Customer Reviews:
 The Quintessence Of Forster September 28, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This was perhaps my first real introduction to literature, apart from "1984", the inevitable smart-schoolboy read, and "Sons And Lovers". As such it was a revelation - Forster's empathy, subtlety, lyricism and chracterisation are magnificent, while being oddly inobtrusive. There are no verbal pyrotechnics as you might find in DH Lawrence or Virginia Woolf, but a deeper vision of life that was wonderful to encounter at 15.
Forster's writing trajectory had led him to be able to write a "condition of England" novel - while his previous novels had perhaps erred on the side of social satire and comedy ("A Room With A View" and "Where Angels Fear To Tread"), or been a personal projection ("The Longest Journey"), "Howards End" is more the work of a professional novelist. It has a far greater scale than his previous novels, is in fact a great novel of London, and there is less of the mythology which appears overtly in his short stories and covertly in his previous fiction (especially "The Longest Journey").
The novel is almost entirely character driven - the plot, like life itself, is somewhat formless and inchoate. Two contrasting families, the cultured Schlegels and the financial-sector Wilcoxes, clash and mesh over the course of the novel. Their interactions, contrasts and enmeshings form the action of the novel. At the background Howards End, the house of Mrs Wilcox, stands as repository of all the values Forster cherishes, as the reconcilliation of all divisive opposites.
During the novel Margaret Schelegel and Mrs Wilcox become friends. But after an illness Mrs Wilcox dies, and Mr Wilcox, Henry, later marries Margaret, the elder and more empathetic of the Schlegel sisters. (Helen in contrast is more impetuous, less considered - poetry rather than prose). But unknown to Margaret, a dying bequest to leave Howards End to Margaret is dismissed and burned. At the end of the novel, after various unlikely contortions, Margaret is finally living in Howards End, as a sort of spiritual sucessor of Mrs Wilcox, in more than name. Here Forster's latent mysticism becomes apparent, but it's not incongruous or off-putting; rather it's a matter of values. Margaret by marrying into the Wilcoxes and infusing her ideals into their (as demonstrated by the novel) rather barren view of life, thus enriches all around her. She stands for integration and completion, rather than seperation and isolation, as seen in Helen's isolating the blame for Leonard Bast's misfortunes on Henry, or Henry's failure to connect his shameful past with his treatment of Helen when she is pregnant.
As said above, Howards End is a symbol of the reconcilliation of opposites - "Only connect!", as Margaret (and Forster) would say. Prose and passion, the inner life and the outer, city life and country life, culture and business, all stand conjoined by the end of the novel, when the baby is being taken out into the hayfield (plainly Forster's imagining of his young self) outside Howards End.
This is a magnificent novel, large in scope, with unforgettable characters (you often see people who you think are like Margaret or Henry or Helen or indeed Tibby), a vision that is unique and a subtle imagery that resonates ever louder with every re-reading. Its discussions of music, art and the topography of England are worth reading the novel for alone. While Forster can sometimes be obscured behind the more famous DH Lawrence or Virginia Woolf, this novel is the greatest to come out of Edwardian England.
