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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
this was - surprisingly - interesting. while rather tedious to get through with the writing style and all that, I think that it does a pretty good job at presenting the rapid changes of the industrial revolution and the influences they held on class relations. However, I do think the strong focus on presenting it solely from the POV of someone from the lower ranks of aristocracy and the novel's occupation of presenting the relations of such with the emerging class of tradesmen and manufacturers toned most criticisms raised in the book down
Had to DNF sorry. There’s other stuff I want to read and I kept tuning parts of this book out.
I loved this book so much! I only wish it hadn’t ended so abruptly, the moment the plot resolved. Up till that moment, I was loving this book as well as I love Pride and Prejudice, and even Persuasion. But Jane Austen has a way of setting you down gently as you end her stories, with the “when did you first…?” conversations and the tying up of all possible loose ends that could be tied. Gaskell doesn’t do that, and suddenly the story is over. I’m complaining because I just didn’t want it to end!
Well, that was lovely! Gaskell's writing and Juliet Stevenson's superb narration - exquisite!
Already a fan of the BBC miniseries, I expected to enjoy the book and have fun noticing the differences between that and the show. But almost from the start, the miniseries faded and the setting and characters of the book grabbed my full attention. I thoroughly enjoyed this fuller fleshing out of Margaret and John, and Mr Hale and Higgins too. I discovered more depth that I expected and appreciated Gaskell's social commentary on class and the responsibilities of both master and workmen.
There are similarities to P&P but only in unsurprising ways as pride is the default sin of all people, isn't it?
And the ending...much preferred the book to the miniseries. Truer to the characters I believe.
Already a fan of the BBC miniseries, I expected to enjoy the book and have fun noticing the differences between that and the show. But almost from the start, the miniseries faded and the setting and characters of the book grabbed my full attention. I thoroughly enjoyed this fuller fleshing out of Margaret and John, and Mr Hale and Higgins too. I discovered more depth that I expected and appreciated Gaskell's social commentary on class and the responsibilities of both master and workmen.
There are similarities to P&P but only in unsurprising ways as pride is the default sin of all people, isn't it?
And the ending...much preferred the book to the miniseries. Truer to the characters I believe.
Had to read this as part of my English Foundation Degree 2nd Year Course. So naturally I got the free edition on the Kindle and even though I don't tend to read a lot of the classics, especially not classical romance, it was pretty solid. Certainly an "out of comfort zone" read for me.
welcome to...NORTH(VEMBER) AND SOUTH.
you know it, you love it: the worst title + month based pun. an imposing work of classic literature that's been on my tbr for a forebodingly long time, finally in my currently reading. an inexplicable months-long pause on this project, broken.
it's another PROJECT LONG CLASSIC installment, a project by which i take on books i've been procrastinating in itty bitty sections to make them seem manageable.
let's get into it.
DAY 1: CHAPTERS 1-3
this has an inconvenient number of chapters (52) and i'm beginning a discomfiting ways into the month (14 days) meaning the 16 days i actually have to read this cannot, in any way, evenly divide them.
in other words, we're going to read 3 chapters a day and just see what happens.
we've only just started and already we have a rejected proposal! i love a stone cold bitch.
DAY 2: CHAPTERS 4-6
moving time...you don't have to go [to some crappy factory town in the north] but you can't...stay...here...
honestly this was very horror movie-esque. we're getting all this information about this perfect little town margaret lives in and her perfect life...it's like when you get a character's tragic backstory and you know they're going to die in like, a scene and a half.
DAY 3: CHAPTERS 7-9
welcome to Enemies to Lovers City. population: these two crazy kids. and also us for like 500 more pages.
DAY 4: CHAPTERS 10-12
it's so funny to see what used to be societal standards. "oh, i thought this guy was an asshole, but it's worse than i could have imagined...his dad is dead and he used to work retail!"
DAY 5: CHAPTERS 13-15
everything changes in this life. except for me taking weekends off from every project i do by accident. that always stays the same.
and with that, i give up on the idea that i might actually finish this november project within, you know, the month of november.
DAY 6: CHAPTERS 16-18
i'm going to be honest...i doubled down on the whole life of leisure / no expectations thing and now i'm like a week behind. but never say never.
DAY 7: CHAPTERS 19-21
we are entering a phase of both Potential Strike and Incoming Personal Tragedy. it is very funny to see infodumps about labor policy interspersed with the equivalent of a character coughing blood into a napkin and showing it to the audience.
