I don't really know how much there is to say about this book, as nothing much really happens. It's all a big lead up to one event that happens 6 pages from the end, and it's worth the wait, but it takes 414 pages to get to it, which does seem a big excessive. And it's not really expected, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. Mine is that if "The Thing" (as it shall henceforth be known) happens too suddenly then you don't get the real impact of it, and you can't quite understand why it's important in the context of the novel itself. That's what happened in Women In Love; there were a couple of hints and clues in the chapter beforehand, but nothing to lead you to suspect what would actually happen, which took the momentum away a little bit.
Apart from that, yes, it was a good book, but I can't quite see the point of it. The two male characters, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, are clearly both representations of D.H. Lawrence himself, which, once you've figured that out, seems boring and self-indulgent on his part. The sisters and "women in love" in question Ursula and Gudrun, seem too similar to really be considered as separate characters. Obviously they have separate personalities and traits to them, but when you consider them together, differences become hard to find. Both want to be loved by men in the ordinary, earthly way, although towards the end Ursula comes more to favour Birkin's way of viewing love as a gateway to a higher relationship. Both know exactly what they want and aren't afraid to get it, and both are highly contemptuous of others, but this shows more in Gudrun.The long philosophical ramblings do become slightly tedious, but I was reading this book at a moment of adolescent soul-searching, so they've become very relevant to me. But anyway, next I'll be reading The Talented Mr Ripley, and the next two in the series, by Patricia Highsmith. Really looking forward to it, although I've already watched the film, so the ending of the first one at least is a leetle bit spoiled...!
