jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
Edward Morgan (EM) Forster achieved fame as a novelist, writer of a series of books that looked at the mores of the English. Morgan (as he was known) had a more complex private life. Morgan was born and brought up in comfortable circumstances, well-educated and flirting with writing whilst not gainfully employed and living with his mother. He took on the role of a tutor to young Indian man, in England for education, and his life came into focus. Morgan falls in love and confronts his sexuality, despite rejection he forms a close friendship that spans many years. Morgan spends the war in Alexandria and begins his first real affair with a local man but his writing is on hold. His subsequent visits to India shape his writing and his relationships.
It is difficult to place this book, it is not a pure biography but neither is it fiction, much of the dialogue is taken from diaries and contemporaneous accounts but much is also imagined. In fact this book reads like a novel and is much the better for it. Galgut is an accomplished writer and the story is believable for anyone who doesn't know the life and works of E M Forster.
It is difficult to place this book, it is not a pure biography but neither is it fiction, much of the dialogue is taken from diaries and contemporaneous accounts but much is also imagined. In fact this book reads like a novel and is much the better for it. Galgut is an accomplished writer and the story is believable for anyone who doesn't know the life and works of E M Forster.
ebussa47's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The book kind of got off to a rough start…it felt a bit awkward at first. However, what started off rough ended up becoming a beautiful story that ended up really resonating with me. I feel like this is a good post-pandemic read, as it explores themes of isolation and loneliness really well.
rosielazar1's review
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
sgenheden's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-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? No
3.0
annabella82's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the idea of this book (fictionalizing the life of writer E.M. Forster). I liked this idea because you're not stuck reading things you may already know about about a certain person...there's room to play with and ideas to work with.
The thing I found with this novel, though beautifully written, was that it started off a little too slowly. I had a hard time getting into the story and actually enjoying it for what it was.
The thing I found with this novel, though beautifully written, was that it started off a little too slowly. I had a hard time getting into the story and actually enjoying it for what it was.
lgiegerich's review against another edition
4.0
Fairly compelling, especially considering the plot was basically, "E.M. Forster is gay & sad that no one wants to be gay with him. Oh and sometimes he writes novels."
kate_swan's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
barry_x's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn't my cup of tea at all. A frustrating novel about a frustrated man. It's a novel where nothing happens and of course, I guess that's the point - nothing happens in the life of E.M. Forster. Now I get that he was sexually frustrated and felt an out of sorts, outsider whether in polite English society or as a stranger in a strange land in Egypt or India but gosh this novel is boring.
Galgut has presented a fictionalised account of E.M. Forster and his writing of 'A Passage To India', a novel that was started and abandoned a number of times. However, the 'writing of the novel' is an afterthought to an exploration of Forster's sexuality.
Now, full disclosure - my relationship with Forster isn't too hot. When I was in my teens I was trying to devour as much classic literature as possible, and that involved film adaptations too of 'classic' novels. I hired 'Howards End' from the video store....and didn't make it to the end. Later, at University I had a lecture and seminar about a Forster novel, I can't remember which. I do remember starting the novel, deciding I wasn't going to finish and probably went and got drunk or something.....
So I haven't read 'A Passage To India' and subsequently I think quite a lot of the nuances in this book are completely lost on me - I suspect people fond of the novel are going to have a much more rewarding time here.
Most of the novel is Forster embarking on a series of 'not quite' homosexual relationships with men. I say 'not quite' as it is clear throughout that Forster is desperate for love and is finding it exceptionally difficult to reconcile his feelings with who he is.
It's a little unfair to be reading this through a modern lens - part of me is screaming for Forster to come out, fall in love, or at least not fall in love have some good sex with someone who matters. I find homophobia quite ridiculous and I have no time for bigots and I think my views are largely echoed throughout much of Western liberal society (I accept this is not the case for anyone). I guess because I don't give a shit about what people do with their bodies and affections I found the novel frustrating - if only we had Grindr in the 1920's....
So, the most interesting parts of the book are the early explorations of Forster's sexuality. Of course if Forster had of come out he would likely have been sent to jail and his life ruined - I found this aspect really sad. The novel is full of probably gay men who have to compromise themselves by marrying a woman or disguising their sexuality as something else. Again, I say probably because Forster rarely does anything about his inclinations and when he does it occasionally backfires.
Another interesting idea I found, and this must have been common for 'probably gay' men of the period is that there is a lot of masculine bonding, it is more than brotherly, it is romantic but it rarely expresses itself past a touch of a hand, a hug or a poem or letter written. I certainly understand these actions, as a security measure if not for anything else. There are a number of men who Forster is having a 'probably gay' relationship with but what is interesting about them is that in many cases there is a clear separation between the deep, emotional love two people have for each other and the likeyhood that they would engage in lustful behaviour. So we've a bunch of men who care for each other, acknowledge their affection and love but shun at the 'shame of sodomy'.
