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Verre

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About Verre

  • Birthday 07/31/1990

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  1. Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers in 1913, and much of Freud's psychoanalytical work was published just around the turn of the centry, and the latter's impact on the former is significant. The first part dives straight into the minds of the characters, and uses a very nice metaphor for Victorian society: the terraced houses all have immaculate front rooms and neat white fences, but the wives stand in the kitchen doorframes at the back, and see the children play in all the muck and mud. Getrude, a lower-middle class woman, and Walter Morel fall in love, but his inability to take action when she needs support means that their loves dwindles and goes out. So, she uses her eldest son William as a husband, and he supports the family. After his untimely death, she ends up using the second son Paul, who most the novel is about. Paul represents a younger D H Lawrence, as he is an artist where Lawrence is a novelist, and after Paul experiences bereavement, there is a tell-tale sentence, "The pen stopped writing". As I mentioned earlier, Freud's influence is strong, Paul clearly has an Oedipus complex, his mother is dominating him because they have meshed at an early age. However, Lawrence was interested in the chemical sexual attraction, and there is an interesting dialogue between Paul and a lover, Miriam, comparing the benefits and problems of lust and metaphysical love. To conclude, Lawrence's work is a literary masterpiece no doubt, the writing is extremely heart-felt and articulate towards the end, where Lawrence is clearly writing from experience; but many of the conversations are unneccesarily awkward and intense, and emotion changes too rapidly. Verdict: Along with the ranks of Henry James, Shakespeare and Woolf? No, but definitely worth a read.
  2. Yes, I've read all of them. The style is definitely lacking in some places, and you really have to be a cigar-smoking man in the 1930s to get all of the references, but they're very enjoyable books. The first line in casino royale is "James Bond lit his eigtieth cigarette of the day". Although writing the Bond books was probably a bit of an ego trip for Flemming, you have to love a character who drinks 20+ bourbons per day and magnetically attracts the most attractive girl in the bar. Goldfinger is my favourite, so if you haven't read any, that's where I'd start. I know they doesn't adhere to modern feminist standards, but I think the Bond books are best when they're not taken seriously.
  3. It seems well-written, and the introduction by Ackroyd is well worth the
  4. Verre

    Hi!

    Hello everybody! My name is Ben, and I am studying English Literature, History, French, Maths and Further Maths at sixth form. I'd like to read English at university, and hope to go to Bristol, Warwick, Durham or possibly Oxford. I enjoy reading poetry, essays like those of George Orwell, contemporary fiction and reviews. In my spare time, I play the piano, and take long walks in the park with my fantastic girlfriend. This seems like a really great forum, and I look forward to arguing with you all on lots of different matters.
  5. A fan I am not, but I did enjoy 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'. It seemed very well-written, and remained an engaging piece of literature. Compare it to something like Iain McEwan's 'The Wasp Factory', and you can see how the language is better. And, if you finished the book, the end is fantastically climactic, at the absolute apex of the novel. But, I have not read any other of her books. Has she written anything else worth reading after this, or has her sparkler gone out?
  6. How many books do I own? Well, being a complete bibliophile - I feel better at the sight of a filled bookcase - I have quite a few. 1100-ish is my guess, covering 2 floor-to-ceiling bookcases, but I am merely a sixth former, so I expect my collection will grow. But, I'm sure there must be someone out there with a collection that far surpasses mine. Any challengers?
  7. Reading a line is impossible unless I've cleared up everything I need to do, i.e. homework, tidy something, phone someone etc., but if you settle down in a quiet tidy room with a book you enjoy, I think the results will suprise you. Motivating myself to keep reading something if I can't really be bothered can be difficult, but generally I keep to 2 principles. 1. This book is rubbish, I can't wait to have it behind me. 2. I love this book, and want to digest it and see what happens, plot twists, developments, etc.. So, try that, Adam, and post up the result.
  8. I get back from college, and have normally finished school work by 5, and two thirds of weekdays I'm home alone. Then, I normally read from 5 to 12ish with an 2 hour-ish break for dinner with my eccentric parents and some msn. So, 250 pages in a day.
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