No Subject

[jmk]

this book shows how society worked then and still works now, the rich, the middle and the poor.

[mono]

Hmmm, you post vaguely, but with much truth. I adored D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, not only for its wealth in sociological factors, as you mentioned, between economics, but for its mere uniquity in time. I believe, in fact, that the novel did not even have availability in England and the United States until long after Lawrence's death, due to its . . . explicit . . . details, shared also by other works by the same author.
I see what you mean, however, jmk. That the fictional character, Lady Chatterley, had intimate relations with others, far from her socio-economic status (the Irish visitor and the local land's caretaker), other characters, especially Mr. Chatterley, for obvious reasons, found absolutely appalling. Even today, with some exceptions, one could find it rare that an individual in great stature should fall in love with one of lesser or of a poorest lifestyle.
This seemed Lawrence's great goal, I think, as he wrote much of love, as one could simply see from his novels' titles. Behind his seemingly Hedonist descriptions and intimacy, any reader, especially of his poetry, could call him a very passionate man, who, eagerly, soaked all of the sweetest juices of his short life of fourty-four.

[starrwriter]

I think "Lady Chatterly's Lover" was by far Lawrence's best novel. Aside from the honesty and simple beauty of the love scenes (his preliminary title was "Tenderness"), the novel contains a scathing indictment of the dehumanizing effects of industrial society like much of Lawrence's writing.

His short story "The Prussian Officer" is the one selected for most anthologies, but I consider "The Rocking Horse Winner" a better story. It's an eery tale of a family gone very wrong. "There must be more money" is a disembodied phrase that haunts mother and son alike.

As much as I like Lawrence's fiction, I enjoy his travel essays even more. Twilight in Italy, The Sea and Sardinia and Reflections On The Death Of A Porcupine are among my favorites. His travel stories are a mix of acute observation and philosophical ideas that I find fascinating.