Published in 1908, this is a classical romance novel with humorous satirical bite. Love stories such as this have been told a million times, but the mordant wit with which Edwardian society is drawn is what makes it special. You read it to laugh. You know how it will end right from the start, but who cares? It's fun. It has a sweet, schmaltzy end that will leave you smiling.

I really have nothing else to say......... Critique of Edwardian life told through humor.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Steven Crossley. Both the novel and the narration are good.

4,5 ⭐

A pesar de no ser el título que más me atraía del autor (si por mí fuera, hubiera empezado por 'Howard’s End'), la novela terminó por conquistarme y sorprenderme. Y es que diría que la mayor virtud de esta novela es que, pese a tener más de 100 años, podría pasar perfectamente por un libro actual ambientado en la época eduardiana, por lo certero de sus críticas a la sociedad. Me resultó muy agradable y hasta cierto punto reconfortante porque tiene mucho del encanto y el desenfado de las comedias románticas pero sin dejar de lado esa parte más reivindicativa del autor.
Eso sí, leer a Forster tiene más complicación de lo que en un primer momento parece por el uso constante del simbolismo y porque todo, absolutamente todo, está muy pensado, muy medido. Quizá demasiado. Eso provoca en el lector una falsa sensación de 'in medias res', como de estar perdiéndose algo importante, ya que tanto los personajes como sus reacciones tienen una profundidad poco vista desde el mismísimo arranque de la novela.
Es un autor al que hay que leer con atención, ritmo pausado y sobre todo, aprendiendo a leer entre líneas, porque acostumbrarse a esa manera de narrar requiere algo de tiempo... motivo por el cual la novela mejora a medida que avanza.
Seguiré sin duda con su obra porque me despierta mucha curiosidad.

RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-U0...

Una delicia de principio a fin

Booktube made me read this book after watching Tristan and the Classics, 12 Short Classic Books – 200 pages or less!

This short, little book was first published in 1908, and it focuses on Ms. Lucy Honeychurch. She is visiting Italy with her annoying guardian, Charlotte Bartlett. Ultimately, Lucy has two suitors: George Emerson and Cecil Vyse. One would like her to sit in a white tower, living only to inspire him, and he will mold her into what he envisions. And the other suitor wants Lucy to think for herself.

To be honest, I strongly considered DNFing this book. The first part of this book bored me to tears; however, the really moving part occurs at around the 75% mark—it changed the way I live.

The ideas in this book are profound:
Can we love people who have ideas different from our own?
Are people who chronically complain a burden for others to take care of?
Should we have a guide, or should we think for ourselves?
Can we be comfortable disappointing others?

How much I spent:
Electronic text – Free through Libby
Audiobook – Free through Libby

2025 Reading Schedule
JantA Town Like Alice
FebtBirdsong
MartCaptain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
AprtWar and Peace
MaytThe Woman in White
JuntAtonement
JultThe Shadow of the Wind
AugtJude the Obscure
SeptUlysses
OcttVanity Fair
NovtA Fine Balance
DectGerminal

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Tourists. That is what we have here. Tourists from another century. But at any time, who loves tourists? They can be, well, irritating. I remember in America's bicentennial year, they descended on Boston. "The Freedom Trail" - an endless ribbon of red painted footprints on sidewalks to show the way to historic sites - was clogged with wanderers. Eventually, the city got more red paint and connected the prints into a line. That moved them along better. They stopped trying to fit their feet into the prints. Tourists. Could anyone make us want to read about them? This writer can.

Unlike so many other classics, this one is short. My Bantam Classic is wallet size and just 204 pages.
If that doesn't tempt you, there is the movie of course for all those flouncy skirts and piles of hair on top of Lucy's head as played by Helena Bonham Carter to inspire you to reach for the original. But most of all, it is the writing. Forster strips bare the posturing of his refined tourists and shows them for what they are. Human beings with flaws. Not the terrible or damning flaws. No, these flaws are the embarrassing and funny sort. This, in his masterful way, is how Forster gets us as readers to care about these tourists so we follow them home after their bags are unpacked. And we wait for them to find love and happiness which is the most you can wish for anyone.

