A review by aditurbo
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge

3.0

DNF. Must have been quite original and ground-breaking when it first came out, but today it feels a bit old-fashioned and very slow. The subtlety of the motherly/sexual attraction of the main character to the young man she meets feels strange today, as it seems that the author is doing its best to circumvent the sexual element. What you get is VERY long descriptions of how they are both enthralled by signs they find on stones, architecture and art. The sexual attraction transferred into an intellectual one. Bridge is trying to show us a woman who feels tired of standing at the family's service all the time and is fond of her husband but feels taken for granted and may also be sexually unsatisfied who decides to take her life into her own hands and lead it instead of continuously being led by others. I appreciate the sentiment and I believe it's still relevant today, but the pace and the avoidance of sensitive and risque issues have made it impossible for me to enjoy this novel.