Title: Howards End
Author: E.M. Forster
Number of Pages: 271
Book Number/Goal: 2/12+
My Rating: 3/5

Howards End is generally regarded as Forster's greatest work. It explores the lives of three different families: the Schlegels, representing the more idealistic, intellectual part of the upper class; the Wilcoxes, representing a more stolid, conventional British upper-class ethics and society; and the Basts, representing the very bottom of the middle class. Forster uses their increasingly interwoven lives to explore questions of gender, class, money, and England itself.

The book was less boring than I thought it would be; there's actually quite a lot of scandal involved. It's not for the faint of heart, however; most chapters open with long descriptive passages, of houses or countryside or the state of England; definitely a difficult read. If, however, you're interested in this time period--the end of the Victorian era, just beginning to hint at the Roaring Twenties--or social/economic/gender questions, or books generally considered "classics," then this is a good choice.

Title: A Room With A View
Author: E.M. Forster
Number of Pages: 204
Book Number/Goal: 1/12+
My Rating: 4/5

This book was written at the turning point between the Victorian and Edwardian Eras of Britain. It is shorter and less complex than Forster's later Howards End (which could be a pro or con, depending on what you're looking for). It has elements of comedy, a rich cast of characters, and engaging dialogue. Its heroine, Lucy, fights her way from strict Victorian codes and boundaries--especially those of gender and class--to the newer, more liberal ways of thinking.

I enjoyed this; Lucy is a sympathetic character, and while the answers to her struggles seem obvious to the reader, it's also easy to understand why she thinks and acts as she does. It is a romance, but most of the romantic elements lie in Lucy's journey to find her place in a changing world.

Title: The Story of a Marriage
Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Number of Pages: 208 pages
Book Number/Goal: 20/75 for 2009
My Rating: 5/5

Review: It's the early '50s and Pearlie Cook is a young housewife and mother, married to her childhood sweetheart, but her illusion of happiness is shattered when a man claiming to be an old friend of her husband's shows up on her doorstep one day.

I loved this book SO MUCH. I don't even know what to say about it. All I can do is flail happily. Like The Taqwacores, this is a story about people of color (apparently some people thought this was a "twist" in the story, but idk, there are plenty of hints before he comes right out and says it) written by a white guy, and I think he did a good job. He also did an amazing job portraying the delicate relationships between Pearlie and Holland and Buzz. I love Pearlie and Buzz's sort-of friendship, and how Holland is a mystery to both of them. Everything felt completely believable to me. I saw a lot of "why the hell did Pearlie do what she did?" type reviews on Amazon, but I thought it was perfectly obvious and made sense. She didn't do it for the money. She did it because she loved Holland and thought that was the only way for him to be happy (and because she didn't feel she could cross a rich white man). I loved the way the secrets came out, so many layers in such a short book.

I already have another book of his on my shelf to read, and I'd really like to get my hands on his short stories, too. Definitely a new favorite author.
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