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elliecatmorgan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
keoc333's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
Even though it was written almost a hundred years ago, this book was super accessible. I thought it was interesting how unlike other novels that dealt with gay protagonists, Maurice almost exclusively focused on the social frustrations of being gay and out, especially in the 1910s. I didn't find Maurice's feelings dated at all; he was extremely relatable and in many ways lovable. He was flawed, but he was somewhat I got to know intimately and understand by the book's ending, which I loved.
My only problem with the book is that it seemed unfocused at parts--I don't really understand now whether the book's central focus was Maurice and Clive's relationship, or if it was about Maurice dealing with his sexuality in general... I also wasn't particularly wowed by the writing or anything else. However, I was wowed by how mature and skilled Forster is when it came to his characters.
I wish half-stars existed because Maurice was super close to a 5 in many ways--super enjoyable read, extremely thoughtful, great writing.
My only problem with the book is that it seemed unfocused at parts--I don't really understand now whether the book's central focus was Maurice and Clive's relationship, or if it was about Maurice dealing with his sexuality in general... I also wasn't particularly wowed by the writing or anything else. However, I was wowed by how mature and skilled Forster is when it came to his characters.
I wish half-stars existed because Maurice was super close to a 5 in many ways--super enjoyable read, extremely thoughtful, great writing.
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was very positively surprised by this book.
I must say, that my hopes weren't too high after The Picture of Dorian Gray was so infamously known for it's early homosexual representation, which imprisoned Oscar Wilde. Although the uncensored version includes a tirade of a clearly homosexual confession, the remaining book was really just Dorian being corrupted by his own and others' obsession with his beauty. Which is gay, but not homosexual.
However, that was not the case here! Forster did not try to hide a clearly homosexual story behind something else — it's very explicitly about Maurice's journey to finding himself.
It's written well and it was surprisingly efficient for a classic. I often feel like classics have a lot of ... irrelevant tirades to show off the author's education and intellect. I was never bored or felt urgent to skip parts during this read.
As for the characters, they all clearly have issues. I do love that there are flawed characters here. Maurice is explicitly described as a dumbass every other chapter.
And on that note, I find the balance with humour especially pleasant. The dialogue is very realistic to me and I like how it reflects human nature.
It's not too long and it was a great read to get me out of a reading slump.
It's noteworthy that I'm a gay man myself and might find the book slightly more engaging than others, but anyone with an interest in classical romance dramas would enjoy this. It has the forbidden love, classism, the internal conflict, betrayal, and all that, only with two men rather than a woman and a man.
I must say, that my hopes weren't too high after The Picture of Dorian Gray was so infamously known for it's early homosexual representation, which imprisoned Oscar Wilde. Although the uncensored version includes a tirade of a clearly homosexual confession, the remaining book was really just Dorian being corrupted by his own and others' obsession with his beauty. Which is gay, but not homosexual.
However, that was not the case here! Forster did not try to hide a clearly homosexual story behind something else — it's very explicitly about Maurice's journey to finding himself.
It's written well and it was surprisingly efficient for a classic. I often feel like classics have a lot of ... irrelevant tirades to show off the author's education and intellect. I was never bored or felt urgent to skip parts during this read.
As for the characters, they all clearly have issues. I do love that there are flawed characters here. Maurice is explicitly described as a dumbass every other chapter.
And on that note, I find the balance with humour especially pleasant. The dialogue is very realistic to me and I like how it reflects human nature.
It's not too long and it was a great read to get me out of a reading slump.
It's noteworthy that I'm a gay man myself and might find the book slightly more engaging than others, but anyone with an interest in classical romance dramas would enjoy this. It has the forbidden love, classism, the internal conflict, betrayal, and all that, only with two men rather than a woman and a man.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Classism, Medical trauma, Homophobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Biphobia, and Death of parent
ezrasupremacy's review against another edition
4.0
this was not what i expected it to be, and i am certainly glad of it. as far as classics go this was very accessible, and i did rather devour it (though it is also not particularly long, so that’s neither here nor there).
this was a very lovely and painful and real look at the england of this time, and i did especially enjoy and was made to think long and hard during passages describing how us homosexuals were treated back then, what happened to us, and especially the 1960 writing of forster’s that was included in the back helped me put things into perspective. it was extremely heartbreaking to read the perspective and hopelessness regarding gay acceptance that i feel today mirrored in a gay man’s writing from the early 20th century. to quote a passage of the book that has stuck with me, “It comes to this then: there always have been people like me and always will be, and generally they have been persecuted.” somehow this sentence, more than any other, made me feel connected to maurice and in turk to forster. we have always been here. i wish to see more and more of how we have been, and i also wish to see how we will be.
