Reviews

Barchester towers by Anthony Trollope

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brampton's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-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

5.0

magratajostiernos's review against another edition

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4.0

Me ha gustado mucho más de lo que esperaba, me ha atrapado casi desde el principio y las últimas 200 páginas las he devorado.
La historia sigue a una serie de personajes que viven en Barchester y van a sufrir un gran cambio en sus vidas tras la muerte del obispo y la llegada de su sucesor.
La narración es entretenida y ágil, cargada de una ironía cercana a la sátira que a mi personalmente me ha conquistado, aunque reconozco que el narrador y su interés por hablar directamente al lector no siempre eran de mi agrado...
Lo que me acabó encandilando fueron sus personajes, eso sí. Al principio no parecían demasiado espectaculares pero poco a poco van calándote, especialmente los "malvados" como el despreciable (y contemporáneo) Señor Slope o la Signora Madeline Stanhope y toda su genial y maquiavélica familia.
Trollope me ha recordado aquí a una mezcla de Elizabeth Gaskell con George Eliot, aunque es más irónico que la primera y mucho más ligero que la segunda.
En fin, una gran lectura, sin duda leeré El doctor Thorne más pronto que tarde :)

jenmcmaynes's review against another edition

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3.0

I can see why people claim that Trollope found his voice in Barchester Towers; the style and characterization are muuuuuch better than The Warden, the first in this series. The characters, especially, are great; by the end I was truly rooting for Mr. Slope's downfall, Mrs. Bold's marriage, and gentle Mr. Harding's happiness. However, it did take me nearly a month to get through this book, which is virtually unheard of for me. I would put it down and have no desire to read again for days, which suggests that despite the fact that I enjoyed the characters, I wasn't truly enjoying the plot. Given that this book centers on a cathedral city's politics and appointments, it isn't surprising that I did find it a little dry.

I think I will continue to read this series, though I won't hurry to pick up the next one. I really did appreciate Trollope's sense of humor (I smiled a lot over Mrs. Proudie and the Stanhopes) and ability to create such interesting and sympathetic characters. I'm not crazy about his actual plots, though, so will have to pace myself through the remaining books.

maeclegg's review against another edition

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adventurous relaxing

3.0

michael5000's review against another edition

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4.0

Packed with funny, endearing, and memorable characters, Barchester Towers is both a parody of the titanic battles that people wage over what seem to be small stakes and trivial points of honor. And yet, we all do it, and with the slightest adjustment of tone this comedy could play as straight realism.

This is a good Trollope test. If you like Barchester Towers, there's great news, the guy was incredibly prolific. If you don't like Barchester Towers, though, you're not going to like any of it.

bkread2's review against another edition

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5.0

I actually loved this book. If you have ever seen the BBS series based on his Pallisers series of books you will like this book. It starts off slow but can get addictive. It really gets into the church of England and their struggles.