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A review by geniaconstance
Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett
5.0
A fictional character gets betrayed is one thing. But when a reader does, it is a whole another story. The latter is what this book had done to me. And I love it. In fact, I am craving for more now.
Narrated from the viewpoint of third person, I saw no reason to question the reliability. And by the end of the book, I was right. It wasn't the narrator, it was Anna all along. Bewildered lass of a wealthy yet dictatorial miser who just came of age and subsequently troubled by a series of inward warfare: faith, love, and peculiar connection to another human being which later she recognised as none other than love.
This book enormously devastated me. I didn't weep as I did with Anne of Green Gables nor hauntingly confused for minutes on account of The Picture of Dorian Gray. But I could feel those holes within. They burn my soul. Slowly. But they burn. Anne Shirley might be my favourite heroine. Yet no book beats this. I simply love it to death. Were it a person, I’d court them right away.
Story arc aside, Bennett did a splendor take on portraying English provincial life in the early 19th century. It was grand to learn of things around the time: capitalism, working class, gender division of labour, methodism christianity, and whatnot. I also like how Bennett gave constant hints of social class: the Tellwright always had afternoon tea at four, sometimes with baked goods. Precise opposite to folks of lower class who just did not have idle hours to engage in such activity.
Narrated from the viewpoint of third person, I saw no reason to question the reliability. And by the end of the book, I was right. It wasn't the narrator, it was Anna all along. Bewildered lass of a wealthy yet dictatorial miser who just came of age and subsequently troubled by a series of inward warfare: faith, love, and peculiar connection to another human being which later she recognised as none other than love.
This book enormously devastated me. I didn't weep as I did with Anne of Green Gables nor hauntingly confused for minutes on account of The Picture of Dorian Gray. But I could feel those holes within. They burn my soul. Slowly. But they burn. Anne Shirley might be my favourite heroine. Yet no book beats this. I simply love it to death. Were it a person, I’d court them right away.
Story arc aside, Bennett did a splendor take on portraying English provincial life in the early 19th century. It was grand to learn of things around the time: capitalism, working class, gender division of labour, methodism christianity, and whatnot. I also like how Bennett gave constant hints of social class: the Tellwright always had afternoon tea at four, sometimes with baked goods. Precise opposite to folks of lower class who just did not have idle hours to engage in such activity.