Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence is the popular choice for this month's reading group
Sons and Lovers is the clear winner of the vote – and so will be the book we read on this month's DH Lawrence-themed reading group. It's clearly a popular choice. A few people appear to have suggested it because they happen to have a copy lying around and feel like they ought to read it, but more generally the reaction resembled that of Itcouldbewords, who wrote: "Sons and Lovers is the obvious entry into Lawrence's oeuvre – it is fascinating, original, and to my mind the first novel to treat the working class in a subjective, rather than objective, manner."
Gorky1 said simply: "Sons and Lovers please … Lawrence is a giant and really a poet!"
Will we agree by the end of the month? Having read the first few pages, I'm not so sure, but that's where the fun lies …
But before we get to argument, persuasion and hopefully discovering the joy of Lawrence, we have to decide which version to read, if we are to heed this warning from evensford: "Sons and Lovers is the obvious choice to begin with, but it's also important to think about which version to read. Lawrence was a greater reviser (as demonstrated by the three completely different versions of Lady Chatterley, all written independently of each other, from scratch), and Sons and Lovers was also heavily edited and censored by Edward Garnett. The fully authoritative Cambridge UP version of the text (which is available from Penguin in this country) has restored the text to something much closer to Lawrence's MS, and is substantially different (about 10% longer), as well as being racier and more passionate, than the other available versions."
I'm going to go for the Penguin. Don't worry too much if you have a different version – discussing the variations could be interesting in itself. I do, however, have one definite recommendation. I'm delighted to say that Geoff Dyer will be joining us for a webchat at the end of the month, and his Out of Sheer Rage: In the Shadow of DH Lawrence sounds like essential reading for anyone who (like me) has doubts about Lawrence. Richardstrachan tells us it is a masterpiece. I can't wait to get stuck in.
via Books: Fiction | guardian.co.uk
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