The Longest Journey
By: E.M. Forster
Rickie Elliot, a sensitive and intelligent young man with an intense imagination and a certain amount of literary talent, sets out from Cambridge full of hopes to become a writer. But when his stories are not successful he decides instead to marry the beautiful but shallow Agnes, agreeing to abandon his writing and become a schoolmaster at a second-rate public school. Giving up his hopes and values for those of the conventional world, he sinks into a world of petty conformity and bitter disappointments.
I first read E.M. Forster’s The Longest Journey a few years ago amidst crazy papers, applications and tests. Before that, I had been eyeing this book for a long time; can’t remember exactly how I came across this title (apparently it’s the least-known of his novels yet his personal favourite) but the plot intrigued me. Because I never wrote a review post about this novel the first time around, the following entry is a mix of a review and a personal commentary about the book. So without further ado, contains some spoilers ahead!