Una habitación con vistas encapsula un momento inicial que será la base sobre la que se asiente toda la trama.

En una pensión en Florencia Italia, están en una mesa conjunta los huéspedes en su mayoría ingleses, una joven plática con su prima solterona, enojadas porque se les prometió una habitación que incluía vistas maravillosas y la que realmente obtuvieron no tiene ni ventanas, un anciano que oye su plática se ofrece a cambiar las habitaciones de él y su hijo con ellas, la prima molesta se voltea ante tal impertinencia y rechaza la propuesta.

En esta escena se muestra en todo su esplendor la naturaleza inglesa que imperaba, hablarle a alguien que no conocías era una impertinencia, casi un insulto, sobre todo para unas mujeres que viven en la campiña, en una comunidad cerrada y siendo la primera vez que visitan el extranjero.

El anciano ve la vida desde otro punto de vista.

“Sabemos que procedemos del viento y que a él volveremos, que la vida es un problema, una confusión, una imperfección de la eterna placidez. Pero ¿por qué esto debe hacemos desgraciados? Amémonos los unos a los otros, trabajemos y disfrutemos.”


Lucy, la protagonista encarna a esta joven dócil, plegada a las convenciones sociales, sin una opinión propia, moldeada por una madre y un entorno sin miras más allá de un buen matrimonio con una persona conveniente, pero hay una rendija es esta personalidad que Lucy despliega ante los demás, esa rendija deja salir un fulgor de luz rebelde cuando ella toca el piano, ahí se puede vislumbrar a otra Lucy.

Florencia y la rendija son amigas que se conjugan para fraguar pocos pero intensos eventos que marcan a Lucy, las dos tienen en común a George, el hijo del anciano catalogado como impresentable.

El regreso a la vida apacible trae consigo la confortable seguridad de la casa familiar, el matrimonio convenido y un futuro perfecto, todo esto se intensifica a través de la figura de la prima, una mujer de mediana edad que encarna la férrea determinación de resguardar una forma de vida aún cuando sea a costa de un concepto tan subjetivo e inútil como el de la felicidad.

Uno de los aciertos es desarrollar en Lucy a un personaje tan complejo que aunque se rebela en algún punto, esa rebeldía solo le alcanza para quedar a medio camino, ante sus decisiones basadas en su poco conocimiento de la vida y de sus propios sentimientos, logra zafarse pero no del todo, trasmutando su convencional destino a uno fatídico, y en ese impase cuando parece que todo esto decidido, una ayuda externa la arrastra literalmente a buscar la felicidad aún en contra de su voluntad, lo cual nos muestra lo difícil que es a veces romper con un mundo cierto, y también los sinsabores que traerá consigo, pues el mundo que nos cobijaba nos dará la espalda.

Una historia que está llena de sutilezas, represiones, deseos profundamente escondidos pero sobre todo de esperanzas fundadas en la juventud como agentes de cambio en un mundo que se niega a cambiar.

