Review by sboyd007 -- Looking Glass Friends by E L Neve
Posted: 29 Oct 2019, 22:19
[Following is a volunteer review of "Looking Glass Friends" by E L Neve.]
4 out of 4 stars
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You never realize how alone you are until you find someone who understands you. Looking Glass Friends by E.L. Neve is about two complete strangers that after one act of kindness catapults into a deep friendship and causes them to reevaluate the world around them. I have not read such luscious writing since Pride and Prejudice. The letters between these friends is pure poetry. Every sentence more intoxicating than the last. It is a conflicting novel though; you question the morality of these characters as they abandon and virtually "cheat" on their partners for someone they don't even know. Essentially that's what makes it brilliant.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of the poetic nature of the book. The main character, Ellie, is a lover of literature and learning new things. So when she starts writing to Neil, you can't blame the man for getting swept away. Ellie seems to have all the answers or at least presents the right questions for Neil in order for him to delve deeper into his feelings so he can articulate them. And with Neil being her match intellectually, Ellie is able to have a friend that shares her common interests. The conversations between Ellie and Neil are so enriching I almost envy them. It's a pleasant surprise to meet your mental match and a rarity to see it happen in a book.
One thing I disliked about the novel is this pedestal men put Ellie on. Supposedly she's this innocent beauty and men flock to her like flies. But I don't understand the fascination. Neil practically made her into a martyr after their first encounter which I can understand. However, if Neil had just expressed himself to his wife, he wouldn't have been so affected by Ellie's gesture. Ellie's husband is different seeing as he saw Ellie more as a possession. Although he was the first to notice the changes in Ellie and his wicked ways were revealed to the audience, I believe he was more hurt than he led on because of how high a standard he sat Ellie at.
Regardless of how innocent or righteous they tried to paint Ellie, I knew she wasn't nowhere as good as she seemed. Her affinity for poetic words aside, Ellie was a regular woman who wasn't all she cracked up to be. She was a kept woman and she handled herself as such. Under her husband's care, she could live in her fantasy world without interruption. So if she was really this brain she wanted to make herself out to be, she wouldn't have been blinded by the things her husband provided for her and put herself in a position to be unhappy. Poor Fay got the short end of the stick in all of it! Dealing with a man that found it a chore to talk to her, Fay's esteem was at an all time low. I was proud when Fay stopped caring about Neil and more about herself.
Even with the chaos between characters and how one may feel about it, this novel was a good read. It was exceptionally written and I would recommend to anyone that likes challenging stories. If you are not a fan of Keats, you probably wouldn't like this novel given its intricate wording. Hopefully this novel will soon get what it deserves unlike the characters within the pages.
******
Looking Glass Friends
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
You never realize how alone you are until you find someone who understands you. Looking Glass Friends by E.L. Neve is about two complete strangers that after one act of kindness catapults into a deep friendship and causes them to reevaluate the world around them. I have not read such luscious writing since Pride and Prejudice. The letters between these friends is pure poetry. Every sentence more intoxicating than the last. It is a conflicting novel though; you question the morality of these characters as they abandon and virtually "cheat" on their partners for someone they don't even know. Essentially that's what makes it brilliant.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of the poetic nature of the book. The main character, Ellie, is a lover of literature and learning new things. So when she starts writing to Neil, you can't blame the man for getting swept away. Ellie seems to have all the answers or at least presents the right questions for Neil in order for him to delve deeper into his feelings so he can articulate them. And with Neil being her match intellectually, Ellie is able to have a friend that shares her common interests. The conversations between Ellie and Neil are so enriching I almost envy them. It's a pleasant surprise to meet your mental match and a rarity to see it happen in a book.
One thing I disliked about the novel is this pedestal men put Ellie on. Supposedly she's this innocent beauty and men flock to her like flies. But I don't understand the fascination. Neil practically made her into a martyr after their first encounter which I can understand. However, if Neil had just expressed himself to his wife, he wouldn't have been so affected by Ellie's gesture. Ellie's husband is different seeing as he saw Ellie more as a possession. Although he was the first to notice the changes in Ellie and his wicked ways were revealed to the audience, I believe he was more hurt than he led on because of how high a standard he sat Ellie at.
Regardless of how innocent or righteous they tried to paint Ellie, I knew she wasn't nowhere as good as she seemed. Her affinity for poetic words aside, Ellie was a regular woman who wasn't all she cracked up to be. She was a kept woman and she handled herself as such. Under her husband's care, she could live in her fantasy world without interruption. So if she was really this brain she wanted to make herself out to be, she wouldn't have been blinded by the things her husband provided for her and put herself in a position to be unhappy. Poor Fay got the short end of the stick in all of it! Dealing with a man that found it a chore to talk to her, Fay's esteem was at an all time low. I was proud when Fay stopped caring about Neil and more about herself.
Even with the chaos between characters and how one may feel about it, this novel was a good read. It was exceptionally written and I would recommend to anyone that likes challenging stories. If you are not a fan of Keats, you probably wouldn't like this novel given its intricate wording. Hopefully this novel will soon get what it deserves unlike the characters within the pages.
******
Looking Glass Friends
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon