The Rainbow is the second D.H. Lawrence book that I've read. I absolutely loved Sons and Lovers. I was sucked into the story right away; I couldn't put it down. The Rainbow, however, is not as engaging as the other. I don't know what was going on in Lawrence's life/psyche, but the number of religious references is amazing. I'm in the middle of the book, where Ursula, the second-generation Brangwen girl child, is struggling with her religious self versus her "weekday" self. Boooorrrring. I mean, I understand what he's trying to do, setting her up as the intellectual non-Brangwenian genetic anomaly (I can't explain it, you'll have to just read the book), but he loses the story as he wanders through Religious Character Land. And it's not like I'm against the religion thing. I go to church and stuff.
What I do love about the book is that we follow one family through three generations. We get to know each generation as young people, then see how they grow as they marry, become parents, lose each other, and generally live. I guess I like the legacy of it all.
So, read it if you want. But there are other books out there that are a better use of your time.
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