Reviews

Aspects of Love by David Garnett

lisab1991's review

3.0

It’s been a few years since I saw this musical live on stage (the Dutch cast was fab), but the one thing that I vividly remembered, was the number of people that left during intermission.

And for some reason, I can’t think of this book/story without hearing Michael Ball’s end notes of Love Changes Everything in my ear..

But enough about ALW’s musical, let’s talk about the book.

There’s not much plot, but that is to be expected in a novella of about 180 pages. Besides, the title explains it all. What struck me, is that with every disaster, champagne seems to be the answer.. which was rather comical.

It sure was an entertaining read!

changeablelandscape's review

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was 14 when the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Aspects of Love came out -- based on this book -- and I was absolutely in love with it even though it was full of things I didn't understand.  I got a copy of the book as a gift soon after, and read it over and over and over through a number of years; it was also full of things I didn't understand, being from 1955 and written by someone born in 1892 who was full of the assumptions of an upper-class white British guy.   Eventually I discovered the Bloomsbury Group and learned all kinds of facts about Garnett and many other people and time passed and now, finally, I have read this book again!   And -- wow.    It is very Freudian in its understandings of people and how they relate to each other and the role of sexual desire in human life; there's only one type of love (sexual) and when parents love their children they of course deny the sexual part of their love, but it has to come out as jealousy and posessiveness, which is why fathers don't want their daughters to have boyfriends, etc etc etc.     I am not sure what Garnett thought he was doing here, or if he really believed this in his personal life, but he did marry his male ex-lover's daughter, so.....

I am not sorry I read it one last time with a lot of attention and care, but having done so, I think I am safely done with it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

There are several adult/minor relationships here, one between a 17-year-old boy and a mid-20s woman (which is sexual) and one between a man in his early 30s and a 13-year-old girl, which involves sexual attraction but no actual sex. None of this is written in an explicit way, but they are central to the book.

pbobrit's review

4.0

An interesting story, considering Bunny Garnett and Angelica Garnett's history. An interesting love triangle that moves through and various parts of France. I've never seen the musical that this loosely based on but I'd imagine it has to be very loosely based. As usual Garnett's prose is easy to read and enjoyable. This book was a page turner. One's for Bloomsbury fans as will as fans of a good yarn.

evaaardbei's review

3.0

Well well well, what should I say about this book? I've never read such a thing before. Soooooo much drama, so many different angles on love (hence the title, hm). Some of them (okay, all) relationships made me cringe at times but I also felt much respect, appreciation and selfless sacrifice going on between these people. I don't feel like I really got to know the characters though, the book was one big rollercoaster of events but not so much of emotions. I can imagine though how this makes a great dramatic musical but I guess as a book for me it's a 6,5/10. Would give it a 6/10 but it's set in France and I'm an unapologetic Francophile.

sushree's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

john_bizzell's review against another edition

3.0

Given the number of oscillating romances crammed into its 182 pages, it’s not surprising that there’s not much emotional depth to this book. More than that, the language is so odd it feels like it was translated into English by someone who kept missing the point. It left me cold.

wormz's review

2.0

david garnett, who married his ex-boyfriend’s illegitimate daughter (and planned to do so ever since she was a baby), writing a novel about a guy having feelings for the 13 year old daughter of his ex-girlfriend and his uncle: nobody will ever suspect a thing

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

magus_eden's review

1.0

Bleh.