"Life with a Capital L" by DH Lawrence

I only read this book recently in the past two years or so. I discovered it whilst looking for an essays book to read and initially, I was considering the essays of Saul Bellow - but when DH Lawrence popped up, I knew I couldn’t miss that opportunity. I had already read so much by DH Lawrence and I remember enjoying “Sons and Lovers” in a cafe whilst by myself some years before. Unlike Saul Bellow, every memory I had of DH Lawrence was relatively good. My first experience of reading this book though, was incredible. I would lie on the floor in the summer’s heat and mark my favourite quotations because it was just so satirical. I would then proceed to write small quotations from the book on a piece of card and then, place the pieces of card inside a jar (which I still have) because there were some quotations in that book that you just don’t miss out on for your life. It completely changed my opinion of DH Lawrence just as this slightly humorous provincial writer. He was now a master of humour, darkness and had risen to the status of literary genius in my eyes. I thought this book was fantastic and it has become my favourite DH Lawrence book of all time. Even surpassing “Sons and Lovers”.

My favourite part of the book is where DH Lawrence starts discussing Thomas Mann. Now, this isn’t like later on in the book when he spends forever discussing Thomas Hardy, but when discussing Thomas Mann, DH Lawrence wants to make one thing clear: he doesn’t see it. DH Lawrence seems to know that Thomas Mann is a good writer, but doesn’t quite see what makes him a great writer in some eyes. Lawrence argues that most of the things in Thomas Mann’s books are quite repetitive and end up being boring after reading his books awhile. He fails to keep ideas fresh and his satire becomes dry after a time. I’m not going to say that DH Lawrence is right - no - actually that’s exactly what I’m going to say. It was a great part, as well as the part on Thomas Hardy, because you get to really discover the reading and literary interests of a man who wrote one of the most controversial books in history - Lady Chatterley’s Lover. These parts just prove that Lawrence can write just as well about other people’s books as he can about his own and it becomes a sort of review and a sort of mini-literary biography of the character in question. To be honest, he did really rip into Thomas Mann.

A key theme I found within the text was that DH Lawrence liked to discussing the writing style of a writer and not so much what their writing was actually about. When it came to the section on Thomas Mann, I was surprised because Lawrence discussed the writing style as being, or rather becoming, boring and bland after some time. When it came to what Thomas Mann’s books were about in their physical sense, there was almost nothing to be said. The way Lawrence wrote about the writing styles of other authors as well is either full of praise or it is filled with doubt - it really doesn’t have an in-between and the way he talks about “The Return of the Native” by Thomas Hardy, should really show you that. The reason that Lawrence does this, I believe, is to make the writing style seems just as important as what the book is about. For example: Thomas Mann is known for his controversial storylines not so much his style, whereas Thomas Hardy is known for his style over his storylines. It is a strange situation but out of the two - Thomas Hardy is the better writer by a flying mile. It really impacts the way you read the book because when you go back to read Lawrence’s own works, you find that yes, writing style is of key importance to him no matter which way you look at it. It is clearly a key factor of the text.

This book means so much to me. It actually means so much to me that I keep my copy of it annotated in my bedside drawer just in case I want some respite from the plot-driven world. Lawrence’s writing is clear, it’s funny, it’s analytical and it makes me really happy. I associate it with summer and great memories of lying down on the floor next to my screen-door to the garden. I associate it with happiness and that’s why it means a lot to me mainly. My latter reading experiences though few have been also just as happy. Whether they have been in the dead of a cold winter’s night or in the evening of a summer’s day - I have enjoyed the quotations from this book as a way of calming my anxieties about my future - especially where my own book is concerned. Lawrence has really convinced me that it’s okay to take my time. The best thing about this book though is the articulation of Lawrence - he is truly a genius when it comes to putting a point across. He leaves no stone unturned.

I have recommended this book to numerous people and some of them have read it and told me how great it was. I wish more people would read it because it gives you a great insight into what is really important to DH Lawrence. Upon my next read of the book, whenever that may be, I want to look at Lawrence’s appreciation of Thomas Hardy and draw some comparisons between the two writers.