- Home
- GENERAL FICTION REVIEWS
- The Virgin and the Gypsy Reviewed By Pujitha Krishnan Fernandes Of Bookpleasures.com
The Virgin and the Gypsy Reviewed By Pujitha Krishnan Fernandes Of Bookpleasures.com
- By Pujitha Krishnan Fernandes
- Published June 21, 2011
- GENERAL FICTION REVIEWS
Pujitha Krishnan Fernandes
Reviewer Pujitha Krishnan Fernandes:
Pujitha is a freelance writer and content consultant. A book lover,
she would like nothing better than to spend all her time reading. A
full-time writer and part-time blogger, she shares her books,
enthusiasms, passing fancies and grouses at Stargazerpuj's Book Blog.
Click Here To Purchase The Virgin and the Gypsy (Naxos Complete Classics)
Author: D.H
Lawrence
Reader: Georgina Sutton
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
CD
ISBN: 978-184-379-453-0
Lucille and Yvette Saywell are
young girls who feel oppressed in their middle class home in the
rectory. The girls are irritated by their old grandmother and angry
aunt, and they feel doomed to a life of boredom and middle class
existence. But when Yvette meets a gypsy, strange feelings rise in
her that threaten all accepted morality of the family and
society.
As expected, of D.H Lawrence questions and casts
aside all accepted morality and societal norms in this short novella.
Lucille and Yvette live until the dark cloud of their mother
who abandoned her husband and children and ran away with a younger
man.
Yvette has never been in love and scorns the attention of
the young men of her social circle. She is disdainful of her family
and her home and openly flouts rules and their idea of morality.
These
young girls are full of life and promise and feel that they are
wasting away in their prison-like home. This is a short novel, but
Lawrence packs a lot into it. The characters are well drawn, and easy
to recognize: the old grandmother who holds onto her position of
power in the house, the frustrated aunt who is angry about wasting
away her life and her sex in service to her mother, the loving,
ineffective father who wants to be liked.
A big part of the
problem is that the young boys and girls in this small town actually
have everything. What they lack is intellectual stimulation and real
difficulties. This brings about a sense of ennui and disdain for
their families. Which is why when Yvette meets the gypsy, her
interest is piqued. He represents freedom, virility and earthiness.
Only at the end does she realise how she feels about him and learns
his name and sees him more than a romantic concept.
The end
seemed a little rushed and incomplete (this novella was published
posthumously) and a little overly dramatic.
The audiobook: I
suggest that you do listen to this novella in audio. Georgina Sutton
does a great job of creating the ethereal Yvette, the old
grandmother, the choleric aunt and the gruff and real gypsy. I only
listened to it once, but bits of dialogue stand out in my memory for
which the audio production is the reason.
I will definitely be
looking for more classics to consume in audio. Having someone
interpret the material intelligently adds so much to my absorption
and enjoyment of the book.
Highly recommended for anyone who
enjoys classics, especially D.H Lawrence. I do suggest you try the
audiobook, it greatly added to my appreciation of this short novel.