Review: A NUMBING EARLY EXAMINATION OF OEDIPUS COMPLEX
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2013
We have, before us, a delicate subject; the male desire to obsessively love his mother coupled with intense hatred of his father.  D.H. Lawrence admitted to being troubled by such feelings and expressed them in his third novel, "Sons and Lovers."  Critics have named it to the top 100 best books of all time.  First published in 1913 and originally carrying the title "Paul Morel," Lawrence wrote about a dysfunction that Sigmund Freud explored about the same time that became known as the Oedipus complex, so named for the Greek legend of King Oedipus.  There's much more to it, of course, but basically "Sons and Lovers" is a sanitized version of Freud's later lengthy discourse.There's no doubt that Lawrence suffered from such feelings, and his rambling autobiographical novel takes the reader into the deep feelings and troubled musings of Paul Morel, Morel's relationships with his mother and two lovers, hatred for his father, and the subsequent unhappy entry into a lonely life.  The feelings are intense, the cogitation never ending, and the entire story is circuitous and based on decisions that sometimes seem poorly implemented.There is no question that Lawrence embodies the classical writer with exceptional language skills and a talent for the portrayal of realistic scenes.  One should read this novel, if for nothing else, to revel in the descriptions of the beautiful countryside, the inclement weather, and the community found in rural England's coal country.  The passages describing the flora and fauna are mesmerizing in their detail and his descriptions of family life conjure up the simplicity of cooking, eating, and socializing that characterized subsistence during this time in history.The plot is easy to follow but difficult to relate to.  A young man is torn between the obsessive love of his mother, the platonic friendship with a neighboring farm girl, and a passionate physical affair with a married woman, all the while harboring extreme hatred for his father.  Lawrence captures that simple idea through a multitude of mind-numbing explorations of unfulfilled love, so much so that I found myself becoming impatient with the indecision and shouting, "Get on with it."I recommend this book for those with the patience to wade through intense personal relationships, the ability to interpret thick symbolism, and the patience to unravel convoluted streams of consciousness.  I would not recommend it to those who want fast action, graphic sexual encounters, or captivating mystery.Schuyler T WallaceAuthor of TIN LIZARD TALES