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fantine729's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read for the depictions of British gentry in the early 20th century, but the characters, while vivid enough, were kind of flat and the book never really went anywhere, though there were plenty of opportunities for it to do so. Sturgis seemed to stand on the precipice of a climax, but then would shy away, so there was never any resulting denouement. The ending was also rather lackluster, despite my being unable to put the book down for the preceding 50 or so pages; it just abruptly (and most unsatisfactorily) defervesced.
zefrog's review
3.0
This is a mordant and unsympathetic portrayal of late Victorian aristocracy. Edmund White and, more importantly, EM Forster, are both fans, with Forster calling it a classic. Yet you've probably have never heard of it or its author.
In many ways it is old-fashioned and there are some unpalatable elements to a modern reader (particularly the misogyny that infuse the whole book, sprinkled with a dusting of anti-semitism). The main characters themselves are not likeable at best (Saintly, the anti-hero, is a bit of a wet fool), downright unpleasant at worst (most of the other protagonists are scheming liars). Under the merciless pen of Sturgis, Saintly's life is little than a long successions of personal miseries inflicted on him by his acquaintances but most of all by himself.
Despite all this, as Forster notes in the 1935 afterword tacked unto my edition, the book retains and energy that will likely keep you reading till the end. I also liked the style of writing very much. It is elegant and rich, and serves Sturgis' wry and devastating wit very well.
A warning though, this is not an easy read, the sort of book you can take up and put down constantly. It requires commitment from the reader, an investment of time, to release its treasures. But that it certainly will do if you give it the attention it deserves.
NB: Although listed at LGBT fiction, there is not trace of any LGBT interest in the book, other than the fact that the author was gay himself.
In many ways it is old-fashioned and there are some unpalatable elements to a modern reader (particularly the misogyny that infuse the whole book, sprinkled with a dusting of anti-semitism). The main characters themselves are not likeable at best (Saintly, the anti-hero, is a bit of a wet fool), downright unpleasant at worst (most of the other protagonists are scheming liars). Under the merciless pen of Sturgis, Saintly's life is little than a long successions of personal miseries inflicted on him by his acquaintances but most of all by himself.
Despite all this, as Forster notes in the 1935 afterword tacked unto my edition, the book retains and energy that will likely keep you reading till the end. I also liked the style of writing very much. It is elegant and rich, and serves Sturgis' wry and devastating wit very well.
A warning though, this is not an easy read, the sort of book you can take up and put down constantly. It requires commitment from the reader, an investment of time, to release its treasures. But that it certainly will do if you give it the attention it deserves.
NB: Although listed at LGBT fiction, there is not trace of any LGBT interest in the book, other than the fact that the author was gay himself.
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