L. P. Hartley

The go-between

Leslie Poles Hartley

A man in his 60s looks back on his boyhood for the first time in 50 years, recalling events that took place on a summer visit to a Norfolk country house at the turn of the century.

The Go-between

Gavin

Was too young for it when I tried it. Love the band though.

Irene Alegre

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”. This is how this book starts. It's also my favourite bit of the book. 

Here's the thing. In another time, I would have pushed myself through this like I've pushed myself through countless of boring, long-winded and shapeless books in my life. I would have finished it, and I would have probably given it 3 stars, because there's something about finishing a book - even a dull one - that feels strangely satisfying, and that alone can sometimes prompt me to add another star. 

But these are different times. These are the times of Coronavirus, where my attention is easily grabbed by the news, the fear and the uncertainty, and where it's getting harder for me to focus on something. Anything. So I kind of need more.

In the event of dying, I would like my partner to bump into the book I was reading and think something along the lines of 'It's a shame she couldn't finish this - she was...'

- Learning so much from it
- Having so much fun
- Interested in how the story would end
- Amazed by the author's use of language

Now, none of the above was happening with this one, so I just had to let it go at page 95. I'm sorry. I tried. 

I still went on Google and searched for a spoiler-full summary of the book, because that's just the sort of person I am (the kind that will be nosy even about stuff she doesn't care about), and the rest of the plot seemed ok, interesting, but not enough to make up for the - in my opinion - messy and repetitive writing that made everything seem a lot more strange and confusing than in needed to be. I used to be ok withs folks such as Mr Vladimir Nabokov doing this because - well - he's Nabokov, but, honestly, these days I ain't got that kind of patience - not even for Nabokov. 

Maybe I've become tired of overwritten but ultimately inconsequential fiction. Or maybe I've just become lazy. Who knows.

L.P. Hartley's moving exploration of a young boy's loss of innocence The Go-Between is edited with an introduction and notes by Douglas Brooks-Davies in Penguin Modern Classics. 'The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there' When one long, hot summer, young Leo is staying with a school-friend at Brandham Hall, he begins to act as a messenger between Ted, the farmer, and Marian, the beautiful young woman up at the hall. He becomes drawn deeper and deeper into their dangerous game of deceit and desire, until his role brings him to a shocking and premature revelation. The haunting story of a young boy's awakening into the secrets of the adult world, The Go-Between is also an unforgettable evocation of the boundaries of Edwardian society. Leslie Poles Hartley (1895-1972) was born in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, and educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford. For more than thirty years from 1923 he was an indefatigable fiction reviewer for periodicals including the Spectator and Saturday Review. His first book, Night Fears (1924) was a collection of short stories; but it was not until the publication of Eustace and Hilda (1947), which won the James Tait Black prize, that Hartley gained widespread recognition as an author. His other novels include The Go-Between (1953), which was adapted into an internationally-successful film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates, and The Hireling (1957), the film version of which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. If you enjoyed The Go-Between, you might like Barry Hines's A Kestrel for a Knave, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Magical and disturbing' Independent 'On a first reading, it is a beautifully wrought description of a small boy's loss of innocence long ago. But, visited a second time, the knowledge of approaching, unavoidable tragedy makes it far more poignant and painful' Express

lena r

oh my god. like. i dont even know how to fully put into words how beautiful this book was. the entire book just felt like a pinterest aesthetic or poetry and l.p.hartley's style of writing is just so stunning :) i couldn't put it down which i know is basic and something that everyone uses to talk about books but i'm being dead serious like fhaiowegawnbgvafdsi anyway :D

Niki Sotiropoulou-Nassika

misha.

Go-Between.

Mae 

Juliana

betty books

Sonia Grgas

Infamous Millimetre

Joshua Line

Pierke Bosschieter

Aaron McCollough

Fran Lewis

Thalia 

Leo Colston - a man haunted by the events of his past - vividly recalls his unwitting role acting as a go-between for the beautiful upper-class Marian and the tenant-farmer Ted. Their illicit love affair drags young Leo into an adult world of passion and intrigue. This haunting, ambitious musical by Richard Taylor and David Wood is a deeply moving coming-of-age story, exploring the shadows the past can cast on the present. Based on the classic novel by L.P. Hartley, the West End production of this award-winning musical starred Michael Crawford.

The Go-Between

Charlotte Silber

Emma Nash

Kristina

Nadia Bailey

Bill Mazza

A man in his sixties looks back on his boyhood for the first time in fifty years, recalling events that took place at the turn of the century. Cautiously he unearths painful memories that have been buried for years. This is the story of lost innocence, a loss so shattering and profound that it breeds a lasting mistrust of life.

Esme

Moray Lyle McIntosh

The go-between

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