E. M. Forster is good at writing about the peccadilloes of the British classes. In A Room with a View, we see romantic interest clash with respectability in the upper classes as they vacation in the south of Europe. Lucy is being courted by Cecil, who is just the kind of toff mothers approve of but peers despise. Despite her misgivings she gives in to his proposal of marriage, only to realize that she is in love with the man she met while vacationing in Florence. The book has a happy ending and amor vincit omnia, which makes it one of the more romantic and positive of Forster’s works.

Forster writes in his dry style, making us privy to many small innuendoes that change the lives of people. A forelock brushed away, a hasty exclamation, an uninvited guest, these are the nuances that are present in the book and accessible to the careful reader. Final verdict: Not as sterling as some of his other work, but a good read nonetheless.

ISBN: 0-14-118329-2

E. M. Forster dissects social attitudes prevalent in the Raj during the glory days of Empire. Not the liberal attitudes of London, but the social attitudes present in far-flung colonial outposts where the iron fist must prevail. Adela Quested journeys to India to marry the magistrate of a small Indian town, a certain Ronny Heaslop. She wonders what it would be like to see the real India and Indians but the British are adamant about the colour bar, refusing to mix with the Indians socially unless absolutely necessary. Adela, of course, refuses to obey and visits the Marabar caves, a tourist attraction just outside the city. A panic attack ensues and the Indian guide, Dr. Aziz is accused of raping the Englishwoman.

Dr. Aziz is eventually acquitted but is embittered by the automatic assumption of guilt on his behalf. Adela returns to England in shame and the British try to bury the incident as a shameful episode best forgotten quickly. Forster’s prose is perfect in creating the atmosphere that surrounds such a situation. With a minimum of fuss and without a wasted word, he conveys emotions precisely and meaningfully with the right word in the right place. Contrast “muddle” with “mess”, for example and you have a glimpse of the precision that marks Forster’s oeuvre.

All in all, a great book, one that should be enjoyed thoroughly.