Women in Love

By: D. H. Lawrence

Narrated by: Catherine Abbott

"Women in Love" is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence published in 1920. It follows the loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, an industrialist. Lawrence contrasts this pair with the love that develops between Ursula and Rupert Birkin, an alienated intellectual who articulates many opinions associated with the author.

The emotional relationships thus established are given further depth and tension by an intense psychological and physical attraction between Gerald and Rupert. The novel ranges over the whole of British society before the time of the First World War. Ursula's character draws on Lawrence's wife Frieda, and Gudrun on Katherine Mansfield, while Rupert Birkin has elements of Lawrence himself, and Gerald Crich of Mansfield's husband, John Middleton Murry.©2017 Audioliterature (P)2017 Audioliterature

Boring people in lust

This may be sacrilege to publicly admit, but D.H. Lawrence bores me to tears.

So far, I have endured Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, and this, Women in Love, all of which are placed at the #9, #48 and #49 of the Modern Library's Top 100 books of the 20th Century.

For the love of all that's literary, why?

Every character in all three novels are unlovable, unredeemable and narcissistic as only the privileged class can be. And while far too many of the top half of this list has been books about English aristocracy, at least they are fairly interesting. Anthony Powell's twelve novel, four Audible "Dance To the Music of Time" was over 80 hours long and threw over 300 characters at the reader/listener but at least the majority of these characters were interesting.

Lawrence's characters are just mind crushingly tedious in their self absorption. The sex, though verbose, flowery and wordy and supposedly controversial, is just so uninteresting. Even the naked wrestling in front of a fire should be, if nothing else, humorous, yet didn't even measure up to a giggle or titter. It just felt sad and terribly juvenile as if the writer was desperately typing with one hand while staring at a scene over a guazy windowsill before someone caught him peeking breathlessly at something kind of pathetic.

Now, every writer has word crutches but Lawrence elevates it to an art form. In this story, he latched on to the word "inchoate" which is interesting when properly applied once. But he used the word no less than nine times in one chapter as if he had just learned the word that day of writing and couldn't get it out of his head that day and forgot he'd already used it. But, sadly, a few chapters later, it is as if the word popped into his head again and he just couldn't stop using it again.

I'm not sure if Lawrence was ever diagnosed as obsessive compulsive but his writing style certainly suggests it. Fortunately, his work takes up no more positions on the Top 100 list so, I've served my time in his pathetic word asylum.

Oh, and if you feel you must get this novel and choose the Audible format, there are a few English options with respect to performers. No disrespect to Ms. Abbott but she made a terribly tedious story seemingly drag on so much longer with her very slow narration. Too often, her narrative style did not seem to match up with the appropriate emotion. That could be because, she too, grew bored with the story and just stopped reading in advance for the appropriate verbal clue. While I prefer unabridged, that doesn't mean I have to settle for a drawn out narrative style.

In short, no, don't waste your time with this. It's 24 hours you will never get back.

Catherine Abbott

Catherine Abbott is an excellent narrator. The best. But it takes a little while to begin to appreciate her artistry. However, it is artistry. Lawrence would be very pleased.

Better than sleeping pills

I know it's supposed to be a classic, but a long, boring book read by a narrator with slow, mono-toned voice...if works wonders on insomnia.