Where to begin? This book was one that made me think the entire time I was reading it. Subconsciously, as I'd find myself coming upon an opinion in the middle of the day without any conscious thought on the work. I love Howards End, that much is clear.

Let's start with how refreshing it was to read. I always love reading classics because the style of writing has evolved. From talking to the reader to arguing the character of one's character, it is truly a different reading experience.

But part of this book's genius lies in the fact that it is so old, yet some of the ideals are so modern and so applicable to life today. Somehow, Howards End has not lost its meaning when applied to a modern audience. It deals with wealth gaps, the rich and poor, feminism and much more. And it deals with them well and in a just manner. The characters represent different viewpoints and they make their arguments amongst each other charmingly as they discuss what should and shouldn't be done. While they have a completely different way of life, the underlying morals are the same. Moving for the Schlegel's is viewed upon as a tragedy where back then houses would be inherited and inherited again for generations. Mrs. Wilcox even exclaims: "Can what they call civilization be right, if people mayn't die in the room they were born." As I stated before, the vast differences between now and a century ago are astounding, and it is even more so impressive that this book is still relevant today.

Next, the characters are quite something. For a start, I love the way E. M. Forester portrayed genders. What stuck out to me the most was Mr. Wilcox. He was the average rich Englishman of his time, yet still found forward women such as Margaret admirable, though it did take some time. But what absolutely blew me away was the fact that even though he was the time's picture of masculinity, he was still emotional and had some "feminine" qualities. For example, early on in the book when Mrs. Wilcox dies, he is noted to cry. Even today, the man box states that men should not have emotion because they are weak and feminine, yet in this book, we have Mr. Wilcox, who in many cases shows emotion, as the man in the driver seat of the plot despite the fact that it is Margaret Schlegel who is the main character. He does things like breaking off the engagement and makes passionate decisions and it takes little thought to notice that these decisions are based on his emotions and pride, not always stoic logic. Even Margaret sometimes finds herself shocked at the this. In chapter 14, "unwittingly, she had touched his emotions." Mr. Forster admits that Henry Wilcox is an emotional man despite his pretenses. The author did a great job at writing women too, much better than I've seen some modern women do.

I also love how this book was paced. It was fast, yet perfectly slow in the rights parts. I believe some of this was due to the fact that it as told through Margaret as well as the abruptness of some of the events like the death of Mrs. Wilcox. It was almost poetic, switching from her at the train station to the Wilcox's disapproving of Margret's flower choice to lay on her grave. It made the book easy to read and kept it interesting. It also made the book feel so real and raw, like the Wilcoxs, the Schlegels and the Basts were real, living people.

Lastly, I just love the old language and the use of English. We would no longer describe the way one walked onto a scene as awesome unless it was reminiscent of the appearance of a superhero in a film with the full-on fanfare, yet that was exactly how E. M. Forster described the appearance of Mrs. Wilcox. Also words like Vehemently. Never seen that before. These types of books can most certainly expand one's vocabulary.