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jessreadthis's review against another edition
3.0
I truly wished I enjoyed this one more than I did. I loved the descriptions of the landscape and the culture of the people residing in it. The negligent, cruel, thoughtless treatment of animals throughout the book diminished it for me. I just couldn't get past it, even though I know the concept of animal rights was foreign then...it still is awful and made me hate some characters.
So with this disgust I had, overall the novel is an entertaining one. But I don't think it will be a memorable one for me. The ending was kind of lacking. Don't expect a ton of happiness. And what really stood out for me, was how people just get on with their lives in the face of loss, death, and tragedy. Holtby's characters don't really wallow, they just get on with it.
So with this disgust I had, overall the novel is an entertaining one. But I don't think it will be a memorable one for me. The ending was kind of lacking. Don't expect a ton of happiness. And what really stood out for me, was how people just get on with their lives in the face of loss, death, and tragedy. Holtby's characters don't really wallow, they just get on with it.
fearandtrembling's review
4.0
I guess you're meant to sympathise with the main protagonist, Miss Burton, who is the right kind of spinster--despite her quirks and her angular features and her red hair (good or bad depending on who you talk to), she's well- adjusted and charming. There's one Miss Sigglesthwaite, however, who's the Doomed Spinster, who was meant for a lifetime of research and learning and instead became a teacher, and is ill-adjusted to the work, but because of her position (she has to care for her mother) she can't simply quit her job and do what comes naturally to her. Worst of all by the standards of the slightly lean-in bourgeois feminism of Miss Burton, Miss Sigglesthwaite has not learned to monetise her hotness and so exists forever in a drab display of undone buttons and falling hems or whatever. She appears for a bit and is gone, but she's the one I could identify with:
"It's true. I know I can't keep order. I've lost confidence. I can't trust myself to keep my temper. It's being always so tired. Those dreadful nights, when you can't sleep, waiting for dawn; and then the dawn comes and you dread it, because in an hour you must get up, in two hours you must face that dreadful staff-room. The young mistresses. It's so easy to be unafraid when you're strong and pretty. Girls get crushes on Belinda Masters. She pretends it's a nuisance, yet it gives her power. Power. Confidence. That's what I'm needing. Oh, if only Father hadn't died quite so early. He believed in me."
Miss Sigglesthwaite is not treated fairly at all by the narrative. She is just made to disappear into oblivion, as though it should be perfectly natural why no one should believe in her. All because she didn't realise early enough that she needed to be liked and had to make an effort to appear pretty even if she didn't care for pretty.
Wanted to give the book three stars because of that but that would be unfair because the book is otherwise very good and rich in ideas.
"It's true. I know I can't keep order. I've lost confidence. I can't trust myself to keep my temper. It's being always so tired. Those dreadful nights, when you can't sleep, waiting for dawn; and then the dawn comes and you dread it, because in an hour you must get up, in two hours you must face that dreadful staff-room. The young mistresses. It's so easy to be unafraid when you're strong and pretty. Girls get crushes on Belinda Masters. She pretends it's a nuisance, yet it gives her power. Power. Confidence. That's what I'm needing. Oh, if only Father hadn't died quite so early. He believed in me."
Miss Sigglesthwaite is not treated fairly at all by the narrative. She is just made to disappear into oblivion, as though it should be perfectly natural why no one should believe in her. All because she didn't realise early enough that she needed to be liked and had to make an effort to appear pretty even if she didn't care for pretty.
Wanted to give the book three stars because of that but that would be unfair because the book is otherwise very good and rich in ideas.
dan031082's review
3.0
Liked the story and characters well enough but felt the ending was too heavy handed. It spelled out exactly what the author wanted the reader to get out of it...no subtlety.
msliz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is, ostensibly, a book about local government - which sounds incredibly dull - and the huge cast of characters at the beginning is pretty daunting. But it is an absolute gem and deserves to be much more widely read. Ambitious and panoramic, South Riding is a beautifully written, absorbing depiction of life in a rural community during a tumultuous period in history, with the Great Depression in full swing and war looming on the horizon. Holtby delves into politics, feminism, social change, inequality, community and, of course, the passions, frustrations and tragedies of the human condition. It is surprisingly modern in its sensibilities, and really, really good.
ellen1966's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ruthiella's review
4.0
I put off reading my sixth “required reading” book for the 2014 Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at http://karensbooksandchocolate.blogsp... and decided to read this book first for the optional category of “Classic adapted in to a Movie or TV Series”. I thought it would be a light, heartwarming read to buffer me before I jumped in to From Here to Eternity. Boy, was I mistaken about the tone of this book.
South Riding is an uncompromising look at the lives of the inhabitants in the fictional Yorkshire town in the 1930s. It reminded me a little bit of Peyton Place, in that there is a large cast of characters in various socio-economic conditions and the reader gets a look at their innermost thoughts, although I found that South Riding less salacious than PP. The main characters in South Riding have hopes and dreams which are often inimical to the hopes and dreams of their neighbors. There is no way that everyone is going to get a happy end. There is the conservative local squire who is crippled by debts and his love for his institutionalized wife and who wants what’s best for his tenants; there is the spunky head mistress, a local girl who made good and who wants what‘s best for her students; there is the socialist who fears his work on the local council isn’t enough to bring about the revolutionary change needed to help the working poor; and so on. I was fairly hooked once I got in to the book, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next to whom.
