chalk it up to my high schools insufferable "theatre troupe") so i couldn't get into the rehearsal scenes.
elizabeth falls in love with an older actor, kurt, who calls her "liebchen" and admires her for her childlike innocence. this is a recurring theme in many of l'engle's novels, one that i might find creepy if i did not unabashedly LOVE HER WORK SO MUCH. kurt is kind of slimy but it is elizabeth's first love so everything is very important and romantic.
unfortunately, the book's ending was absolute suckitude.
elizabeth falls in love with an older actor, kurt, who calls her "liebchen" and admires her for her childlike innocence. this is a recurring theme in many of l'engle's novels, one that i might find creepy if i did not unabashedly LOVE HER WORK SO MUCH. kurt is kind of slimy but it is elizabeth's first love so everything is very important and romantic.
unfortunately, the book's ending was absolute suckitude.
nextbestcoast's review against another edition
3.0
Madeleine L'Engle is just my favorite person in the world. I'm on a mission to read all her books, and this one didn't disappoint.
aminowrimo's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty calming, slow read. I enjoyed following along with Elizabeth's time at the theater. The characters were well-sketched and I enjoyed the dialog, as well as the look at the 1940s from another perspective.
dja777's review against another edition
2.0
I was interested to read this because it was L'Engle's first book, but if it had been by anyone else, I probably would have put it down without finishing it. I found it dull and slow, with spots of interest. L'Engle definitely improved as a writer over the years.
katepowellshine's review against another edition
3.0
It was exciting to discover a new L'Engle book, but I can see why it wasn't published during her lifetime. Enjoyable, but certainly not her best.
julialou's review against another edition
3.0
Joys of Love is a very early L'Engle book and thus a little different from her others. It's supposed to be somewhat autobiographical. It's about theater and full of Shakespeare references, so I felt at home. It wasn't my favorite book I've read by her, but I enjoyed reading it and finished it very quickly. The end made me happy, and I'm glad to have read it, though I probably wouldn't leap to recommend it to someone who didn't already like Madeline L'Engle.
erinknocke's review against another edition
5.0
Madeleine L'Engle was one of my favorite authors growing up. I saw this book in a discount book store, never having heard of it.
It is a fast, simple read. It rang true with real, authentic life. I feel that I get the most out of books like this. This, to me, means that parts dragged, there was a good mix of positive and negative things happening to the characters as such is life, and the characters had actual conversations. Love starts off sweet, but doesn't always last.
This wasn't an action-packed, dramatic mess. It actually only covers four days of Liz's summer adventure at the theatre. L'Engle invites you into the characters lives. The book isn't the entirety of their lives.
You can always spot one of L'Engle's "villains" from a mile away. Kurt is no exception. But in this book, the characters question why people are the way they are. There is a beautiful conversation between Liz and Ditta. The whole conversation is genius. But they talk about Kurt and Liz. They talk about why Kurt is the way he is. And even though it doesn't excuse the way he acts, you understand him. He is brought to a human level, for the reader and Liz. A lesson we should all take to heart. No one is a jerk for no reason.
Ben is also one those characters that I would want to meet in real life, fall in love with, and live out a life with. He's unique, full of personality, talent, awkwardness, self-awareness, etc. The list could go on. If L'Engle was alive today, I would beg her to write out Ben and Liz's story. Any girl would love to be loved with such assuredness and humor.
It is a fast, simple read. It rang true with real, authentic life. I feel that I get the most out of books like this. This, to me, means that parts dragged, there was a good mix of positive and negative things happening to the characters as such is life, and the characters had actual conversations. Love starts off sweet, but doesn't always last.
This wasn't an action-packed, dramatic mess. It actually only covers four days of Liz's summer adventure at the theatre. L'Engle invites you into the characters lives. The book isn't the entirety of their lives.
You can always spot one of L'Engle's "villains" from a mile away. Kurt is no exception. But in this book, the characters question why people are the way they are. There is a beautiful conversation between Liz and Ditta. The whole conversation is genius. But they talk about Kurt and Liz. They talk about why Kurt is the way he is. And even though it doesn't excuse the way he acts, you understand him. He is brought to a human level, for the reader and Liz. A lesson we should all take to heart. No one is a jerk for no reason.
Ben is also one those characters that I would want to meet in real life, fall in love with, and live out a life with. He's unique, full of personality, talent, awkwardness, self-awareness, etc. The list could go on. If L'Engle was alive today, I would beg her to write out Ben and Liz's story. Any girl would love to be loved with such assuredness and humor.
erikars's review against another edition
4.0
L'Engle wrote this book in the 1940s as her goodbye to the theater. She was not able to get it published at the time, but a couple of years ago, her granddaughters worked to get it published. This book is a sweet, well written story. It is the perfect sort of book for a rainy day or a sick day when you want something entertaining and pleasant, but you do not want to tax your brain. I enjoyed it greatly.