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numerous_bees's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Maurice is a very dated book, even the author admits that in the endnote, written around 1960 (the manuscript itself was written in 1913-14). It is a period piece, full of social connections, assumptions, and restrictions that are alien to a 21st C reader, and it can sometimes be hard to fathom the meaning or motivation behind some of the characters' decisions and actions.
That said, it is a deeply true, authentic story of being closeted that feels entirely relatable, depsite being over 100 years old.
Maurice is a painfully lonely, isolated, and often unlikeable man who struggles towards happiness, raging agianst his inability to find or secure it, lashing out against the people around him who often have nothing to do with his pain, and trying to numb himself to his emotional needs. Despite his snobbishness and unpleasantness, I rooted for him throughout and was not disappointed by the ending.
That said, it is a deeply true, authentic story of being closeted that feels entirely relatable, depsite being over 100 years old.
Maurice is a painfully lonely, isolated, and often unlikeable man who struggles towards happiness, raging agianst his inability to find or secure it, lashing out against the people around him who often have nothing to do with his pain, and trying to numb himself to his emotional needs. Despite his snobbishness and unpleasantness, I rooted for him throughout and was not disappointed by the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
raix's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Really impactful.
The older language was at times hard for me to understand, so there were certain things I didn't quite pick up on until I sought out clarification outside the text. Maurice isn't exactly a sympathetic character (misogynist, incredibly snobby about class), and yet I really felt for him in regards to his sexuality and his later struggles with (and acceptance of) it.
For a book like this to have been written in 1912 I found really groundbreaking (I'm sure others have said this as well, but I didn't expect it to be as groundbreaking as it was). For a gay character to have been written at that time who ends up fully accepting himself was really touching to read. I mean, that happy ending...! It was like something that could be commonplace in the modern day. I think we often talk of historical queers as having not had the same understanding of things as we do now, but this book shows that's not always the case. Maurice's realization that it's him who is free, and the others who are caged by society's rules... well, my generations version of that was the All The Things She Said music video. The world truly does belong to us.
This review is all over the place, but I found myself affected by this book much more than I expected to. The ending left me unbearably happy, is all I can say.
The older language was at times hard for me to understand, so there were certain things I didn't quite pick up on until I sought out clarification outside the text. Maurice isn't exactly a sympathetic character (misogynist, incredibly snobby about class), and yet I really felt for him in regards to his sexuality and his later struggles with (and acceptance of) it.
For a book like this to have been written in 1912 I found really groundbreaking (I'm sure others have said this as well, but I didn't expect it to be as groundbreaking as it was). For a gay character to have been written at that time who ends up fully accepting himself was really touching to read. I mean, that happy ending...! It was like something that could be commonplace in the modern day. I think we often talk of historical queers as having not had the same understanding of things as we do now, but this book shows that's not always the case. Maurice's realization that it's him who is free, and the others who are caged by society's rules... well, my generations version of that was the All The Things She Said music video. The world truly does belong to us.
This review is all over the place, but I found myself affected by this book much more than I expected to. The ending left me unbearably happy, is all I can say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, and Classism
constructism's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
this book was written 111 years ago in 1913. its writing style was a welcome challenge wrapped up in a compelling cast of characters who are not good people, but when together, are able to be beautifully defiant of their times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Medical content
thesoftestcowboy's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
therecoveringbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Classism
thatchickengirl23's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: Death, Sexual content, and Medical content
yilliun's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Giovanni’s Room but make it English and more academia vibes.
So tender and sweet while set against the harsh realities of LGBTQ+ relationships of the late 19th/ early 20th centuries.
So tender and sweet while set against the harsh realities of LGBTQ+ relationships of the late 19th/ early 20th centuries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Minor: Sexual content
bethanwx's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Though a significant novel in queer literature, I found this hard to love. The pressure of compulsory heterosexuality from society is felt throughout and Maurice's growth to embrace who he is is satisfying. However, I found none of the characters particularly likeable and Alec feels unwritten.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book pleasantly surprised me.
