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kimschouwenaar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Who would have thought I'd ever become a classics admirer?
I have read so many reviews of people saying they despised reading it. Why? How? Did we actually read the same book?
Is the pacing off? Yes. Does it contain long, convoluted sentences that could have easily been avoided? Absolutely. Should this have been a lot shorter? Most likely. It's a book from the mid-Victorian era.
But it is a heartfelt story about a man losing everything and then losing everything he's ever held dear again. Against all odds, he finds happiness again in the form of a small child who helps him recover his lost belief and sense of self. George Eliot had me grieve a broken pot. And that was 23 pages in.
As I said, the pacing is off. Rather than showing us how Eppie grows up with Silas, Eliot makes a time jump of 16 years. The first part of the book is slow and unnecessarily long; it talks a little about Silas's past and then repetitively approaches the life Silas lives, his role in the town he resides and the perspective of other townspeople. Yet I could still hardly put this book down.
Silas's development from depressed weaver to loving father however: I adored it. I makes you root for him despite some unlovable characteristics.
I have read so many reviews of people saying they despised reading it. Why? How? Did we actually read the same book?
Is the pacing off? Yes. Does it contain long, convoluted sentences that could have easily been avoided? Absolutely. Should this have been a lot shorter? Most likely. It's a book from the mid-Victorian era.
But it is a heartfelt story about a man losing everything and then losing everything he's ever held dear again. Against all odds, he finds happiness again in the form of a small child who helps him recover his lost belief and sense of self. George Eliot had me grieve a broken pot. And that was 23 pages in.
As I said, the pacing is off. Rather than showing us how Eppie grows up with Silas, Eliot makes a time jump of 16 years. The first part of the book is slow and unnecessarily long; it talks a little about Silas's past and then repetitively approaches the life Silas lives, his role in the town he resides and the perspective of other townspeople. Yet I could still hardly put this book down.
Silas's development from depressed weaver to loving father however: I adored it. I makes you root for him despite some unlovable characteristics.
Our consciousness rarely registers the beginning of a growth within us any more than without us: there have been many circulations of the sap before we detect the smallest sign of the bud.
Before you start reading this, keep in mind that this book is highly moralistic and communicates a religious message. If that's not your thing, do not pick this up. As I wrote, this is a book that published in the mid-Victorian era and thus is what you should expect of Victorian literature <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Fatphobia, Racism, and Infidelity
kimschouwenaar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Who would have thought I'd ever become a classics admirer?
I have read so many reviews of people saying they despised reading it. Why? How? Did we actually read the same book?
Is the pacing off? Yes. Does it contain long, convoluted sentences that could have easily been avoided? Absolutely. Should this have been a lot shorter? Most likely. It's a book from the mid-Victorian era.
But it is a heartfelt story about a man losing everything and then losing everything he's ever held dear again. Against all odds, he finds happiness again in the form of a small child who helps him recover his lost belief and sense of self. George Eliot had me grieve a broken pot. And that was 23 pages in.
As I said, the pacing is off. Rather than showing us how Eppie grows up with Silas, Eliot makes a time jump of 16 years. The first part of the book is slow and unnecessarily long; it talks a little about Silas's past and then repetitively approaches the life Silas lives, his role in the town he resides and the perspective of other townspeople. Yet I could still hardly put this book down.
Silas's development from depressed weaver to loving father however: I adored it. I makes you root for him despite some unlovable characteristics.
I have read so many reviews of people saying they despised reading it. Why? How? Did we actually read the same book?
Is the pacing off? Yes. Does it contain long, convoluted sentences that could have easily been avoided? Absolutely. Should this have been a lot shorter? Most likely. It's a book from the mid-Victorian era.
But it is a heartfelt story about a man losing everything and then losing everything he's ever held dear again. Against all odds, he finds happiness again in the form of a small child who helps him recover his lost belief and sense of self. George Eliot had me grieve a broken pot. And that was 23 pages in.
As I said, the pacing is off. Rather than showing us how Eppie grows up with Silas, Eliot makes a time jump of 16 years. The first part of the book is slow and unnecessarily long; it talks a little about Silas's past and then repetitively approaches the life Silas lives, his role in the town he resides and the perspective of other townspeople. Yet I could still hardly put this book down.
Silas's development from depressed weaver to loving father however: I adored it. I makes you root for him despite some unlovable characteristics.
Our consciousness rarely registers the beginning of a growth within us any more than without us: there have been many circulations of the sap before we detect the smallest sign of the bud.
Before you start reading this, keep in mind that this book is highly moralistic and communicates a religious message. If that's not your thing, do not pick this up. As I wrote, this is a book that published in the mid-Victorian era and thus is what you should expect of Victorian literature <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Miscarriage, Child death, and Misogyny
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Fatphobia, and Racism
lara_bk's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Infertility
alisonvh's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
George Eliot is normally one of my favorite writers, but I didn’t care for this one. It felt preachy and condescending, and it doesn’t have as much of the beautiful language I’m used to enjoying in her books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
mallory10100's review
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
mcmorgan's review
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Animal death, Alcohol, Infertility, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Chronic illness, and Ableism
tmickey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Addiction, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Sexism
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A solid, well written story. My personal enjoyment was rather lessened by some of the specific types of difficulties that are dealt with by the characters, but I would definitely read more by George Eliot now!
I'm also not sure how I feel about certain parts of the resolution of the story... In general it wraps up rather nicely, but I also can't help thinking there was a better way for certain characters to have handled things that might have led to an even better ending, and I'm not sure if that's intentional or not. This book will require some musing.
I'm also not sure how I feel about certain parts of the resolution of the story... In general it wraps up rather nicely, but I also can't help thinking there was a better way for certain characters to have handled things that might have led to an even better ending, and I'm not sure if that's intentional or not. This book will require some musing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Animal death, and Death of parent
chalkletters's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have a tendency to avoid classics on my TBR because I expect them to be difficult; George Eliot proves that this assumption is flawed, because I raced through Silas Marner with no more trouble than it took me to read any novel published in my lifetime. While I dimly remembered the bare bones of the plot, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was able to identify with the Silas, and how much of a character development journey he goes on.
Silas Marner is not just a miserly weaver, though that's the starting point for the novel's relatively simple plot. He was a devout man whose community turned against him and left him cut off from both spiritual and lay society. The idea that moving geographically also created distance between Silas and his 'local god' was fascinating. George Eliot doesn't completely pin down the religious differences between Lantern Yard and the Raveloe church, so modern readers may find themselves wishing there was a little more context.
Silas isn't the only character who reads as something other than neurotypical: Nancy has fixed personal rules for life which, once arrived at, cannot be strayed from even if being more flexible would make life easier. George Eliot doesn't dwell on this as much as on Silas, but it's still fascinating to see in a character so far removed from modern labels. There's also Priscilla, who rejects both the possibility of marriage and any attraction to men completely out of hand, which may strike a reader as coming pretty close to the asexual or aromantic spectrum.
Silas Marner's plot is really just the background action holding all the characters together. There's no mystery as to how Silas's life changes, and the character who brings about the biggest upheaval disappears off the page entirely for most of the story. His return is unforeshadowed and not terribly satisfying. The ending of the novel, while making perfect logical sense from the events which precede it, feels a little abrupt.
Nonetheless, I had a great time reading Silas Marner and would thoroughly recommend it. If you enjoyed Heidi, you could see this as a very similar story, but told from the opposite perspective.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent
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