Customer Reviews

Aspects of Love

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not a novel for everyone.

Garnett's novel is somewhat outdated in its style, the writing is at times quaint, despite the subject matter.

Aspects of Love, the novel which inspired the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, follows the coming of age of Alexis, a young soldier in love with an actress, Rose. Alexis' pursuit of Rose becomes intertwined with his uncle, her daugther, his uncle's lover, Rose's lover, and an assortment of other bit players. The book was originally released in Britain in 1955, and is, to a great extent, something like the "Desperate Housewives" of the time; it requires a scorecard to keep up with who is sleeping with whom on any given page.

Despite all the astonishing pairings (especially given the time it was released), it's not a particularly good book. The writing is somewhat weak, the plot beyond the romantic intrigue is shoddy, and if you knew the musical first (which most people reading the novel today do), you miss the music. The descriptions of the countryside are lovely, but the novel just can't quite make up for being an outdated melodrama with an unlikely racy streak.