As part of the challenge, I also watched the 2011 BBC miniseries based on the book which was adapted by Andrew Davies. Of course, in order to squeeze 500 pages into a 2 1/2 hour televised movie, some things had to be cut or re-arranged, but Mr. Davies really did a good job of bringing the book to life. The biggest thing that is missing really is the inner dialogue which the reader gets from the novel which of course cannot really be translated to screen. One gets more nuance from the novel.
It was very well acted and cast. I was very happy to recognize Anna Maxwell Martin who plays Sarah Burton in the miniseries. Ms. Martin was also in the most excellent adaptation of Bleak House, also adapted by Andrew Davies, as Esther Summerson a few years back. Mr. and Mrs. Holly were much younger in the miniseries then I envisioned them in my head, but I think the film got it right. I just couldn’t imagine a couple with 5 children in their 30’s still, but of course, this is not only possible, it is probable given the economic and social class the Holly’s inhabit in the novel. I think my favorite part of any televised version of a book set in the past is seeing the costume and set design. I just loved the details in the hats, dresses, furniture, dishes, books, etc.
South Riding is an uncompromising look at the lives of the inhabitants in the fictional Yorkshire town in the 1930s. It reminded me a little bit of Peyton Place, in that there is a large cast of characters in various socio-economic conditions and the reader gets a look at their innermost thoughts, although I found that South Riding less salacious than PP. The main characters in South Riding have hopes and dreams which are often inimical to the hopes and dreams of their neighbors. There is no way that everyone is going to get a happy end. There is the conservative local squire who is crippled by debts and his love for his institutionalized wife and who wants what’s best for his tenants; there is the spunky head mistress, a local girl who made good and who wants what‘s best for her students; there is the socialist who fears his work on the local council isn’t enough to bring about the revolutionary change needed to help the working poor; and so on. I was fairly hooked once I got in to the book, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next to whom.
As part of the challenge, I also watched the 2011 BBC miniseries based on the book which was adapted by Andrew Davies. Of course, in order to squeeze 500 pages into a 2 1/2 hour televised movie, some things had to be cut or re-arranged, but Mr. Davies really did a good job of bringing the book to life. The biggest thing that is missing really is the inner dialogue which the reader gets from the novel which of course cannot really be translated to screen. One gets more nuance from the novel.
It was very well acted and cast. I was very happy to recognize Anna Maxwell Martin who plays Sarah Burton in the miniseries. Ms. Martin was also in the most excellent adaptation of Bleak House, also adapted by Andrew Davies, as Esther Summerson a few years back. Mr. and Mrs. Holly were much younger in the miniseries then I envisioned them in my head, but I think the film got it right. I just couldn’t imagine a couple with 5 children in their 30’s still, but of course, this is not only possible, it is probable given the economic and social class the Holly’s inhabit in the novel. I think my favorite part of any televised version of a book set in the past is seeing the costume and set design. I just loved the details in the hats, dresses, furniture, dishes, books, etc.
eccles's review
3.0
I enjoyed it - a bit of a tear-jerker at the end (if you leave the self-indulgent epilogue to one side for the moment). Not the most subtle of works: the characters are more or less of a type, the social commentary is of its time (complete with a Comrade Joe and a snakey capitalist called Snaith); but at the core it’s an engaging romantic pastoral novel, with some lovely relationships that emerge wonderfully awkwardly in the rapidly changing landscape of Yorkshire between the wars. She writes her characters well, fleshing out the caricatures of headmistress, pastor, farmer, ex-soldier with layers of local colour, idiosyncratic features both of the place and that unique time. I hadn’t appreciated until after finishing the book that she inhabited both this place and this time in very real way during her too-short life, and wrote this under the shadow of a fatal disease. Maybe this knowledge makes me more sympathetic a reader, but I think it helps me understand why aspects of this book seem so vital and clear-eyed.
catebutler's review
5.0
Absolutely adored, enjoyed and loved this book! If you enjoy sweeping English novels with a pastoral setting and social commentary this book is definitely for you.
Much like Middlemarch by George Eliot and The Warden by Anthony Trollope. Which commentate on social institutions such as church, and small town government. I would argue, South Riding falls into the same category.
Richly written, with characters that come to life, this book, although a little slow at times, has quickly become a favorite of mine.
I especially am intrigued by the personal life of the author. A note on the author reveals that Winifred Holtby led a short life and passed away one year before the publication of South Riding. Her good friend Vera Brittain, whom she met in college, wrote about their close friendship in her book Testament of Friendship (1940).
Having researched a bit about Holtby and Brittain'a lives, especially during the First World War. South Riding, its themes (in particular those towards the end of the book) became even more meaningful and deep to me.
This is one book that I believe, regardless of the number of re-reads will continue to reveal rich new layers and meaning for the reader.
Much like Middlemarch by George Eliot and The Warden by Anthony Trollope. Which commentate on social institutions such as church, and small town government. I would argue, South Riding falls into the same category.
Richly written, with characters that come to life, this book, although a little slow at times, has quickly become a favorite of mine.
I especially am intrigued by the personal life of the author. A note on the author reveals that Winifred Holtby led a short life and passed away one year before the publication of South Riding. Her good friend Vera Brittain, whom she met in college, wrote about their close friendship in her book Testament of Friendship (1940).
Having researched a bit about Holtby and Brittain'a lives, especially during the First World War. South Riding, its themes (in particular those towards the end of the book) became even more meaningful and deep to me.
This is one book that I believe, regardless of the number of re-reads will continue to reveal rich new layers and meaning for the reader.