Sons and Lovers

By: D. H. Lawrence

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence's first major novel, was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long.

When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children's lives. Their second son, Paul, knows that he must struggle for independence if he is not to repeat his parents' failure. Lawrence's powerful description of Paul's single-minded efforts to define himself sexually and emotionally through relationships with two women---the innocent, old-fashioned Miriam Leivers and the experienced, provocatively modern Clara Dawes---makes this a novel as much for the beginning of the 21st century as it was for the beginning of the 20th.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

Classic

A little boring for me, but it’s a classic. Focus on the 1913 writing style.

Beautiful and lingering

Lawrence had a mastery over the omniscient point of view, and it shines here in his first novel.

Like Lady Chatterly’s Lover, the first quarter of the story dips your heart into a very specific place, and then the rest of the story is a contrast built around it.

Sons and Lovers is a worthy read, and like all other D.H. Lawrence stories, it sticks with you for a long time: the journey he takes you on.

Great beginning but 3/3rd in, boring

The Earle descriptions and lives are fabulous, but once the story involves the love life (and implied incestuous feelings ) of the son Paul, the story is interminably boring. Who cares? Simon Vance, however, is superb, as always, in his narration.

DH Lawrence Classic

I enjoyed the storyline, the character development, and the rich prose of DHL. This was my second book of his. The narration was performed beautifully as well.

Amazing and poetic!

Great parable on a mother's influence on boys exploration of masculinity and romance. The narrator is great and fits the deep tone of the story.