Name: The Well of Loneliness
Rating: 3.9375 (16 reviews)
ISBN: 9781840224559

Radclyffe Hall

The Well of Loneliness was banned for obscenity when published in 1928. It became an international bestseller, and for decades was the single most famous lesbian novel.

The Well of Loneliness

ikkychan

Got it from a friend as birthday gift but I postponed reading it until several months passed.<br /><br />The novel is a bildungsroman, tells the life of Stephen Gordon, right from her bizarre childhood through adulthood, discovering herself as queer and facing all sort of hardship she has to deal with since society hasn't been very kind on this sort of predicament (well, still, i might add).<br /><br />But holy moly what a wreck of melodrama this book is ...... it's full of over-the-top melancholia and heart-wrenching love martyrdom.... so heavy with emotion and frustration.... i just felt so unnecessary exhausted.

Ilse

This book was rather an unexpected gem that I bought on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed! It tells the story of Stephen, the good, the bad and the ugly, without any bias, just as it is. I loved her internal thought processes, her thoughts about love and the love between those of the same sex. It was a tragic story, with a tragic end, but one I'd really recommend anyone read!

'What do I care for the world's opinion? What do I care for anything but you!' Named by her wealthy father, who wanted a boy, Stephen knows she does not fit in. She hates wearing her hair long, loves riding, and fencing and, she soon realizes, is attracted to women. From the battlefields of the First World War and to the streets of bohemian Paris, The Well of Loneliness recounts her passionate search for love and fulfilment. The subject of one of the most notorious obscenity trials in history, Radclyffe Hall's landmark 1928 work of lesbian fiction is a moving portrayal of a woman determined to live life on her own terms. With a new Introduction by Maureen Duffy 'It should be read for the contempt it aroused in the British establishment.' Guardian

Allegra Mejri

Devo dire che poche volte sono completamente soddisfatta di un finale, e questa è una delle poche. 
Un finale tristissimo e pessimistico, ma perfettamente azzeccato.

La stessa cosa vale per il titolo: solamente verso la fine ti rendi conto di come uno degli argomenti centrali del libro sia proprio la solitudine.
Il romanzo riesce a stimolare anche nel lettore quest’emozione che Stephen prova durante tutta la sua vita: l’angoscia di non avere nessuno al proprio fianco, l’abbandono e il rifiuto da parte delle persone più vicine a lei.
Il finale fa leva proprio su questo, sul fatto che dopo tutta una vita Stephen ha accettato il suo crudele destino, suo e di tutti gli altri “invertiti”.

Isabela H 

Whoa
Whoa whoa whoa
This book is probably the only book that has spoken to me on such a deep level.

The Well of Loneliness

Reviews

Highlights