Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish novelist, dramatist, and non-fiction writer who was one of the most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century. His best-known works are The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films. He also created the Dr. Finlay character, the hero of a series of stories that served as the basis for the long-running BBC television and radio series entitled Dr. Finlay's Casebook. -Wikipedia:
When I've first started reading this book,I was expecting three parallel stories from three different relationships. How wrong I was. In fact,it played quite well,because there are two married people,as well as their family members and it all alluded towards that conclusion. However,what I've got are different aspects of love,each with their own story,but involves the same person.First,we have wife's love towards her husband and her eagerness to preserve their marriage. Next,there is mother's love towards her son and her wishes for him to graduate and then plan their future. Finally,we are left with believer's love towards God and search for inner peace. Each chapter focuses on devotion,as well as sacrifices and losses. It shows us how far a person is willing to go and what burden she will bear for the ones she loves and cares,facing the consequences of her inner struggle,loss of wealth and social statues,distrust towards those who don't share her stands and believes or cannot help her in a way she begs for. This is the Prometheus's will we are talking about and I highly recommend it (all Cronin's works are very good,but my greatest problem is that it drags the plot unnecessarily),if you wish to see through protagonist's eyes the challenges she faces. With this review,I'm done with Cronin's novels. I will likely continue with the works of Euripides for this week.In the meantime,enjoy the rest of the evening and your free time
Three loves is a about the story of Lucy Moore who loves her dear ones too much that her love takes up some sort of destructive nature. Think of a love which is all possessive and which makes you do things which you think are absolutely great for your loved ones... Does all things that you do with love in your mind be actually good for others?
But before you write off Lucy as a weak character, you should understand the woman who achieved the impossible by her sheer will power... everything to make her goal...
I am impressed with the detail in which A J Cronin has written the character of Lucy Moore. Such a strong character driven by her goals, ready to endure all sorts of hardships for what she think is right...Never ready to accept defeat even at things which people think at impossible for her...
The book is worth reading for the exploration of the character Lucy Moore.
Pride conquers all. Or does it? Amazing story. One admires Lucy's fortitude, devotion, sacrifice, and hard work. She really does help her son grow into a decent prosperous young man. But she wants it all her way. She asks so little, yet demands so much.
Lucy Moore and her three loves - husband, son and God. That would be the shortest description of the most detailed and complex literary journeys of a lifetime. Still amazed about the way Cronin lets us explore Lucy. She is one of the strongest and most amazing literary characters I was honoured to get to love.
A story of a mother鈥檚 steely determination to give her son the chance to succeed in life against all the odds. Not my favourite AJ Cronin novel. Perhaps too wordy & too long but indisputably well written, it is a depressing tale of what can go wrong with life from cover to cover with no let up throughout. While the author has a remarkable insight into the human nature, he perhaps dwells on the negative aspects to the extent that it is not an easy read.
Lucy Moore is devoted to her husband and sees nothing wrong in gently controlling his life since not only is he apt to be tardy, she yearns to improve him. But when her husband鈥檚 glamorous cousin, Anna, arrives to stay, Lucy鈥檚 actions result in a tragic end for Frank. Lucy is left to bring up their son alone since she shuns all help from family, believing them to be frivolous and mocking of her high ideals. She devotes herself then to educating Peter, taking a job and a flat in the Glasgow slums and suffering in abject poverty to enable her son to study to be a doctor, believing his eventual success will save them both. Peter doesn't disappoint in his chosen career, but he matures and falls in love with a young woman from a rich family, and before too long he's married and running his own practice in London. Lucy鈥檚 plans for them both fall apart. Disappointed in both marriage and motherly love, she takes vows to enter a Belgian monastery to serve and love God, but the physical demands and the seemingly pointless discipline are too much for her, and broken Lucy is sent back to London.
A character study of a proud, obsessive woman who despite her blinkered views can only be admired for sheer determination and will power to remain independent and stay true to herself. However this steely determination is eventually her downfall and since Cronin is the master of hardship, she pays dearly for her convictions. I always enjoy Cronin鈥檚 work, although on this occasion I did skim through much of the section in the monastery and I thought the ending was brutal! Overall it could be construed a rather depressing read, but one full of character and harsh lessons about the laws of love.
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A.J. Cronin was more than a commercial best selling author, most of whose books were turned into successful screenplays.His novels went much deeper than that. As a doctor he had a deep understanding of human nature. His novelist skills were in the mould of the master Guy de Maupassant who also influenced another medical student Somerset Maughan. Their text is sparse and taut, making for a free flowing read. They all manage to depict a scene and the characters' emotions with minimal words.It is no surprise that Cronin formed a close artistic relationship with Charles Chaplin. Chaplin like no other, had a deep understanding of human emotions and could appreciate talent in others. It is a pity that Cronin is not taken more seriously. Five of his books should be considered as modern classics. " Three Loves" is one of them.The story is divided into three parts.The protagonist is sequentially a wife, mother and nun in each part. The three loves are her husband, son and Jesus in the Catholic faith.She is a well- intentioned person intensely devoted to her three loves at the expense of everything else. As the story proceeds, she becomes increasingly obsessive, cut off from society and prejudiced. She becomes difficult to live with and an embarassment for her family. Her passionate self-sacrificing endeavours backfire badly.Like Bernanos' priest in " The Diary of a Country Priest" , her ascerbic lifestyle turns her into a figure to of derision and mockery.This novel documents the spiritual and character development of the protagonist from early marriage life till her death. It is an engaging read.
I didn't know what to expect when starting Three Loves. Seriously, all I gathered before starting was that a lady had three loves.
And three loves she sure did have. Lucy Moore pushed through life when life pushed back at her. She might be considered stubborn to some and maybe she is. She did everything her own certain way but she did what she set out to do...always. I find that admirable.
I'm not sure if I liked Lucy Moore all that much but I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to know what the twist and turn of her life was going to be. She definitely had my sympathetic vote.
All in all, it was a good book. One I think I'll be keeping on my bookshelf.
A story of how a woman lives her life the way she sees fit, She has her own moral code and stands by it. She lives the way she choses, She ends up dying alone and lonely but if you told her that is the way she would die, I do not believe she would change anything.