A true classic December 30, 2005
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
The characters are rich and compelling, leading the reader to have real compassion for even the more uncompassionate sorts. It is an excellent way to spend rainy afternoons with a cat on one's lap and a cup of English tea by one's side.The primary action focusses upon families ' first the Schlegels, genteel without being titled or particularly monied, but far from poor; second, the Wilcoxes, successful financial class, largely without too much background, and a few additional characters such as Leonard Bast and his wife, struggling working-class characters who, through a misappropriated umbrella, become entangled in and damaged by the affairs of the Schlegels and Wilcoxes. The action throughout much of the novel consists of a study of manners and morals. The elder Schlegel daughter becomes friendly with the dying Mrs. Wilcox, and they become friends of a sort. After the death of Mrs. Wilcox, Margaret remains in contact with the Wilcoxes, eventually being courted by the widower Wilcox. The younger Schlegel daughter, Helen, is much more of a rebel, rejecting the implicit superiority of convention while perfectly happy to revel in the benefits of her station in life. Her sister Margaret lives a bit precariously through Helen (and, indeed, Mrs. Wilcox lives precariously through Margaret). Only the male Wilcoxes seem to be living for themselves, but they are far from attractive characters, more concerned with a subtle greed and propriety that is always ready to assume the worst in anyone beneath their station. Here enters the unfortunate Mr. Bast, a stable if lowly clerk in a bank in the City of London, with dreams of more, but tied to a job and a wife, both of whom will never lead to greater things. Through a minor accident he encounters Helen, and this eventually leads to an affair, which leads to a potential scandal. Bast, unfortunately, has a run-in with the Wilcox son who assumes a gallantry quite out of place, and suffers the consequences thereof. This text explores the dominance of inflexible social structures and moral expectations in the post-Victorian England of the early twentieth century. Friendship, vocation and career, love and marriage, attitudes toward money and property ' all are keenly examined and each, in turn, are found wanting of humanity, until finally the elder Schlegel daughter takes a small but meaningful stand. For those who don't know, Howards End is actually the name of a cottage that features in the book, not prominently, but meaningfully. The text was converted into a film that is quite exquisite, being a well-appointed Merchant/Ivory production a la 'Room with a View' and 'A Passage to India', both also by the same author). Forster is perhaps the quintessential novelist of the English experience in the early part of the last century. His juxtaposition of characters from different social classes and backgrounds, his feeling for his characters (even as they appear to have no feelings themselves, or very repressed feelings by American standards), and his plots that are meandering and uneventful yet interesting and attention-holding make for a style that is very much in keeping with the subject matter.
 A wonderful story!! August 25, 2005
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
I read "Howards End" about two months ago. I chose this book because of its attactive and classic cover ,which is out standing. I quite like it because the author had shown the real representation of Brith society that classified to upper, middle and lower class society. It has specific manner and life style ,which is absolutely different in each of the classes. The viewpoint of this book is to sympathize the poor, keep a promise, good deed procreate good returns and bad deed also procreate bad returns ,which I have learnt so much from it.
My favourite novel. August 8, 2001
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
Howard's End is a story of relationships, and the differences between people in the late victorian age.The book's heroines are the two Schlegel sisters, Helen and Margaret - well-to-do women of independent means and philanthropic natures as they find their way through life in the comfort that comes with a steady annual income. The introduction of the Wilcox family illustrates the vast differences in outlook and behaviour that people of the same class could encapsulate. Whereas the Schlegels hold 'Literature and Art' in the highest of esteem, the Wilcoxes live in a world of 'panic and emptiness' and 'telegrams and anger'. The novel also shows Forster's views on a changing world - the distasteful motor cutting up the roads, creating dust and killing cats is the Wilcoxes pride and joy, preempting the prevalence of the car in later years and its effect on the world. The phenomenon of urban sprawl is also dealt with in the book, as Forster describes London creeping its way into the countryside. The characters who suffer from hayfever are those who belong to the city and the new order - they have discarded the old way of life in the country and have moved to the city, where money and cars and 'telegrams and anger' prevail. The idea of the home is also very important in the novel. The Wilcoxes have a disregard for a 'home', seeing each as a device for living in. The Schlegels, and Mrs. Wilcox (who acts as a bridge between the two families) see a house as much more and apply sentimental value to houses and gardens. Class is also dealt with in the case of Leonard Bast, a lowly clerk whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of these two wealthy families. He is a pathetic and pitiable character, who strives to better himself through literature and art but cannot climb his way out of the depths of his social standing, hampered by a disastrous marriage. This is (no hyperbole) my favourite book. It has passages and turns of phrase that you will want to remember, and deals with issues in a natural and thought-provoking manner. If you haven't read it already, why not!
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