Started: 09/12/19
Finished: 12/12/19
Spoliers: Mild.
This book reminds me a lot of Brideshead Revisited, and in fact, after finishing that book and loving it, I took to Google in a fit of passion to find other ‘early 20th century same-sex books’. It seemed like an obscure niche, especially as I specifically wanted books written before homosexuality was legalised.
Google immediately came back with Maurice, and it didn’t disappoint.
Characters
Ugh, these characters. Maurice and Clive were endearing and very easy to support.
I felt so keenly for the struggles of these two young men, and also indirectly for the struggles of the author. He clearly writes from experience and the truth is harsh and saddening.
The way I am interpreting these characters is Maurice is gay and Clive is bisexual. You don’t simply wake up one day and ‘become normal’. You are the way you are, and no amount of maturing can change that. Clive loved Maurice. Then he simply fell out of love with him and fell in love with a woman instead. That doesn’t mean he’s cured. He’s simply attracted to both but found a life partner in Anne.
When Clive throws around words like ‘normal’ and ‘cured’, it’s so detrimental to Maurice. If he’d have said he simply likes both, Maurice would feel more comfortable in his own skin. He wouldn’t feel so wrong. I just want to reach through the pages and hug him, and tell him it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with him. He isn’t sick.
I also feel for Clive in that respect. He’s confused, perhaps a little scared. He feels love for a woman for the first time and he’s latched onto it with both hands because his believes this is how he should be. I can’t begin to imagine what life was like for homosexuals in those times. It breaks my heart.
Plot
A tragic tale of love found and love lost and then found again. It started so well, so tender and lovely and heart-warming. Then things went downhill pretty quickly. Likely things get up, brush itself off and begin the slow uphill climb back to happiness.
The short of it, this book is about a young man - Maurice - going off to Cambridge University and discovering himself and his sexuality after falling in love with another young man, Clive. Maurice knows its wrong, as he’s been told from a young age that men marry women. It’s expected of them. He also knows it’s illegal to be gay, and at first denies his feelings, trying to suppress who he really is. But his love for Clive is too strong to be ignored.
Books like this make me appreciate that we live in such an inclusive society nowadays. I know this isn’t the case everywhere in the world, but we’re getting better. Every day we’re getting better and more accepting
Writing Style
It took a short while to get into the writing. At first, it felt so brief and blaze, but soon I started to enjoy the breezy style in which the topic is explored. There was something so honest about the writing. So open and unapologetic. It wasn’t trying to hide or disguise itself, wrap up the subject matter in flowery prose that can only be construed as homosexual content. Hinting, whilst never actually addressing it. The gloves were off. There is no way to misconstrue this novel. The content is 100% homosexual discovery, and I understand why the author didn’t want to publish it in his lifetime, and I sympathise.
I can only imagine how relieving and therapeutic this must have been to write for him. To speak his truth and his feelings knowing he could be as open and honest as he liked, knowing he wouldn’t meet the negative repercussions of it.
Final Impression This is an important book. Of all the books I’ve read that people claim to be important books, I truly feel that is this actually an important book. This is impactful. It gives you pause. It makes you think. And it make you appreciative.
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