Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Adam Bede by George Eliot

6 reviews

impla77's review against another edition

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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

2.75

A compelling story, when not taking into account the title character and his love interest, who are the drippiest pair of drips to ever bore me to tears. Should've ended with Hetty's ending, as she was a relatively interesting character, but we have to go on with the half baked love affair of two Mary Sues that i would definitely not want to invite to a dinner party

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msrichardsreads89's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

This is one of those books that comes into your life at just the right time and makes you fall in love with it. I was so engrossed in this book that I finished it in less than two days. I loved the slow build of the plot as we got to know the characters. George Eliot's character work in Adam Bede is exceptional. They are nuanced, relatable, and human. I am not a religious person, and neither was Eliot, so I really love how she talked about religion so beautifully throughout this novel and in such a hopeful, uplifting way. I LOVE that Dinah is a female minister, which is something that I have never seen in a Victorian novel. I grew to love her, and I love that she practices what she preaches. The characters became my friends over the course of the novel, and I am sad to be leaving them. 

Eliot's prose is gorgeous and vividly descriptive without feeling overly saccharine. I found myself rereading passages because they were so lovely. She has a talent for getting you to reflect on society and themes of patriarchy, pain, family/community, redemption, and morality with the plot and the gripping plot twists. 

There are so many parts of this novel that will stay with me, and I look forward to rereading this in the future. 

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dannirand's review

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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veloskyraptor's review against another edition

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reflective 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? Yes

4.0


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sarahpopham's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.5


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chalkletters's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.75

This must be at least my third time reading Adam Bede and yet, I always expect it to be more difficult than it is. It’s hard to say whether that’s because it gets easier every time, or just that I’ve somehow stored an incorrect impression. Admittedly, some of the accents in the dialogue take a little getting used to, but even that hardly drew me out of the story this time around.

Though they’re not the kind of people I meet in real life, Adam Bede’s characters are great. Hetty and Arthur are especially sympathetic, even as they’re behaving in ways you wish they wouldn’t. You can see the consequences of their actions coming a mile off, which makes the plot feel grounded and realistic. The only character I had a slight problem with was Dinah, whose religious fervour is a little less appealing in 2021 than it may have been in 1799. I particularly disliked the moment when she made Bessy Cranage feel bad for liking pretty earrings. Even so, by the end, I was rooting for Dinah’s happiness as much as anyone else.

George Eliot indulges in a few metafictional digressions, one of which I really enjoyed on this particular read. At the same time, a couple of the detailed descriptions of the countryside or farm life came at highly suspenseful moments when I really just wanted to experience the next stage of the plot and was cursing Eliot for not getting there as quickly as I’d like.

The climax of the story I thought was very well done. Despite having read it before, I’d forgotten enough of the plot details that I was briefly concerned I might be expected to think a purely religious ending was satisfying. George Eliot pulled through and actually delivered as happy a resolution at that moment as could be realistic. The actual ending of Adam Bede doesn’t feel rushed exactly, I was pleased with how much time it was given to develop, but it does feel just a little bit tacked on.

Even so, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this reread. It’s definitely one I’ll keep coming back to.

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