This book is one of the best I've ever read I had very little hopes going into it, but it was a really lovely story and maby one of my favorite

I saw the movie, which led to reading the book. It's a favorite of mine and needs to be reread from time to time. This book is beautiful in it's descriptions and sensibilities, along with subtle humor. From the hills of Tuscany to the green garden's of English countryside, Lucy Honeychurch will engage your heart and interest.

An exquisite story.

Sometimes, though beautifully written, the language of the classics is more difficult to read. That was the case for me with this book. However, as I got into it, I enjoyed the story, the writing, and the characters. When I was nearly to the end and discovering how things were going to unfold (or how I thought they'd unfold), I was not happy. I was wondering why I'd read the book, but then there was a twist and turn and the actual ending was satisfactory. I borrowed this book from the library and "A Room with a View" was in the same volume. I wasn't excited enough about "Howard's End" to continue on with this novel.

Sometimes I approach older novels almost like eating kale salad. I kind of like it but mostly I'm dong it for my health. Having read two EMForester novels before this one (Howard's End and Maurice), I was ready to eat my literary kale salad. Little did I know that I had just sat down at the sushi bar! What fun!
Colors. Fun. Travelogue. Romance. Characters with character.
I especially enjoyed the study of the contrasts of English folk portrayed against the backdrop of Italy.
And Mr. Emerson's talk with Lucy at the end was glorious.

My favorite E. M. Forester to date and this one will definitely be on my to-read-again shelf

This has become one of my favorite books and Forster is one of my favorite writers. He has such a mastery of language and the words flow and dance off the pages. He describes humble domestic scences with humor and sympathy, bringing to life the abusrd conversations we have in the sphere of our homes. I love the scene where they are playing tennis while trying to have a serious conversation with the minister, Mr. Beebe. This book is also a terrific character study on how a young woman overcomes the challenges of a provincal life to truly know and understand herself through the acknowledgement of love. I think one could make an analysis that Lucy acutually learns that she loves herself by acknowledging her true feelings of love for George.

This is a wonderful and brillant book that I am sure I will come back to again.

A Room with a View by E. M. Foster
Delightful classic

It is the second time that I have been rating A Room with a View.
That is because I have finished listening to it again.

This time, it was a BBC production.
An adapted, abbreviated version.

Generally, this is to be avoided.
When the original is an acclaimed masterpiece, it is wrong to go to an abridged format.
But one cannot listen to or read War and Peace so many times.
Actually, I intend to listen to a BBC version of the mentioned chef d'oeuvre and a good deal more.
Hearing again the story is generally a good entertainment.
It does occasionally flop, like the recently heard Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, that had Elizabeth McGovern spoiling my pleasure with her artificial, over the top efforts.

A Room with a View has a somewhat simple story line.
Without giving details out, a man falls in love with a girl in the sensational setting of the Italian countryside near Florence.
Or maybe it all started with A Room with a View ...
Lucy Honeychurch, the main female character is talking to her companion, Charlotte Bartlett about their room in this pensione of Florence.
Charlotte is a rather artificial, pretentious character in the first place, but may take an unexpected turn later in the story.
She is complaining that they have no view.
Mr. Emerson and his son George offer to change their rooms, that have a view.
From here on, we have a clash between authenticity and artificiality.
I would say that this book is a poignant criticism of a number of aspects of British mentality in the nineteenth century.
Only I must say that I am an unrepentant admirer of that very way of life.
At the upper level, obviously.
If I were given to choose other periods for my life, I would choose Victorian Britain.
Not the gutter if possible, but a mansion, a sumptuous location in the Far East, the South Seas maybe.
So I disliked the character of Cecil Vyse, with his pomposity , falseness, snobbishness, and stiffness.
But if he represents a caricature of British upper-class unnatural behavior, I still opt to favour those gentlemen.
That's because I probably am snobbish and unnatural

The film based on the book is also a good way to approach the original.
It won Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs

A Room With A View: Interesting ending, though I didn't really feel the events that led up to what happened at the end of the story. Wished it had much more of a dramatic flare, as some parts felt dreary and lacking in detail. The story felt like it kept jumping from place to place, I didn't feel grounded at all with the characters and the story flow.

Howards End: It had a fascinating but somewhat confusing beginning, the middle part was a little more so-so with less flare but more of the story taking shape, and the last part was just downright surprising but gave me a good feeling about the entirety of the story. I liked the characters, and I kind of liked how the settings were introduced and used in the story.

Oh, friends. There is only one word to describe my experience reading this book: delightful. But because you know I can't resist the opportunity to say more than one word, I won't stop there.

A Room with a View is deeply satirical, and yet the characters manage to be real people rather than one-dimensional conduits for the author's social criticisms. Forster's voice and humor are subtle without being sly, and he draws you into the inner lives of his characters in a way that feels so natural it's hardly noticeable. Forster truly sees his characters, and he makes you feel that you see and instantly comprehend them too, in spite of their complexity. It seemed like every paragraph I read, I wanted to post part or all of it somewhere for others to share and appreciate, but I was afraid that once started, I'd be unable to stop.

Even though it's short and sweet, Forster packs in fabulous scenery, murders, scandals and gossip, people getting comeuppances, characters you love and characters you hate, characters that you hate and then love, and vice versa. I warned you I'd gush over this book - I mean really. Every time I read just a little bit of it, I slip right back into that world and I'm tempted to just drop everything and read it again--and it's so short that it could easily be done. Gosh, I could go on and on, using any and all of these words: charming, insightful, effortless, fascinating, hilarious, clever, absorbing. So enjoyable that I just flew right through it. Oh, and romantic. Terribly, meltingly, giddily romantic.

So go read it already. Come on, it'll take you five minutes -- at least, it will feel that way. That, to me, makes A Room with a View just the best kind of book. :)

Who knew that this book would read as if it was written as the screenplay for the movie? I was expecting something more, a richer text. Not that I love the movie any less or now the book for that matter, since they are virtually identical, but it is so rare that the book doesn't have so much more going on within it. Perhaps it held a bit more sardonic wit that cannot translate as well to film, but all in all, it is a slight novel with an engaging humor. I prefer this in the form of Graham Greene or Edith Wharton, but for my first foray in to Forster, I guess I cannot complain too loudly.

❤️
Very good read, I was delighted tremendously.
Likely to read it again

I only have read "A Room With a View."
This book is not easy to sink into but so far I love the language.
Update: finished the book. It was very enjoyable as I kept on reading it and towards the last 5 chapters read it more quickly than the others. The prose is so thick with details every chapter packs somewhat of a punch which made me read it more slowly then I would normally. I have never been the type to reread books, wanting to move on to the next but this one is the first I've read that I think "I've got to read that again" because there was so much involved in it that was outside the story but definitely still opened up new perspectives about the story.
The story is very romantic and George the love interest is very attractive and appealing but the main character Lucy comes off a bit of a wimp; however in all fairness this was a different time and in old England where impressions about your reputation was taken with extreme seriousness. So I think that was hard for me to appreciate.
Georgeous read and insightful glimpses into another time and place.