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Arctic Summer (Hesperus Classics)

Arctic Summer (Hesperus Classics)
By E.M. Forster

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Product Description

A powerful exploration of the clash between two opposing worlds, Forster’s Arctic Summer posits the instinctive bravery of the traditional hero alongside the tolerance of the modern man, calling into question the very essence of the gentlemanly code. Embarking on a tour of Italy with his wife and mother-in-law, Martin Whitby slips and falls under a train. Owing his rescue to the quick thinking of a young soldier, he feels obliged to thank the youth, and so pursues the acquaintance. The two men differ sharply in outlook and opinion, however, and part rudely. But once back in England, Martin finds himself called upon by the soldier with an urgent request for help. British novelist E.M. Forster is the author of several 20th-century classics, including A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and A Passage to India.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1870141 in Books
  • Published on: 2003-09-01
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 104 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
"'a delicious tangle for the peeping tom in us to delve into and untangle... Forster was incapable of writing a dull or lifeless line' - From the foreword by Anita Desai, author of Fasting, Feasting 'These opening pages are masterly' - The Spectator 'Forster's relish in depicting the comfortable English abroad,... is here as keen as it was in A Room with a View.' - The Guardian"

About the Author
Novelist E.M. Forster (1879 - 1970) is best known for the works A Room With a View, Howards End and A Passage to India. Indian-born Anita Desai is one of the foremost writers of the day. Her best-known novels include In Custody (1984) and Boumgartner's Bombay (1988) and more recently, the Booker shortlisted Fasting, Feasting (2000).

Customer Reviews

Brilliant5
If you've ever read and loved any of the novels of E. M. Forster, be sure to read this one too. Forster chose not to finish it, but it works brilliantly as a self-contained novella, telling the story of two men who represent different ideals and whose paths cross in surprising ways. Swift, intense, insightful, classic.

A Shard of a Novel3
This slim volume contains what E.M.F. managed to write before writer's block set in. There is no real plot - the book ends before the plot has any chance to develop - so what you get is a handful of characters and scenes in typically Forsterian style.
One cannot help but wonder - would it be a good novel? My impression is that it would not. Certain elements and scenes have been used before (close reading reveals especially similarities to A Room with a View), and there is little new and striking. The central conflict between action and ideas would probably be too little to sustain another novel after Howards End.
In short - a necessary reading for any true Forsterian and it is very good that it is finally available in a mass-market paperback (the Abinger edition is very difficult to find) but not necessarily for the general reading public. General reading public, however, should immediately aim for the next novel Forster managed to complete: A Passage to India.