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susieseeker's review against another edition
3.0
What a very difficult book for me to assess. Did I finish it? Yes. Did I "like" it? No, not really. So I give it 3 stars, which in this case indicates my ambivalence.
Part of my ambivalence arises from the fact that I did not like nor did I empathize with any of the characters.
And to have this book described by some as a "romantic comedy"? Well, it was certainly not that for me.
This book has also been described as pushing the veil away to allow us to see into the lives of the aristocracy in Britain in 1929. And given that premise, Mitford has done a fabulous job. The problem for me is that I don't like what I see.
I looked up the word "dissolute" to see if it fit my reaction and it does. Here we have a society composed of individuals who are self-centred, don't have to work, do nothing of value, are hedonistic, have far too much money (usually inherited), are complete snobs, are uneducated (particularly the girls) - I could go on.
Mitford has described it well and often amusingly - but under the amusement, on my part, is disgust with this segment of society.
Hence my ambivalence. I won't be reading any other books along this line.
Part of my ambivalence arises from the fact that I did not like nor did I empathize with any of the characters.
And to have this book described by some as a "romantic comedy"? Well, it was certainly not that for me.
This book has also been described as pushing the veil away to allow us to see into the lives of the aristocracy in Britain in 1929. And given that premise, Mitford has done a fabulous job. The problem for me is that I don't like what I see.
I looked up the word "dissolute" to see if it fit my reaction and it does. Here we have a society composed of individuals who are self-centred, don't have to work, do nothing of value, are hedonistic, have far too much money (usually inherited), are complete snobs, are uneducated (particularly the girls) - I could go on.
Mitford has described it well and often amusingly - but under the amusement, on my part, is disgust with this segment of society.
Hence my ambivalence. I won't be reading any other books along this line.
jennpellecchia's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, but not as good as The Pursuit of Love. There's not a ton of story here for 300 pages, but some of the more minor characters are super-hilarious.
What this book does have that a lot of others of the era don't is an out-and-proud gay character who shows up and does an honest-to-goodness Queer Eye makeover on one of the characters. Now it seems pretty cliched, but it's fun to read those scenes and imagine people in the early '50s being like "Whaaaat?"
What this book does have that a lot of others of the era don't is an out-and-proud gay character who shows up and does an honest-to-goodness Queer Eye makeover on one of the characters. Now it seems pretty cliched, but it's fun to read those scenes and imagine people in the early '50s being like "Whaaaat?"
andrealectora's review against another edition
2.0
2'5.
Menuda decepción! El primero me encantó y este me pareció una novelita. A lo mejor es que no me pilló en buen momento, pero se me hizo cuesta arriba. Simpática, repiten personajes de la primera, pero no es ni lo incisiva ni inteligente que es "The pursuit of love".
Menuda decepción! El primero me encantó y este me pareció una novelita. A lo mejor es que no me pilló en buen momento, pero se me hizo cuesta arriba. Simpática, repiten personajes de la primera, pero no es ni lo incisiva ni inteligente que es "The pursuit of love".
sonacederquist's review against another edition
4.0
Like the first book in the series, utterly quirky and fun.
natnewman's review against another edition
5.0
Yes it's all just fluff, but gosh it's *good* fluff. I had moments where I laughed out loud, little unexpected moments of crassness in amongst all that genteelness. Gold!
mgespi's review against another edition
5.0
23/2022 Qué delicia, de verdad, qué maravilla es leer a Nancy Mitford.
Te mueres de risa con las salidas de Jassy y Victoria mientras mantienes la intriga de qué pasará con la boda o no de Polly y todo el costumbrismo de ingleses ricos que es tan entretenido.
Mi favorito sigue siendo el tío Matthew a pesar de todo. Fanny sigue siendo narradora de la vida de los demás, aunque como ya es una adulta casada y respetable va tomando las riendas en algunos temas.
Cómo se ríe de ese odio tan inglés por todo lo que no es inglés, todo pegas cada vez que alguno de ellos está en el extranjero…y qué manera de resumir tramas que considera poco interesantes.
El mes que viene seguimos con No se lo digas a Alfred.
Te mueres de risa con las salidas de Jassy y Victoria mientras mantienes la intriga de qué pasará con la boda o no de Polly y todo el costumbrismo de ingleses ricos que es tan entretenido.
Mi favorito sigue siendo el tío Matthew a pesar de todo. Fanny sigue siendo narradora de la vida de los demás, aunque como ya es una adulta casada y respetable va tomando las riendas en algunos temas.
Cómo se ríe de ese odio tan inglés por todo lo que no es inglés, todo pegas cada vez que alguno de ellos está en el extranjero…y qué manera de resumir tramas que considera poco interesantes.
El mes que viene seguimos con No se lo digas a Alfred.
bananna's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chloeh8168's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
santorini's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
Really awful people. It's a testament to Nancy Mitford's writing that I still found it very readable and entertaining.