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charlie_barr's review against another edition
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
3.5
radioisasoundsalvation's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really surprised to hear myself say this but... I think I'm going to enjoy reading Trollope's works. I quite enjoyed this book! This was part of my "A-Z Classic literature I've never read but own" reading challenge, and one I'd been dreading. I was very wrong! Fans of Dickens should consider reading this!
david_r_grigg's review against another edition
4.0
Very long! Almost 400,000 words. But quite enjoyable nonetheless.
bulkington's review against another edition
3.0
Too bad Trollope didn't seem to think any of the interesting characters were worth his time.
mary_juleyre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
codi_settoon's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
wyemu's review against another edition
5.0
While reading this book I remembered why I enjoy classics so much. It's the inter-twinning stories, the wide array of characters, the plots and sub-plots that alternate the chapters and moral outcomes for all those involved. Trollope is a joy to read for all these reasons and don't let the size of the novel put you off because every chapter and sentence is well worth it. Greatly looking forward to reading more by him and being immersed again and again in the period
meredith_mccaskey's review against another edition
3.0
During the first two thirds of the book I thought this was going to be a 5-star read. It was similar to Dickens, in that Trollope gives us massive cast and multiple storylines all going at once, but I found almost all of them engaging, and even if I found quite a few characters insufferable, they were insufferable in a way that didn't prevent me from wanting to know what happened to them, and some of them had surprising depth. I kept seeing parallels between Melmott and Donald Trump that made me feel like Trollope was something of a prophet; I was astonished to find Mrs. Hurtle being such a badass female character in a Victorian novel; I liked Marie Melmott too; I liked Roger; I didn't like Paul and I kept hoping he'd get his punishment for acting like a cad to Mrs. H; the whole Melmott financial/power plot felt like a roller coaster nearing the crest of the hill, just waiting for a big drop–
and then, WHOOMPH. Everything flopped. And not in a good way.
Trollope, why? Did you just lose interest in your characters? (I mean, you wrote a thousand pages of them, so I guess that would be a little understandable...) Did your momentum fail? Because the last third was such a disappointment.
One of the things I love about Dickens is that even though he's got 5-7 storylines going on among characters that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, somehow by the end they've all intersected. Trollope did exactly the opposite. By the end, everybody's going their separate ways, to happy or unhappy endings, and it was a massive let-down. There was one character the reader becomes intimately involved with, in her quest for a husband, her frustrations with her family, her frustration at the society which demands she get married and yet will look down on her if she doesn't marry rich enough. Even though she wasn't a particularly nice character I felt invested in her. And then, at the end, as almost a footnote, I kid you not, she runs away with a curate whom we're never even introduced to.
And all the other winding-up of the other storylines felt the same way– totally abrupt, as though Trollope had just got tired of them, or else that he'd finally reached his word-limit. Thus the diminution of my 5-star rating to 3.
I also have to say a further word about Mrs. Hurtle. Because her storyline, like all the others, ended in a HIGHLY UNSATISFACTORY way, but also, because I think that she is a victim to Trollope's chauvinistic fantasies. He creates this character, an American woman, who has had to stand on her own two legs her whole life and fight for herself. She has shot a man rather than let him rape her. She has left a drunken, abusive husband. She falls in love with a Milk-Sop Englishman, who falls in love with her and promises to marry her, and then becomes squeamish about her "unladylike" past and decides to throw her over and then falls in love with a TOTALLY BLAND AND BORING English virgin who can't even stand up to her own overbearing mother. Mrs. Hurtle follows the milk-sop Englishman to England to try to persuade him to come back to her. She tries to win him back (and he, being a milk-sop) will neither admit he was a cad for throwing her over or go back to her completely, but strings her along in this wishy-washy state while still fully intending to go after Totally Bland And Boring English Virgin. And then when Mrs. Hurtle FINALLY backs him into a corner and forces him to make a decision, and he says he still won't marry her– well, then Trollope's patriarchal fantasies take over.
Because what does this strong, badass woman do? SHE DECIDES THAT THE MILK-SOP IS RIGHT NOT TO MARRY HER BECAUSE SHE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM BECAUSE SHE'S NOT THE SOFT INNOCENT VIRGIN GIRL HE WANTS.
GAAAAAAAAAAH!
Anthony Trollope, you are such a dickhead at this point. Of coooooourse in your patriarchal wet-dream you have a badass woman sobbing at your feet that her life is ruined because you won't marry her. Of cooooooourse it's your Victorian fantasy that all badass women are really self-loathing and sitting around wishing they were weak and soft and innocent. But the reality, Anthony Trollope, is that if Mrs. Hurtle was a real woman, when she finally saw the Milk Sop Englishman for the spineless whiny coward he was, she would have brushed the dust off her feet and told herself "good riddance," and moved on with her life. News flash, Tony– women don't spend the rest of their lives pining away over guys who dump them.
and then, WHOOMPH. Everything flopped. And not in a good way.
Trollope, why? Did you just lose interest in your characters? (I mean, you wrote a thousand pages of them, so I guess that would be a little understandable...) Did your momentum fail? Because the last third was such a disappointment.
One of the things I love about Dickens is that even though he's got 5-7 storylines going on among characters that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, somehow by the end they've all intersected. Trollope did exactly the opposite. By the end, everybody's going their separate ways, to happy or unhappy endings, and it was a massive let-down. There was one character the reader becomes intimately involved with, in her quest for a husband, her frustrations with her family, her frustration at the society which demands she get married and yet will look down on her if she doesn't marry rich enough. Even though she wasn't a particularly nice character I felt invested in her. And then, at the end, as almost a footnote, I kid you not, she runs away with a curate whom we're never even introduced to.
And all the other winding-up of the other storylines felt the same way– totally abrupt, as though Trollope had just got tired of them, or else that he'd finally reached his word-limit. Thus the diminution of my 5-star rating to 3.
I also have to say a further word about Mrs. Hurtle. Because her storyline, like all the others, ended in a HIGHLY UNSATISFACTORY way, but also, because I think that she is a victim to Trollope's chauvinistic fantasies. He creates this character, an American woman, who has had to stand on her own two legs her whole life and fight for herself. She has shot a man rather than let him rape her. She has left a drunken, abusive husband. She falls in love with a Milk-Sop Englishman, who falls in love with her and promises to marry her, and then becomes squeamish about her "unladylike" past and decides to throw her over and then falls in love with a TOTALLY BLAND AND BORING English virgin who can't even stand up to her own overbearing mother. Mrs. Hurtle follows the milk-sop Englishman to England to try to persuade him to come back to her. She tries to win him back (and he, being a milk-sop) will neither admit he was a cad for throwing her over or go back to her completely, but strings her along in this wishy-washy state while still fully intending to go after Totally Bland And Boring English Virgin. And then when Mrs. Hurtle FINALLY backs him into a corner and forces him to make a decision, and he says he still won't marry her– well, then Trollope's patriarchal fantasies take over.
Because what does this strong, badass woman do? SHE DECIDES THAT THE MILK-SOP IS RIGHT NOT TO MARRY HER BECAUSE SHE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM BECAUSE SHE'S NOT THE SOFT INNOCENT VIRGIN GIRL HE WANTS.
GAAAAAAAAAAH!
Anthony Trollope, you are such a dickhead at this point. Of coooooourse in your patriarchal wet-dream you have a badass woman sobbing at your feet that her life is ruined because you won't marry her. Of cooooooourse it's your Victorian fantasy that all badass women are really self-loathing and sitting around wishing they were weak and soft and innocent. But the reality, Anthony Trollope, is that if Mrs. Hurtle was a real woman, when she finally saw the Milk Sop Englishman for the spineless whiny coward he was, she would have brushed the dust off her feet and told herself "good riddance," and moved on with her life. News flash, Tony– women don't spend the rest of their lives pining away over guys who dump them.