Literary Significance and Reception
The Times Literary Supplement review of April 12, 1934 outlined the plot and stated that, "The artist who re-tells Celia's story ends several sentences in every paragraph with dots, a mannerism that irritates; but we must forgive him, since, in the final chapter, he heals Celia's soul in one unpredictable instant."
The New York Times Book Review of December 9, 1934 said of the plot construction of Celia telling Larraby her life history that, "This literary device seems artificial and unnecessary at first, but is effectively used in the ending." They concluded, "As a study of a shy, emotional nature, verging on the pathological, Unfinished Portrait is moderately well done. It is worth reading for its sympathetic – and sometimes very amusing – account of Celia's childhood. And in Celia's Grannie it introduces a grand old lady – an indomitable Victorian with a keen love of life, a fine hand for managing 'the men', and a gruesome interest in the final takings-off of the many friends and relatives whom she survived."
Read more about this topic: Unfinished Portrait (novel)
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