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| Women in Love (Penguin Popular Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: D.h. Lawrence
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: £2.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 17049
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.5 x 1.5
ISBN: 014062161X
EAN: 9780140621617
ASIN: 014062161X
Publication Date: March 28, 1996
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 "Not about Women, Not about being in Love" April 27, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Let us not be misled: this book isn't about Women, and certainly isn't about being in Love. This begs the question, of course, "What is WOMEN IN LOVE about?"
"Women in Love" is more complex and intense, than your average novel: it is, arguably, a difficult book, and yet a very rewarding read... The satisfaction of having bent your consciousness into the mental gymnastics of Lawrence's intricate imagery or having somehow, somewhat come close to probing the depths of Birkin's entirely abstract reflections, will be greater than any scruples regarding the length, plot (or lack thereof)that may discourage some readers.
Lawrence delves into the abyss of mankind trying to shake loose the old ideals, to find a new expression, a new style for what had previously (pre-WWI?) been inexpressible, if not inexistent. He reduces the ego to its fluctuating, water-like nature, as we follow the Brangwen Sisters' parallel Love affairs. Through the character of Birkin, Lawrence questions Morality, Humanity and Love, and manifests the paradoxical longing to see the annihilation of the corrupt world ("If only mankind should pass away... Mankind is a dead letter.") and yet be "Salvator Mundi." While Hermione, perhaps the most infuriating character, leads us into Prufrockian reflections of consciousness and spontaneity. ("Better be animals, mere animals, than this nothingness!")
My only reservation lies in the unfulfilling nature of the novel, yet perhaps, that is what Lawrence was going for. Moreover, I find it difficult to assert, with any certainty, whether there is, any hope of Salvation, in the light of the four major characters' fates. I indeed fear that Beldover be a waste land where "the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief," (The Waste Land) as Gudrun says: "Everything fails to materialise... it all withers in the bud."
I can only conclude that I highly reccomend this book-- although to be fair, I know I haven't even come close to uncovering its true depth. I believe that this "dissatisfaction" begs for a re-reading, and is a key element in the novel's "greatness" and claim as a classic. And while I ponder upon the implications of "If one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere," I shall leave the remainder of the world to "distil themselves in nitro-glycerine, out of very love."
Lets look at the facts November 16, 2003
8 out of 37 found this review helpful
This is simply the most powerful book ever written. It acts as a viscious, shuddering, chasm producing unconscious edifice that both repels existing systems of thought in the reader and is the medium of the creation of reinvigorated thought-systems. It acts violently both consciously and unconsciously. Consciously there is the valuation and discussion of culture and contemporary social history (contemporary to the era). Yet the real force of the book is unconscious. The language is imbued with primitive unconscious rhythms, repitition and an easy system of metaphor production, where the writer sees that whatever comes first and most simply to the mind (without the intrusion of the conscious) is always the necessarily the best. It is the opposite of Joyce. Here there is no interference or artificiality. Lawrence's writing is nowhere near as sophisticated or heaped in magnificent symbolism and phraseology. But those things are only magnificent to the conscious mind. Lawrentian metaphors and description strike at the lowest common denominator of thought; this is always the most telling, it provokes, it shatters, it creates anew. It delves into reaches of the impersonal being no other books ever have done, and the resulting notation has the effect of being a depiction that is a lurid cocktail of conscious and unconscious. As Lawrence said the book is a viscious struggle of things becoming conscious. Yet the effect of reading Women In Love is to re-enter and know consciously for the first time states of the unconscious. In Joyce you remember the words, in Lawrence you don't. Joyce is the writer's writer. The beauty and ingeniousness of his prose is truly astonishing. But Lawrence, for me, is the reader's writer. The effect of reading his work is, in my experience, unsurpassable. From a personal perspective, the zones of perception I entered on reading this novel were a revelation. Perceptions and sensations shifted, fluxxed, were drawn into a rhythm within life that was both magnificent and a consummation of something inexplicable.
I see what Lawrence stands for as the equivalent of what Picasso represents to visual art. Both provoke strong opinions as a consequence of the power of their art. However negative there will always be a reaction. Their methods of working are similar also. There is a selfless submission to a frantic frenzy of creation, were they leapt headforth into unknown territories of their own creation. There is also an occasional crudity about many of the things they created, yet this was essential in that the best things in their work are often so closely bound up with the worst things.
'The beauty of the thing badly done'-a telling phrase by someone I unfortunately forget, one crucial to understanding how pre-existing notions of 'badness' in art often are referred towards works that have the most powerful effect; whilst the impressiveness and easy comprehension of the merits of recognisably good things lead often to the work in which these things are located leaving an impresion of dullness and nullity in the participant. This is never the case in Women In Love. It is unquestionably one of the greats.
 review of Lawrence's masterpiece Women in Love November 21, 2002
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Lawrence's novel sets the scene just before the first world war in England, in atmosphere of anxious ignorance. Lawrence intimately explores the lives of the two sisters Gudrun and Ursula, as they discover what it is to be in love and the confusion of emotion that accompanies it. Gudrun falls in love with the charming Gerald whilst Ursula and Birkin embark on a more cynical and cautious affair; the different personalities of the sisters allow Lawrence to illustrate contrasting approaches to love and lust. The unique style, typical of Lawrence, takes the form of philosophical conversation in different scenarios, which is brought to life by the individuality of the characters and their beliefs. The issues that the novel raises are conveyed in a very personal way that allows Lawrence's mind to shine through his characters and additionally permits the reader a greater incite into the authors philosophies and vulnerability. Lawrence's attention to detail of the two protagonists displays his superb understanding of the human mind and sexual desire. This is a story that is strongly driven and created by its characters, who never allow the focus to waver or the reader to tire....
Other books that might be enjoyed: E M Forster, A Room with a View, D.H. Lawrence The Rainbow
 Not the Rainbow sequel I had expected... October 11, 2001
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
Hmm, bit unsure about this one. In many ways, it seems like DHL trying to share his own philosophy and opinions with the world at large, probably in some attempt to justify himself. Granted, some of his views are inspired and have given me a lot of food for thought, particularly in terms of my own attitudes to relationships. However, some of the ramblings of Birkin and Criche are incomprehensible nonsense. What is striking however is the continued relevance of his opinions of Britain/the British, he could have written this yesterday.I greatly enjoyed the Rainbow and at the time I read that novel, I felt that Ursula Brangwen was someone I could really relate to, and indeed love.
Unfortunately, I found her character to be scarcely recognisable in Women in Love and largely ignored by Lawrence in his examination of the male characters.
Anyone, like me, hoping for a sequel to the Rainbow would be sadly disappointed.
a deep experience into realising the denials of nature March 1, 2001
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
the story of a relationship that is possible between both sexes of nature. And that there can exist an endearing and devotive relations with the same sex. Birkin lost his loved friend, Gerald who has not a decency sense of love within him. He has only the heart to dominate and believe that empowering others is the power of all. while Birkin's view of love is comprehendable yet impossible in many ways. It is the spiritual-like that survives most and that sex was not the issue to really love and in connect with the other one
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