The Pensione (pension) Bertolini in Florence, Italy has everything for the visiting tourists, Miss Lucy Honeychurch and her older poorer cousin Charlotte Bartlett a rather overbearing chaperon, fine food, (not really) wines not too bad this is Italy and a room with a view. Unfortunately not for the cousins, their promised accommodations went to Mr.Emerson and his quiet gloomy son George. If you can't trust the Signora Bertolini, the Italian owner of this establishment more English than one in London, the late Queen Victoria's picture is still on the wall, with a strange Cockney accent who can you? But chivalry is not quite dead, in the early 20th century the ill mannered Mr.Emerson, offers in front of all the other British tourists while they consume their dinner, to exchange rooms two for two , the men don't care as long as they have a good bed, after hearing Charlotte's complaints. Of course Miss Bartlett turned it down, the unseemly idea such a vulgar man, he is not a gentleman no English reserve . Looking around, she sees that confirmed on the faces of the other boarders. Then again, Florence is so beautiful the Arno River flowing nearby, (not too dirty ) the Apennine Mountains, Cypress trees of San Miniato, she will never be here again ... A half- hour later the two cousins open the windows, ( the British love to do this) in the new rooms... with a view. A great country to stare at the exotic attractions, if only the Italians were more civilized Charlotte thinks, but all is well with the world now. Miss Eleanor Ravish a new flighty friend, at the pension and future bad novelist, takes Lucy on a sightseeing trip of the real Italy. And promptly deserts her for an old friend, on the streets of the city, she enters the church alone, they both were to view. How is she to get back to Bertolini ? Not to worry the Emerson's are there, Mr. Emerson the old "Gentleman" quickly annoys, then disrupts a visiting British clergyman's lecture inside with his loud disagreeing voice, the unhappy perturbed flock leaves, yet Lucy does get back home safely. Feeling brave and wanting independence and excitement, she receives more than Lucy can handle, Miss Honeychurch goes out by herself. While looking at a palace tower, she is a witness to a gruesome murder, the stabbing of one Italian man against another at close range, blood on her photographs, she just had bought in a shop and faints ...George in love and in the same vicinity, spying ... Picks Lucy up, revives her and takes the lady to safety, the Arno river is near, throwing the messy photos in the stream. She can't believe he did it ... At a later date, descending a mountain road after viewing gorgeous Florence from above, the weather turns bad, the two carriages full of the British visitors from the pension, including Lucy, Charlotte and the old Mr.Emerson, even Miss Lavish. George the cad had kissed Lucy, when she fell on the ground full of exquisite violets, Charlotte luckily comes to the rescue before who knows what George would do next. He runs away the coward and vanishes, nobody knows where. But soon Lucy will meet the perfect, ideal, respectable man, Cecil Vyse... In the wet darkness, the rains heavy, lightning strikes, women scream, slowly the party travels, more flashes of lightning, the clouds coming down, the road a liquid mess, the storm gets more violent, they stop for a short rest. A lightning bolt hits the road just below them ...

This coming-of-age story shows Lucy caught between the repressive rules of Victorian society and the more liberal values of the Edwardian age. She is vacationing in Italy, and is exposed to various social classes mixing together and acting in a more relaxed manner than in her English hometown. Lucy is admired by two very different men. Upper class Cecil is a snobbish, bookish man who would be more socially acceptable to marry. The more liberal, but lower class, George values Lucy's ideas, is more sensual, and is drawn to the natural world.

The book is quite humorous as it illustrates the class differences, manners, and customs of the early 20th Century English. Lucy changes as an individual into a more confident woman who has a voice in determining her future. However, her relationship with George seemed a bit rushed. Overall, I found "A Room With A View" to be a light, charming story.

While I was reading this I kept thinking about how similar it seemed to Pride and Prejudice. It is almost Pride and Prejudice in negative. Now, some brief advice to young women who unexpectedly find themselves trapped in a romantic novel. If you ever faint due to seeing a man stabbed and bleeding to death in front of you, you are probably going to lose your virginity to the guy who catches you in your faint. It is an odd thing, but I would doubt there would be a reader in a hundred that would not know that Lucy and George were destined to be together after that scene. You see, the imagery of all that blood and loss of innocence can only lead to one thing and ‘marriage’ is the Edwardian and polite term for it.

This is a book on snobs, snobbishness and not doing what you want to do because it might not be seen by others to be ‘the done thing’. Look, it isn’t just strange Edwardian types who are thus afflicted – we are all prone to not doing what would be obviously to our benefit on the basis that it might somehow ‘look bad’. All the same, this book is in the main a discussion of how worrying too much about what others might think can really make your life a misery.

Most of the characters in this book are quite unlikeable. Cecil is particularly so. All the same, he is, in some senses, the most pathetic character in the book. Hard not to feel a bit sorry for him despite the fact that if he had successfully married Lucy it would have spoilt the entire book. It is impossible to not feel sorry for him after she tells him why she can’t marry him.