alas.
this was a very lovely and painful and real look at the england of this time, and i did especially enjoy and was made to think long and hard during passages describing how us homosexuals were treated back then, what happened to us, and especially the 1960 writing of forster’s that was included in the back helped me put things into perspective. it was extremely heartbreaking to read the perspective and hopelessness regarding gay acceptance that i feel today mirrored in a gay man’s writing from the early 20th century. to quote a passage of the book that has stuck with me, “It comes to this then: there always have been people like me and always will be, and generally they have been persecuted.” somehow this sentence, more than any other, made me feel connected to maurice and in turk to forster. we have always been here. i wish to see more and more of how we have been, and i also wish to see how we will be.
alas.
franwyyazg's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
valealle23's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
could not put this down - so enthralling and beautiful. i thought a room with a view was amazing but i think i enjoyed maurice more, perhaps because the relationship in a room seemed more idealized and Platonic in the philosophical sense of the word, whereas maurice seems real. that could just be bc forster is gay and can better explain the feelings behind his actions, but they’re also just very different novels and really show his range despite the gorgeously congruent writing style.
i loved the first half of the book, but i do think that it could’ve been longer or at the very least his relationship with alec could’ve been more drawn out, which is the only reason im not giving it 5 stars. i was so confused as to what happened with clive, but i think maurice was too which makes sense. i like the borderline stream of consciousness style without delving too deep into it. i went from loving clive to hating him, which im not sure how i feel about as the change in him seemed quite dramatic. i would’ve liked to see alec and maurice interact more, at least in small, less hostile ways before they say i love you within what a week? of finding each other.
anyways this book is amazing and really opened up my eyes to being gay in the early 1900s - if they can have a happy ending stories now should too. also bi representation in 1912?!? love to see it. the meditations on class too are masterful, as they aren’t exactly necessary but they develop the story perfectly. i now need to read all of forester’s works
some quotes to end with bc i could talk forever lol
“Something had to be said and settled. O for the night that was ending, for the sleep and the wakefulness, the toughness and tenderness mixed, the sweet temper, the safety in darkness. Would such a night ever return?”
“Masses of work awaited him. Nothing had changed in his life. Nothing remained in it. He was back with his loneliness as it had been before Clive, as it was after Clive, and would now be for ever. He had failed, and that wasn't the saddest: he had seen Alec fail. In a way they were one person. Love had failed. Love was an emotion through which you occasionally enjoyed yourself. It could not do things.”
“It was all so complicated. When love flies it is remembered not as love but as something else. Blessed are the uneducated, who forget it entirely, and are never conscious of folly or pruriency in the past, of long aimless conversations.”
i loved the first half of the book, but i do think that it could’ve been longer or at the very least his relationship with alec could’ve been more drawn out, which is the only reason im not giving it 5 stars. i was so confused as to what happened with clive, but i think maurice was too which makes sense. i like the borderline stream of consciousness style without delving too deep into it. i went from loving clive to hating him, which im not sure how i feel about as the change in him seemed quite dramatic. i would’ve liked to see alec and maurice interact more, at least in small, less hostile ways before they say i love you within what a week? of finding each other.
anyways this book is amazing and really opened up my eyes to being gay in the early 1900s - if they can have a happy ending stories now should too. also bi representation in 1912?!? love to see it. the meditations on class too are masterful, as they aren’t exactly necessary but they develop the story perfectly. i now need to read all of forester’s works
some quotes to end with bc i could talk forever lol
“Something had to be said and settled. O for the night that was ending, for the sleep and the wakefulness, the toughness and tenderness mixed, the sweet temper, the safety in darkness. Would such a night ever return?”
“Masses of work awaited him. Nothing had changed in his life. Nothing remained in it. He was back with his loneliness as it had been before Clive, as it was after Clive, and would now be for ever. He had failed, and that wasn't the saddest: he had seen Alec fail. In a way they were one person. Love had failed. Love was an emotion through which you occasionally enjoyed yourself. It could not do things.”
“It was all so complicated. When love flies it is remembered not as love but as something else. Blessed are the uneducated, who forget it entirely, and are never conscious of folly or pruriency in the past, of long aimless conversations.”