There is a lot of button touching, stray hands, rebuffals but not much else going on. It does make me think that Forster is an unreliable narrator, the novel is presented from his perspective and I do wonder if some of his male friends are actually straight and he has misconstrued something. I also find the sexual encounters deeply unfulfilling (like Forster, clearly). They are over to quick and typically display an unequal use / abuse of power. I'm not convinced that Forster's two great loves on different continents are exactly as described.
I was finding the exploration of these ideas interesting early in the novel but after a while I got sick of it and just thought 'get on with it'. I got repetitive and boring and like some of the characters I wanted to jack him off to get him to stop wittering on. I didn't find Forster a sympathetic character by the end, I found he got a free pass from Galgut in what in our modern eyes would be considered a deeply abusive relationship. I also think there is a nod and a wink to paedophilia in the book with a certain glorification of it. It isn't clear and for me that makes it worse, it's almost as though there is some plausible denialbility going on. (Part of this stems from my anger at bigoted scum who draw the links between homosexuality and paedophilia to easily - in the book there were a few too many references to 'catamites' and 'boys').
I appreciated a reminder of just how difficult it was for gay men and women less than 50 years ago and I'm thankful that my gay friends can live their lives as they choose without the 'nods and winks' of a generation ago or the threat of imprisonment a few years ago. As a novel however, it does very little for me.
Galgut has presented a fictionalised account of E.M. Forster and his writing of 'A Passage To India', a novel that was started and abandoned a number of times. However, the 'writing of the novel' is an afterthought to an exploration of Forster's sexuality.
Now, full disclosure - my relationship with Forster isn't too hot. When I was in my teens I was trying to devour as much classic literature as possible, and that involved film adaptations too of 'classic' novels. I hired 'Howards End' from the video store....and didn't make it to the end. Later, at University I had a lecture and seminar about a Forster novel, I can't remember which. I do remember starting the novel, deciding I wasn't going to finish and probably went and got drunk or something.....
So I haven't read 'A Passage To India' and subsequently I think quite a lot of the nuances in this book are completely lost on me - I suspect people fond of the novel are going to have a much more rewarding time here.
Most of the novel is Forster embarking on a series of 'not quite' homosexual relationships with men. I say 'not quite' as it is clear throughout that Forster is desperate for love and is finding it exceptionally difficult to reconcile his feelings with who he is.
It's a little unfair to be reading this through a modern lens - part of me is screaming for Forster to come out, fall in love, or at least not fall in love have some good sex with someone who matters. I find homophobia quite ridiculous and I have no time for bigots and I think my views are largely echoed throughout much of Western liberal society (I accept this is not the case for anyone). I guess because I don't give a shit about what people do with their bodies and affections I found the novel frustrating - if only we had Grindr in the 1920's....
So, the most interesting parts of the book are the early explorations of Forster's sexuality. Of course if Forster had of come out he would likely have been sent to jail and his life ruined - I found this aspect really sad. The novel is full of probably gay men who have to compromise themselves by marrying a woman or disguising their sexuality as something else. Again, I say probably because Forster rarely does anything about his inclinations and when he does it occasionally backfires.
Another interesting idea I found, and this must have been common for 'probably gay' men of the period is that there is a lot of masculine bonding, it is more than brotherly, it is romantic but it rarely expresses itself past a touch of a hand, a hug or a poem or letter written. I certainly understand these actions, as a security measure if not for anything else. There are a number of men who Forster is having a 'probably gay' relationship with but what is interesting about them is that in many cases there is a clear separation between the deep, emotional love two people have for each other and the likeyhood that they would engage in lustful behaviour. So we've a bunch of men who care for each other, acknowledge their affection and love but shun at the 'shame of sodomy'.
There is a lot of button touching, stray hands, rebuffals but not much else going on. It does make me think that Forster is an unreliable narrator, the novel is presented from his perspective and I do wonder if some of his male friends are actually straight and he has misconstrued something. I also find the sexual encounters deeply unfulfilling (like Forster, clearly). They are over to quick and typically display an unequal use / abuse of power. I'm not convinced that Forster's two great loves on different continents are exactly as described.
I was finding the exploration of these ideas interesting early in the novel but after a while I got sick of it and just thought 'get on with it'. I got repetitive and boring and like some of the characters I wanted to jack him off to get him to stop wittering on. I didn't find Forster a sympathetic character by the end, I found he got a free pass from Galgut in what in our modern eyes would be considered a deeply abusive relationship. I also think there is a nod and a wink to paedophilia in the book with a certain glorification of it. It isn't clear and for me that makes it worse, it's almost as though there is some plausible denialbility going on. (Part of this stems from my anger at bigoted scum who draw the links between homosexuality and paedophilia to easily - in the book there were a few too many references to 'catamites' and 'boys').
I appreciated a reminder of just how difficult it was for gay men and women less than 50 years ago and I'm thankful that my gay friends can live their lives as they choose without the 'nods and winks' of a generation ago or the threat of imprisonment a few years ago. As a novel however, it does very little for me.
francesgardner's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5