Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Maurice by E.M. Forster

71 reviews

booklover129's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed the reflective nature of this book and the way that the characters developed over time. If you’re looking for a story that revolves around the emotions and complicated life of the main character this is the book for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

josiee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

fanboyriot's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

♡ Gay Classic

♡ Good Humor

♡ Angst with a Happy Ending 

I genuinely didn’t think I would like this book as much as I did.  I’m not a big classics reader, but this book was so lovely and truly iconic for its time.  Also the fact a gay book written in 1913 has a happy ending leaves no excuses for the gay books here in 2024 being so sad.

The author really brought the characters to life so well, setting up the perfect atmosphere, and writing a compelling queer love story before it was accepted to do so.  It’s a shame the author didn’t get to see how well loved his book would be.

Spice Level: 🌶️ (1/5)

Angst Level: 💧💧💧 (3/5)

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 1972

Rep: Gay (Main Character), Queer (Side Characters)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Sexism, and Sexual content

24carrotgay's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

This book was absolutely beautiful. I watched the movie prior to reading because I didn’t know it was based on a book.

I got particularly attached to Clive and Maurice’s relationship watching the movie, but the book left me endlessly happy for Maurice and Alec! I think the best part of the happy ending, though, was that Maurice finally accepted himself and rejected society.

I so admire E.M. Forester— I think everyone should read this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Pedophilia

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

I was very positively surprised by this book.

I must say, that my hopes weren't too high after The Picture of Dorian Gray was so infamously known for it's early homosexual representation, which imprisoned Oscar Wilde. Although the uncensored version includes a tirade of a clearly homosexual confession, the remaining book was really just Dorian being corrupted by his own and others' obsession with his beauty. Which is gay, but not homosexual.
However, that was not the case here! Forster did not try to hide a clearly homosexual story behind something else — it's very explicitly about Maurice's journey to finding himself.

It's written well and it was surprisingly efficient for a classic. I often feel like classics have a lot of ... irrelevant tirades to show off the author's education and intellect. I was never bored or felt urgent to skip parts during this read.

As for the characters, they all clearly have issues. I do love that there are flawed characters here. Maurice is explicitly described as a dumbass every other chapter.
And on that note, I find the balance with humour especially pleasant. The dialogue is very realistic to me and I like how it reflects human nature.

It's not too long and it was a great read to get me out of a reading slump.
It's noteworthy that I'm a gay man myself and might find the book slightly more engaging than others, but anyone with an interest in classical romance dramas would enjoy this. It has the forbidden love, classism, the internal conflict, betrayal, and all that, only with two men rather than a woman and a man.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, and Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

erynlasbelin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

I love this book more than I could possibly say.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Outing, and Classism

Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Medical content

saskia_ej's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts

thepictureofromance's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The writing in this book was superb, I like Forester's style and he's really quite funny!!

I unfortunately am giving it three stars rather than four because every single character in this story is a bit of a twat, Although I enjoyed the story, I could not find myself rooting for any of them and having a character I can truly root for is what takes a story from good to great in my opinion!!

I was also frustrated at the ending. I am not a fan of books with open endings. Is it so hard to give proper closure?!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

jwells's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective

Eye opening to read about what life was really like, for a gay man a century ago. There's no way to find a community, not even language for him to describe himself. It's a very honest book, especially considering when it was written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

torismazarine's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

Moderate: Grief and Outing

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, and Sexual content