Women in Love

More mature but more cynical view of the relationship between men and women. A little difficult to get into because of the ironic tone and the more unpleasant characters but very rewarding as we come to know both the men and women better. The narrator is very good and seems to understand the central women characters. Brilliant prose. Disturbing but thought-provoking ending.

I am a huge fan of Lawrence. This book was tough to read due to the emotional intensity, but I couldn't stop. Engrossing. I was addicted to the story and of course the characters. The exquisitely beautiful language often juxtaposed uncomfortably with desperate human situations.

I liked the development and description of the 4 main characters, Gudrun and Ursula, the eponymous women in love; and Gerald and Rupert (or Birkin, as he is invariably called in the book), the men with whom they are in love.

However, I think it is important not to imagine that the phrase'...in love' brings with it any form of happiness. It most certainly doesn't in this book.

Lawrence is an author who examines the thoughts and feelings of his characters in minute and scrupulous detail. It can be hard to follow the trail of his thinking.

I think that Lawrence can labour a point, even to the extent of repeating phrases over and over in order to do so. His writing is dense and dark throughout, with little relief from the misery of his characters.

The wonderfully described scene of Gerald Crich and Rupert Birkin wrestling naked in front of the fire at Shortlands. Lawrence brings this alive with colour and introspective revelation. I also remember it was a marvellous scene in the Ken Russell movie of the same name.

I am so glad that I listened to it again. I read the book when I was much younger and cannot imagine what I got out of it then! It is such a dark and sombre story written in a style to match - as I listened I could feel the despair of each character when they were thinking about love.

Dear reader, do not think that this book will help you to understand women or love except from Lawrence's point of view, And that point of view is dark, dark, dark.

Although I enjoyed this story and was very surprised by the ending, the book was *very* difficult for me to get through. The author liked to go into quite a bit of detail regarding clothing, environment, etc. and I often found myself not paying any attention when the detailed descriptions started. I am glad that I read it but was also very glad when it was over.

I am a poor reader so I love being read to

All of it

The sisters

The sisters

No

I know that Lawrence is a contested author, but personally, I think that he has undeservedly lost his place among the great modernists. Yes, he can be somewhat too serious at times, and needs to be read with an open mind, but if you choose to give him a chance, you are in for a treat - a dark, pessimistic treat. Benjamin does a wonderful job reading. This is the British version of the novel, so it has a few of the alternations that Lawrence's publisher demanded, if that matters to you.