Title: The French Lieutenant’s Woman
Author: John Fowles
Genre: Fiction / historical fiction
Rating: 5 / 5
Why I picked it up: I was doing the dishes of an evening and out of nowhere, the though “I should read The French Lieutenant’s Woman” came to me. I don’t know why; it wasn’t as if I’d been hearing about it or anything reminded me of it lately. It came to me unbidden. And so I got a copy and picked it up and was soon vindicated–intuitions about books like this are exactly why I made it my goal to read only what I’m drawn to!
What it’s about: Um…gosh. Like, life?? and Victorians too. Basically I guess…there’s this guy, Charles Smithson, and he has a fiancee and he visits her in Lyme Regis (it blows the other book I read set in Lyme Regis out of the water) and does his fossil hunting gentlemanly things. But he has the occasion to begin to question his life course and assumptions. But he is also very proper, yes, quite. I don’t know how to describe it! It’s good!!
What I liked: EVERYTHING. I’ve been putting off writing this review for months because I can never do justice to the books I love the most. This book is probably my favorite of the year. I liked the writing, the accuracy of the historical details and the narrator’s asides about Victorians. I liked how he interwove writing from the time as an epigraph for each chapter. I liked the story and the dilemma and how it kept me guessing until the end(s). I liked how he portrayed class consciousness. The characters were great. The whole thing was great! It was what I hope for every time I open a book. Mostly I am disappointed. This time I was not. It was interesting and enlightening and I loved it!
What I didn’t like: It took me like a chapter or two to get into it. It didn’t grab me immediately, but the chapters are short so it didn’t take all that long either. That’s really the only criticism I can think of.
Overall / recommended: Yes. I had a library copy and now I own a copy. I’ve bought like two books in the last two years, so…yeah, I loved it.
Paige Reviews Books 