Howards End (Norton Critical Editions Series)

Interesting

I don't usually have an issue getting into books but reading this was a new experience. It was more like reading about the lives of three families in a casual way than an actual storyline. There is a lot of interaction between the characters and a lot of discussion about how society is changing. As far as classics go I feel like the time period it is taking place is no longer victorian but it is still before world war 1, I have not read a lot of books that take place in this time period. The whole time I read this book I didn't really like it, the relationships seemed trifling and were uninteresting to me, but now that I have finished I keep thinking about this book for some reason.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

So many typos!

The typos made a challenging book even more difficult to read. The story was interesting enough, but the characters were difficult to relate to.

Good read

Classic Literature at its best

Perhaps E. M. Forster is not known as a classic author but he should be. This novel, along with his other famous one "Remains of the Day", give you an veritable new world to explore. The characters are well rounded and insightful. The locations are breathtaking and memorable. And the story itself is like a long walk on a beautiful day...something to be treasured.

Full version??? Hardly

Seeing as how the story begins in Chapter 12, p 76, I don't see this as a "full version." I'm contacting B&N about this. Maybe a download error or glitch? I can't give a good rating w/o the actual full book. It's annoying.

Terrific

Excellent read!

A great classic novel

This classic is a must read for ones who enjoy a good 'love story' with characters with flaws and unknown strengths that bring this story to an unexpected climax.

ANOTHER worthless sample

B&N WHY do you offer samples that contain little or none of the story?
I have had samples containing 1-2 paragraphs at least, this sample is 28 pages of the Table of Contents, timeline & an editorial.
Absolutely none of the story. This is a big complaint I have regarding my Nook.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Not His Finest....

Not his finest, but an interesting interplay between people with money - those who spend their time and money advancing the ideas and the arts and those who spend their money to preserve their way of life. Interestingly enough both seem to be equally detrimental in their dealings with the lower classes.

Outstanding Classical Novel!

Personal Review I really enjoyed the novel Howards End by EM Forster. I found it to be a very intriguing and classical book about the difference between two families in the nineteenth century. During some parts of my reading I also noticed that I was able to become very interested in the book. Since I had such a strong liking of the book I would highly recommend it. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classical texts, but also to anyone who would like to expand on the type of books that they read. Literary Analysis Two of the main characters in Howards End are the Schlegel sisters. The sisters are Helen and Margaret (aka Meg). Helen was a little irresponsible but yet charming. Margaret was the more responsible one but also was known to ask questions at the wrong time. ¿You would say the wrong thing to a certainty you would. In your anxiety for Helen¿s happiness you would offend the whole of these Wilcoxes by asking one of your impetuous questions- not that one minds offending them,¿ Said their Aunt Juley about Margaret. At the beginning of the story I noticed that the sisters were very close. As the story kept going I noticed different events that seemed to be moving them apart from each other. One of the major events that I thought showed this was Margaret¿s marriage to Henry. Since Henry and Helen did not particularly get along, Helen and Margaret didn¿t see one another as often. There was an instance towards the end of the story when Margaret didn¿t even know where Helen was. To get a hold of Helen again she wrote a letter to her saying that their Aunt had become very ill, this was the only idea she could come up with to get Helen to visit. I think the author created these characters to show how different conflicts really can take place. I find the characters in the story to be very believable. This is something that I think is important in a story in order for the story to even seem realistic. The setting of this story was in England during the early nineteen-hundreds. During this time there was some conflicts between the English and the German. This is also part of the reason that I believe they chose to use the Schlegel¿s and the Wilcoxes. They were two very different families. A specific place that the climax of the story takes place is at Howards End. This is the house that the Wilcoxes owned before Margaret inherited the property from her husband Henry¿s mother. This property creates a place that all of the characters are very familiar with. It is also the place where Helen stayed with the Wilcoxes causing the two families to have such a strong connection. After reading the book I was able to observe something I found interesting about the home. I believe that it is a comfort zone for the family, a place where they can all connect. Another important aspect to the story is the point of view. The point of view the author has in this story is third person. An example of this view is proved by the following piece of text: ¿She recovered herself, but not before Charles had observed her. Stupid and attentive, he was watching the scene.¿ This piece of text from the book shows the words she, he, and her, which are all examples of words used in third-person point of view. This point of view doesn¿t cause the reader to choose sides with any of the characters. Instead the reader can choose their own sides and also know what all of the characters think. That is the reason why I believe that the author chose to use third-person view. This was an amazing novel by EM Forster that encourages me to read more of his novels.

Howards End (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

I would suggest that while the books seems to be well written, the story deals mostly with relationships, and maybe somewhat classified as a 'chic' book. The men in this novel all seem to have character flaws that are glariingly weak and sad. It starts off with Paul Wilcox who appears at the very beginning and at the very end, but is mentioned throughout the novel and portrayed as a very weak individual. Tippy, Margaret's brother, really is an insignificat character in the story, but his character is always portrayed as immature and self centered and he cannot be relied upon in hard times. Leonard Bast is pathetically weak and has no backbone. Charles Wilcox is a self centerd bully. Henry Wilcox though he is at times descibed as 'kind' his kindness is somewhat superficial. It seems his lack of character is what leeds to his falling apart in the end. While the two sisters have falts, it weems to only make them more endering. If these tow women are of such high inellledtual and noble character, then why are they constantly inolved, by their own choosing, with such pitiful portraits of manhood. Tis is not the worst thing you can read, but it is nt the best either.

Howards End (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

The novel seems to be will written. The main focus of the story is always on relationships and so makes it somewhat of a chick novel. None of the men in this novel seem to have any character and their flaws are always glaring and makes it hard to like them. Paul Wilcox is mentioned only brifly but is a Mama's boy and is easly manipulated by the opinion of others. His brother Charles Wilcox is a bully and somewhat of a dim bulb. Tippy Schliegal, Margaret and Helen's brother plays a minimal role but always appears to be immature and self absorbed and can never be counted on in a time of crisis. Leonard Bast whom the girls chose to help is weak and spineless and does not have the ability to make a good decision. Finally Henry Wilcox from the very first appears to be self absorbed and confused and it is never apparent why Margaret marries him in the first place. He is a man who cannot forgive others for the very things he has done. While the women have faults these faults are always shown in a more endearing light. Forster may not have taken sides in the struggle between different classes, but he certainly did in the struggle between genders. The property, Howards End belonged to the late Mrs Wilcox. In a suprise move, after her surprise death, in her will, Howards End is left to one of the Schlegels. None of the Wilcoxes really wanted Howards End, but they didn't want the Schlegels to have Howards End either. (Mostly the men). While it is not a complete waste of time, there are better books out there to read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good literature, great history.

This is an excellent read, and its focus on male/female relationships provides highly enlightening information about the era in which it was written.

A work of art!

I found this book to be very descriptive and artistic, I love the way the author describes all his characters, even the lesser ones. (For example, the wife of Charles Wilcox.) He puts things in a way that seems to be the makings of a very beautiful film, though I am sure there probably is a movie out already about this book! I would reccomend this to just about any classic book lover, perhaps even to Jane Autsen fans!

Probably the Best Example of Great 20th Century British Literature

'Howards End' is a glimpse of the interaction between the social classes in England. The characters could be real; they are even represented in the society in which we live today. The book captures your sympathy not only for the poor clerk L. Bast, but for the snobbish, but confused Mr. Wilcox, as well. The story is beautifully written, and it is very fast paced. I read it in a day.

A Britsh Novel by E.M. Forster

E.M. Forster's Howard's End draws an excellent image of life in England during the early part of the Twentieth Century. Forster's setting and diction are very well written. While I was reading, I was able visualize the scene in my mind. The first few chapters of the novel seem slow. I find that novels and short stories that begin the first paragraph with a letter to some other character irritating and a turn-off. It was not until Leonard Bast was introduced that I started to become more interested in book. I was cheering for Leonard throughout the novel. On the contrary, I felt that Henry Wilcox was cold and ruthless. He did not realize how important it is to help out other people who are less fortunate. It was no surprise that in a recent movie adaptation of Howard's End, in the movie the role of Henry Wilcox was performed by Anthony Hopkins. The characterization was also developed very well. Every character was tied in to the main plot in some manner. The novel was in my opinion a little too long. It was complex reading mainly because it was written in early Twentieth Century British English. There was a great deal of conflict between many of the important characters. To me that was one of the high points of the novel. It kept my interest in the book. But I found it very hard to understand what Margaret Schlegel saw in Henry in the first place. Certainly it wasn't that he had good looks and a great sense of humor! I would recommend Howard's End to other readers, especially those who enjoy early Twentieth Century British literature. The story was entertaining. This novel is without a doubt a British classic. >

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