A review by elenajohansen
The Man of Property by John Galsworthy
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I had never heard of this book before getting the sixth book in the series as part of a gift-subscription box for vintage paperbacks. I bring this up to explain why I would read it at all when it's so far out of my comfort zone, and in some ways so far in to my anti-comfort zones: classics by stuffy old white men about stuffy old white men problems, stories about rich people bemoaning their petty lives, tales of infidelity. I'm on record throughout many book reviews over the course of many years as hating many examples of each of those types of stories.
And yet here, I found myself enjoying this. I can't even say "in spite" of what the book is about, and on the surface, it is the opening of a sprawling rich-family saga, it is about propriety and society and infidelity, and it is definitely about petty people and their petty problems.
Somehow it is also a poignant examination of beauty, a reflective piece about old age and family legacy, and (for its time) a surprisingly sensitive take on that old rich-people chestnut, the loveless marriage.
It really helped, from my modern perspective, that the narrative was about upper-middle-class Brits of the early 20th century, but also had a bit of a cheeky disdain for them and their ways, even if they were the focus of the story. I'm an American who has read plenty of British literature but has not come across this gently ironic tone before, which made it more palatable to read a story I probably would have otherwise passed by, if it had been too serious about itself.
It also helped that the language, at times, was beautiful; even if I was listening to an edition of the audiobook whose narrator had such an impossibly posh accent that whenever he did a character voice it sounded bizarrely unreal. (Again, I'm American, but this isn't me casting aspersions at the library of British accents in general. My accent is a pretty bland Midwestern, which is sort of considered "standard," but I'm aware some of our regional accents are just as bizarre to any ear not used to hearing them.)
I can't point to any one amazing thing about this novel that would make it easy to recommend, or even anything to more solidly explain why I enjoyed it. But I did, much to my own surprise. I'll keep reading the series and hope it doesn't fall off a cliff before I get to that sixth book sitting on my shelf.
And yet here, I found myself enjoying this. I can't even say "in spite" of what the book is about, and on the surface, it is the opening of a sprawling rich-family saga, it is about propriety and society and infidelity, and it is definitely about petty people and their petty problems.
Somehow it is also a poignant examination of beauty, a reflective piece about old age and family legacy, and (for its time) a surprisingly sensitive take on that old rich-people chestnut, the loveless marriage.
It really helped, from my modern perspective, that the narrative was about upper-middle-class Brits of the early 20th century, but also had a bit of a cheeky disdain for them and their ways, even if they were the focus of the story. I'm an American who has read plenty of British literature but has not come across this gently ironic tone before, which made it more palatable to read a story I probably would have otherwise passed by, if it had been too serious about itself.
It also helped that the language, at times, was beautiful; even if I was listening to an edition of the audiobook whose narrator had such an impossibly posh accent that whenever he did a character voice it sounded bizarrely unreal. (Again, I'm American, but this isn't me casting aspersions at the library of British accents in general. My accent is a pretty bland Midwestern, which is sort of considered "standard," but I'm aware some of our regional accents are just as bizarre to any ear not used to hearing them.)
I can't point to any one amazing thing about this novel that would make it easy to recommend, or even anything to more solidly explain why I enjoyed it. But I did, much to my own surprise. I'll keep reading the series and hope it doesn't fall off a cliff before I get to that sixth book sitting on my shelf.