But what I found most interesting about this book was Miss Lavish, the nearly, if not quite Bohemian writer of romances who everyone considers a remarkably intelligent lady for most of the first part of the book. What I liked most about her is that she declares she is going to write a novel about Italy, not about the boring English in Italy, but about the ‘real’ Italy, with local flavour and colour and whatever else. If you want to see what Mr Forster thought of all this you need only look at the novel he himself wrote about Italy, you know, this one. There are Italians in it, I guess it would be somewhat hard to write a novel set in Italy with absolutely no locals in it, but not a single one of the major characters (and virtually none of the minor characters) is Italian. The Italians who are there speak such easy sentences in Italian that even I can translate them without book. “Fa niente, sono vecchia” – It is nothing, I’m an old woman or ‘Lascia, prego, lascia, siamo sposati’ – Leave, I pray, leave, we are married. They are literally there for a little colour, very little else.

No, Forster mostly ignores the Italians and casts his caustic gaze over his fellow countrymen. The exact opposite of what the very intelligent woman in his book recommends.

I quite enjoyed this one, it wasn’t nearly as much fun as Pride and Prejudice, but it was nice enough to keep me amused and the good guys win in the end – and that is always nice.

They say that travelling builds character. Was it ever more true than in this light, lovely little tale, where a visit to Florence will forever change the young Lucy Honeychurch (what a name!!)? “A Room with a View” seems simple enough at first glance. The young woman falls in love with the charms of Italy and with an unconventional young man, and must ultimately decide whether she will marry him or a wealthy, exasperating douche. Yes, it’s quaint and predictable, and once you’ve seen the exceedingly charming Merchant Ivory movie, you can’t get the beautiful pictures out of your head.

But the writing! Oh my GAWD, the writing! Forster’s prose is lyrical and evocative, not too heavy, just sweet enough to make you lick your lips. Many, many books have tried to convince their readers that being yourself is the right thing to do. But how many have said it as eloquently and as poetically as “A Room with a View”? The Honeychurch family is quite respectable, but they have a well-controlled wild streak. Lucy’s cousin Charlotte tries her best to discourage it, but acquaintance with the fellow boarders of the Pension Bertolini tease out something in Lucy, something she didn’t really know was there to begin with, but shines a new light on her well-ordered, well-mannered world.

Lucy figures herself out slowly, but when she does, she just sheds her shrinking violet skin to become an absolutely awesome, assertive bad-ass: “I won’t be protected. I will choose for myself what is ladylike and right. To shield me is an insult. Can’t I be trusted to face the truth but I must get it second-hand through you? (…) I won’t be stifled, not by the most glorious music, for people are more glorious, and you hide them from me.” Oh, Lucy, I know exactly how you feel… Her evolution and maturing is so impressive: she wants to see the world, know the things and when she finally realizes that she will never be happy with the ordinary life planned out for her by her family and her fiancé’s family, I was so proud of her! She starts out sheltered and naïve and becomes brave and strong: she stands up to both Cecil and George because she decided “Damn you both, I’m going to be me!”.

I must confess that I have a huge book-crush on George Emerson. He is romantic, but also very pragmatic; passionate but practical. And seriously, who wouldn’t swoon for a man who says such things as: “This desire to govern a woman – it lies very deep, and men and women must fight it together… But I do love you surely in a better way then he does. Yes – really in a better way. I want you to have your own thoughts even when I hold you in my arms.” He wants her to think for herself, he has substance, he evolves… And he’s a socialist, to boot! Someone bring me smelling salts!

Seriously, this a wonderfully plotted little book about figuring yourself out and seizing the things that make you happy. Contrasts and challenges pepper the story and make it feels nuanced and balanced. The characters are wonderfully developed, their voices clear as bells and you end up loving even the more nerve-grating ones (I’m looking at you, Charlotte!). Do not dismiss this as simple rom-com despite the fainting spells, kisses at sunset and so on. This is a joyful book to read, but there is so much more to it than the love triangle: there’s a reflection about how society expects you to behave, gender equality and what it really means to be “proper”.

I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s an easy-to-read classic with lovable characters, laugh out loud funny moments and a perfectly satisfying ending.

Although his writing was a bit ethereal for me at times, he told a good story, and I enjoyed it overall. I remember I saw the Merchant-Ivory film (1985 with Helena Bonham Holmes and Daniel Day Lewis) at least once and probably twice a number of years ago and liked it a lot.

One of those stories with a happy ending.

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A reread, but still as charmed by this sweet novel as I was the first time 'round.