A Classy End

If the main female characters, Margaret and Helen, could see the world today I think they would want to be a part of it. The male lead, Mr. Wilcox...not so much. Sisters Margaret and Helen were rich, yes, but also lived in a time when women were just beginning to voice their educated opinions about culture, society, poetry and their place in the bustling city of London. The story was gentle look into appreciating nature, the value of a loved home and the quality of one’s character and morals. Woven in between those lines was the story of two women finding their place in a “man’s world” and being respected there.

Howard’s End was not a page turning thriller, but it was a refreshing breath of classic language. I found myself getting lost in its simple words, basic moral reasoning and overwhelming gratitude for land, life and enriching adventures.

~ Kelly

Getting to The End

I feel like I'm saying the same thing over and over in my reviews - I appreciated (insert title here) as a (insert genre here), however it was a bit difficult to finish. I promise I don't feel this way about all of the books that I read! I just seem to have struggled with some of the ones on our list. E.M. Forster's Howards End is clearly a classic for a reason - the portrayal of sisters Margaret and Helen Schlegel, two fairly independent women for the early 1900s, is done extremely well.

I usually enjoy getting into a book, and this one was no exception. We were introduced to the characters with a series of letters sent between the sisters while Helen is away visiting a family they met while on vacation. As the story unfolds, the relationship between the Schlegels and the Wilcox family becomes more intertwined. Older sister Margaret befriends Mrs. Wilcox while Helen avoids the family after falling in, and then embarrassingly out of, love with the younger brother in a period of just a few days. In the meantime, the Schlegels meet a young man from a lower class, Mr. Bast, and try to help him however they can--including encouraging him to quit his job based on information from Mr. Wilcox about the company where Bast worked.

Long story short, there is a lot of narrative and not much plot. The funny thing is, I didn't feel as though it was too descriptive...just too long for so little "action." I really enjoyed the writing - here's a conversation between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox that I bookmarked:

"Inexperience," repeated Margaret, in serious yet buoyant tones. "Of course, I have everything to learn--absolutely everything--just as much as Helen. Life's very difficult and full of surprises. At all events, I've got as far as that. To be humble and kind, to go straight ahead, to love people rather than pity them, to remember the submerged--well, one can't do all these things at once, worse luck, because they're so contradictory. It's then that proportion comes in--to live by proportion. Don't begin with proportion. Only prigs do that. Let proportion come in as a last resource, when the better things have failed, and a deadlock-- Gracious me, I've started preaching!"

"Indeed, you put the difficulties of life splendidly," said Mrs. Wilcox withdrawing her hand in the deeper shadows. "It is just what I should have liked to say about them myself."

The book slowed down tremendously for me mid-way through and stayed slow until close to the end when it finally picked up again. I didn't feel that I needed to stop reading it, but for a few days I wasn't as excited when I went to open it up. However, I thought Forster closed the story well with a little flash forward so we would know the characters' fates. I would recommend Howards End to people who enjoy slower-paced books and/or stories that broach social class and gender issues.