7-3-13 "Chapter 70, the last chapter" THANK GOD! Agggh. For the moment it's a three...it may make it to four on reflection. Had I read it years ago, before becoming cognizant of and sympathetic to the Palestinian perspective, I suspect my view would be different.I started it as audio, but it was a radio production rather than reading, so I decided to read it.-- that was February 22, 2012.
Time passes.... :-) .... I have resumed 5-14-13...or started over with audio, read (and have a copy of the physical book in the bookcase next to my bed--and have downloaded an e-version for my computer, ipad and -- very unlikely -- iphone consumption.) On the second disk and my gawd Gwendolen is ... not someone I would want to know. At all. But I have known young women of whom she reminds me....
"it was never her aspiration to express herself virtuously so much as cleverly—a point to be remembered in extenuation of her words, which were usually worse than she was." Hard to believe. I'm waiting for her to become a reasonable human being...which,I gather from other reviews, does happen. I would quit right now if there weren't that promise.
7-2-13 now 5/6th of the way: Oh puh-leez!! Everyone, without exception, is self-indulgent in his or her own way. (Every one of the major characters, at least.) Sir Hugo and Hans may be excepted.