First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Lawrence’s first major novel was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long. When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children’s lives. Their second son, Paul, knows that he must struggle for independence if he is not to repeat his parents’ failure.

Lawrence’s first major novel was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long. When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children’s lives. Their second son, Paul, knows that he must struggle for independence if he is not to repeat his parents’ failure.

Happy Friday, everyone! Technically, it is already Saturday. So, happy weekend everyone! I am glad we were able to make it through another workweek. I hope you ended the workweek on a high note and that you were able to accomplish everything you wanted to accomplish. I hope you are jumping into the weekend without much worry. Here in the Philippines, the skies remain overcast. The past week has been marked by alternating periods of stifling heat and intermittent downpours. As everyone lets their hair down and wears comfortable clothes, I hope everyone will have a restful weekend. Slow down and take a rest. I hope you are spending the weekend completing your chores or spending time with your loved ones. I wish you well as you pursue your passions. I hope everyone will find peace amid this pandemonium. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

With the workweek coming to an end, it is time for a fresh, albeit (as usual) late, First Impression Friday update. Despite the late updates, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to publish one update, as this has become an essential component of my weekly book blogging routine. It is a space for me to take a breather while allowing me space to process the book I am currently reading. In September, I am still pursuing works of European writers, although I will conclude this literary journey this month. This pivot comes after spending the first half of the year reading the works of Asian writers. This pivot is also critical in my 2025 reading journey because I have several books written by European writers in my reading challenges. I realized that I have been lagging behind in my reading challenges. My current read, D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, however, is not part of any of these reading lists.

Nevertheless, reading Sons and Lovers will make me tick off another book from the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list; it has been my goal to read at least twenty books from this list annually. Sons and Lovers, unfortunately, is just the seventh book from the said list I read this year. Still, I am one book down. Anyway, it was through must-read lists that I first encountered David Herbert Lawrence. Several of his works are part of these lists, among them Sons and Lovers. The main reason I included the book to my ongoing reading journey is because it has been some time since I last read a work – his controversial Lady Chatterley’s Lover – by the British writer. I surmised the time is ripe for another Lawrence novel.

Originally published in 1913, the novel is set in primarily set in the English countryside, particularly in the fictional English coal-mining village of Bestwood in Nottinghamshire, a region inspired by the author’s own hometown of Eastwood. We are first introduced to Gertrude Coppard, the polished and intelligent daughter of a “good old burgher family.” During a country Christmas dance, she met Walter Morel, a rough-hewn coal miner. Now, this premise alone reminds me of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Anyway, as can be expected, the two were swept into a whirlwind romance. This is despite Gertrude’s religious and ascetic temperament. She was drawn into Walter’s vigorous nature. She also thought him handsome during their first encounter. But life has a different perspective.

They got married, and reality started to settle. They moved to a rented house, which she thought was owned by Walter; they rented the house from Walter’s mother. She got disillusioned as she originally believed Walter was wealthy. Further, she struggled to balance her life with Walter’s meager salary. Life in the mining community also did not appeal to Gertrude. This was exacerbated by how she was viewed by the other women; they found her haughty and superior. She soon got pregnant and gave birth to a son they named William. She adored her son, but her relationship with her husband started to go south. They slowly drifted apart, especially after Gertrude found her husband cutting off all of William’s hair when he was still a toddler. This drove a wedge between them.

Soon after, Gertrude gave birth to Annie. She will give birth to two more. But as Walter and Gertrude increasingly became detached, she started pouring her energy into her children. Meanwhile, Walter increasingly became a presence at the local pub. William was Gertrude’s favorite. William became her defender from his father’s occasional violence. But when he grew up, he chose to move to London, to his mother’s utter disappointment. In London, William gradually climbed the social ladder. He was even engaged, although he detests his fiancée’s superficiality. But as it always does, tragedy disrupts the flow of good fortune. Meanwhile, Gertrude realigned her energies and started to focus on her second son. This is where Part I ends, and also the part I have completed so far.

Sons and Lovers is considered Lawrence’s first major work. I can understand why. He paints a vivid portrait of life in a mining community, as he did in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The destitution also reminded me of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain. Anyway, the characters are equally interesting, providing depth to the story. It is starting to become clear where the book derived its title. There is something unusual about Gertrude’s relationship with her sons. From what I can surmise, Gertrude is developing into a Lady Chatterley, or perhaps a Madame Bovary. Regardless, I can’t wait to see how she develops as the story unfolds. Initially, the book reminded me of Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons. However, it seems that they are two distinctly different works.

I am about to start the second part. There is a lot to look forward to and to understand. How about you, fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!