Sunday, November 7, 2010

At 100 years, Forster novel proves timeless

"Why bother reading a novel set in Edwardian England and written in a style recalling the vanished world of the Victorians?

"It's a fair question, particularly if one's experience with Howards End is restricted to the Merchant-Ivory film, a melodrama featuring a great cast and gorgeous costumes that conscientiously ticks off plot points while ignoring the larger questions behind them. It's a fussy period piece, and it has nothing to say to us.

"But Forster's novel does, and it bears directly on our increasing intolerance for anyone outside our designated camp of true believers." --Mike Fischer

(See Forster in my recommended reading.)

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