I originally added Maurice to my TBR because of the interesting background story, that's what got my attention. Forster wrote this in 1914 but it wasn't released until 1971, the year after he died. This book is so explicitly gay that it couldn't safely be published in its time.
Maurice is about a gay man in the early 1910s, struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, and dealing with queer romance. The novel also explores themes of religion and class.
I won't spoil anything, but the specific detail that is apparently the main reason why it couldn't be published – it's just sad. And ironic.it has a happy ending, or at least can be interpreted as happy. Apparently this would have been more acceptable if it had ended with suicide... how awful!
As I was putting together a loose TBR for autumn (it's only the end of August, I'm an early prepper), I took this book into consideration, reading the first few pages to help me decide. Well, I was instantly pulled in, only taking a few days to finish the whole book. Maurice is pretty fast paced for a classic. The writing style is sweet at times, but not too wordy. It also feels very... contemporary for its time, if that makes sense? Rather than having an almost universal "old timey" feel. It's kind of like how The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton absolutely screams 1960s, with certain terms and phrases that don't show up much in other eras, as far as I know.
In addition to the writing style being more fast paced and accessible than I had expected, Maurice is surprising because it's even more explicitly gay than I had imagined. If I were around in the 1970s and read this, I'd be gobsmacked! Can't even imagine what it would have been like if it were released in 1914. Of course, this is very tame compared to more recent pieces of queer media, thankfully we've come a long way since the early 1900s.
Now, let's get into what I didn't like. While I think the somewhat plain language is okay, I felt that the plot needed more room to breathe, maybe ~20 pages longer to flesh things out better? Particularly the last act, which was originally even shorter?! Not everyone will agree, but it uses a certain trope that is a huge turn off for me as a reader. The trope:insta-love, aka love at first sight. Ack! It's just not believable, and makes it hard to identify with the characters, especially with a new character being introduced late on in the story. I'm a slow burn fan
Overall, I didn't connect deeply with this book, but it was entertaining to read, and I appreciate its uniqueness.
I would recommend Maurice if you like: queer history, academic settings, morally gray characters, ambiguous endings.
I originally added Maurice to my TBR because of the interesting background story, that's what got my attention. Forster wrote this in 1914 but it wasn't released until 1971, the year after he died. This book is so explicitly gay that it couldn't safely be published in its time.
Maurice is about a gay man in the early 1910s, struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, and dealing with queer romance. The novel also explores themes of religion and class.
I won't spoil anything, but the specific detail that is apparently the main reason why it couldn't be published – it's just sad. And ironic.
As I was putting together a loose TBR for autumn (it's only the end of August, I'm an early prepper), I took this book into consideration, reading the first few pages to help me decide. Well, I was instantly pulled in, only taking a few days to finish the whole book. Maurice is pretty fast paced for a classic. The writing style is sweet at times, but not too wordy. It also feels very... contemporary for its time, if that makes sense? Rather than having an almost universal "old timey" feel. It's kind of like how The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton absolutely screams 1960s, with certain terms and phrases that don't show up much in other eras, as far as I know.
In addition to the writing style being more fast paced and accessible than I had expected, Maurice is surprising because it's even more explicitly gay than I had imagined. If I were around in the 1970s and read this, I'd be gobsmacked! Can't even imagine what it would have been like if it were released in 1914. Of course, this is very tame compared to more recent pieces of queer media, thankfully we've come a long way since the early 1900s.
Now, let's get into what I didn't like. While I think the somewhat plain language is okay, I felt that the plot needed more room to breathe, maybe ~20 pages longer to flesh things out better? Particularly the last act, which was originally even shorter?! Not everyone will agree, but it uses a certain trope that is a huge turn off for me as a reader. The trope:
Overall, I didn't connect deeply with this book, but it was entertaining to read, and I appreciate its uniqueness.
I would recommend Maurice if you like: queer history, academic settings, morally gray characters, ambiguous endings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content and Classism
toksoplazmozy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Classism