Book Review
May. 3rd, 2005 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Old Wives' Tale
by Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett has a tremedous talent for realism. This late nineteenth century novel about the lives of Sophia and Constance Baines, sisters from a small Staffordshire town, rings completely true. Constance lives the more conventional life, marrying the lead apprentice in her father's shop and eventually having a son; whereas Sophia's life takes a much more daring turn - she runs off to Paris with a less than scrupulous man. After he leaves her, Sophia survives the siege of Paris on her own and ends up owning and running a very successful hotel. Bennett eschews any judgment or moralizing on their two different fates, instead treating them as lives rather than lessons. He's not interested in the themes of sin and redemption or the rewards of virtue; he's interested in what life itself is.
The trajectories of their two very different lives is completely believable, and their progression from young girls to old women is utterly natural. Bennett is able to create lives that are real and complete. Underneath it all is a sympathetic exploration of the passage of time and its effects on a person's character and personality.
by Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett has a tremedous talent for realism. This late nineteenth century novel about the lives of Sophia and Constance Baines, sisters from a small Staffordshire town, rings completely true. Constance lives the more conventional life, marrying the lead apprentice in her father's shop and eventually having a son; whereas Sophia's life takes a much more daring turn - she runs off to Paris with a less than scrupulous man. After he leaves her, Sophia survives the siege of Paris on her own and ends up owning and running a very successful hotel. Bennett eschews any judgment or moralizing on their two different fates, instead treating them as lives rather than lessons. He's not interested in the themes of sin and redemption or the rewards of virtue; he's interested in what life itself is.
The trajectories of their two very different lives is completely believable, and their progression from young girls to old women is utterly natural. Bennett is able to create lives that are real and complete. Underneath it all is a sympathetic exploration of the passage of time and its effects on a person's character and personality.
