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A review by elspethm
The Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 "why is everyone around Harriet so self centered and why does she listen to them?" stars.
This is another of the books that are part of the "1001 Books You *Must* Read Before You Die" book. While I find the book list poorly edited (there are *8* books by Joyce Carol Oates on the list), I'm glad this book was included. In my county, state and neighboring state, no library owns this book and I wouldn't have found it if it weren't for that list, Hoopla and Project Gutenberg.
The novella is a detailed description of Harriet Frean's life, from toddlerhood to death. It was compelling and sad, and in parts I compared it to the Yellow Wallpaper. Harriet was raised to listen carefully to her parents, perhaps because of some event that happened nearby (which is never described in detail but could have been an attack on a child or could have been just a less wealthy area in town. In writing this I'm thinking about how much my childhood was like Harriet's, but I was more of a risk taker (though not much) than she.
During her life she has a few friends but is mostly very insular in her nuclear family, in being just the three of them, Harriet wanted to please her parents more than if she were in a larger family. Harriet's life is defined by stronger personalities and her desire to do "the right thing"
She befriends a troubled girl, Priscilla, in school, and in doing so sets the course of her life. Priscilla insists she'll never marry, tries to convince Harriet to agree to the same thing, but then Priscilla gets engaged to Robin. She encourages Robin to meet Harriet, and the two fall in love. But Harriet has to do the "right" thing and tells Robin to marry Priscilla after all.
The rest of her life is fated to not help herself even if doing what she wants would be better for everyone in her orbit.
The years go by, she befriends Robin's new family when Priscilla dies and he marries her nurse (!) and Harriet becomes more and more of a recluse.
While I tend to avoid sad books, and have forced myself to read more than my share in attempting to read books on the "1001 Books" list, I enjoyed this one, it made me reflect and hopefully could teach other readers that sometimes doing the "wrong" thing is best for everyone.
This is another of the books that are part of the "1001 Books You *Must* Read Before You Die" book. While I find the book list poorly edited (there are *8* books by Joyce Carol Oates on the list), I'm glad this book was included. In my county, state and neighboring state, no library owns this book and I wouldn't have found it if it weren't for that list, Hoopla and Project Gutenberg.
The novella is a detailed description of Harriet Frean's life, from toddlerhood to death. It was compelling and sad, and in parts I compared it to the Yellow Wallpaper. Harriet was raised to listen carefully to her parents, perhaps because of some event that happened nearby (which is never described in detail but could have been an attack on a child or could have been just a less wealthy area in town. In writing this I'm thinking about how much my childhood was like Harriet's, but I was more of a risk taker (though not much) than she.
During her life she has a few friends but is mostly very insular in her nuclear family, in being just the three of them, Harriet wanted to please her parents more than if she were in a larger family. Harriet's life is defined by stronger personalities and her desire to do "the right thing"
She befriends a troubled girl, Priscilla, in school, and in doing so sets the course of her life. Priscilla insists she'll never marry, tries to convince Harriet to agree to the same thing, but then Priscilla gets engaged to Robin. She encourages Robin to meet Harriet, and the two fall in love. But Harriet has to do the "right" thing and tells Robin to marry Priscilla after all.
The rest of her life is fated to not help herself even if doing what she wants would be better for everyone in her orbit.
The years go by, she befriends Robin's new family when Priscilla dies and he marries her nurse (!) and Harriet becomes more and more of a recluse.
While I tend to avoid sad books, and have forced myself to read more than my share in attempting to read books on the "1001 Books" list, I enjoyed this one, it made me reflect and hopefully could teach other readers that sometimes doing the "wrong" thing is best for everyone.