Sylvia Townsend Warner
1936
Around 410 pages
Reading this in December is like reading Jaws on a ski trip. Some things are just thematically inappropriate and they bother me. Whereas I can go an entire lifetime without noticing that a lightbulb is burned out. My disturbing eccentricities aside, I still had other issues with this book.
The best revenge against a cheating husband is to run away with his mistress. In this case, the scorned wife in question is Sophia Willoughby, and the mistress is Minna, a revolutionary "Jewess." Just like with Margaret Mitchell, we get a white lady with good intentions creating one of the most racist novels I've ever read. She probably thought she was being progressive in having Minna be so financially selfless, but she also takes great pains to describe what Sophia considers her ugly Jewish features.
I do enjoy stories with bi representation, as bi erasure is a very real thing in media. And I adore the premise, I just don't think her prose is as readable as some of her contemporaries. These racist novels are hard on the soul.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
As a child, Sylvia was home-schooled by her father after being kicked out of kindergarten for mimicking the teachers.
UP NEXT: To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway. Good to see you again Papa.
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