DAY 8: CHAPTERS 22-24
hehe...this chapter is titled "a blow and its consequences." heh.
women in the 1800s were built different. by which i mean an errant pebble or a missed step or a cough seemed capable of killing them at any given moment.
DAY 9: CHAPTERS 25-27
this book is so pride & prejudice coded it's insane.
if p&p had a mealy-mouthed point to make about labor that i still don't really understand, that is.
DAY 10: CHAPTERS 28-30
i have to say, the father in this book is so useless and men in literature are so apt to share that disposition i never thought in a million years Big Brother would show up.
and i guess also because Ms. Austen would never pass up the opportunity to make him comic relief.
DAY 11: CHAPTERS 31-33
"She is not eighteen; but if she is in the same mind another year, she is to be my wife." oh, god...send this guy back into exile already.
DAY 12: CHAPTERS 34-36
this book is just too goofy. our swoon count is at like 98 and our death count is 4, and two of the causes of death are "falling 4 feet onto grass" and "was forced to join a union against his will."
DAY 13: CHAPTERS 37-39
the real slow burn of this book is the slowly progressing relationship between our hoity toity main characters and their realizing that workers are people.
DAY 14: CHAPTERS 40-42
i cannot even convey to you how high the casualty rate is in this book. to be a character with a name in margaret hale's periphery is more dangerous than a cancer diagnosis.
DAY 15: CHAPTERS 43-45
well, it's officially december, i've been reading 6 chapters a day, and i'm about to go away for the weekend without a snowball's chance in hell of bringing this with me.
it's safe to say this is among the worst attempts i've ever made at this project.
DAY 16: CHAPTERS 46-48
followed up that statement with, yes, taking the full weekend off. hello again.
the absolute best possible reaction to a loved one telling you how another loved one committed an accidental murder is "How awkward."
HOW ARE THERE EVEN STILL PEOPLE TO KILL OFF IN THIS BOOK.
DAY 17: CHAPTERS 49-END
it is with great pleasure that i inform you that with 4 pages to go until the end of this book, our two presumable love interests have not spoken to each other in months. possibly longer. the way time passes here remains a mystery to me.
aaaand the declaration of love happened on the literal last page.
OVERALL
to be honest, i found this a pale comparison to pride & prejudice: margaret hale is no lizzy, with me being continually told by the narrator that to know her is to love her and being utterly untempted to do so; thornton is no darcy, with his total disappearance from the text; and gaskell, sadly, is no austen. a lot of this book is confusing and contradictory, and it is unable to attain the comic relief, the grand romance, or altogether the emotion jane does.
sorry!
rating: 2.5
you know it, you love it: the worst title + month based pun. an imposing work of classic literature that's been on my tbr for a forebodingly long time, finally in my currently reading. an inexplicable months-long pause on this project, broken.
it's another PROJECT LONG CLASSIC installment, a project by which i take on books i've been procrastinating in itty bitty sections to make them seem manageable.
let's get into it.
DAY 1: CHAPTERS 1-3
this has an inconvenient number of chapters (52) and i'm beginning a discomfiting ways into the month (14 days) meaning the 16 days i actually have to read this cannot, in any way, evenly divide them.
in other words, we're going to read 3 chapters a day and just see what happens.
we've only just started and already we have a rejected proposal! i love a stone cold bitch.
DAY 2: CHAPTERS 4-6
moving time...you don't have to go [to some crappy factory town in the north] but you can't...stay...here...
honestly this was very horror movie-esque. we're getting all this information about this perfect little town margaret lives in and her perfect life...it's like when you get a character's tragic backstory and you know they're going to die in like, a scene and a half.
DAY 3: CHAPTERS 7-9
welcome to Enemies to Lovers City. population: these two crazy kids. and also us for like 500 more pages.
DAY 4: CHAPTERS 10-12
it's so funny to see what used to be societal standards. "oh, i thought this guy was an asshole, but it's worse than i could have imagined...his dad is dead and he used to work retail!"
DAY 5: CHAPTERS 13-15
everything changes in this life. except for me taking weekends off from every project i do by accident. that always stays the same.
and with that, i give up on the idea that i might actually finish this november project within, you know, the month of november.
DAY 6: CHAPTERS 16-18
i'm going to be honest...i doubled down on the whole life of leisure / no expectations thing and now i'm like a week behind. but never say never.
DAY 7: CHAPTERS 19-21
we are entering a phase of both Potential Strike and Incoming Personal Tragedy. it is very funny to see infodumps about labor policy interspersed with the equivalent of a character coughing blood into a napkin and showing it to the audience.
DAY 8: CHAPTERS 22-24
hehe...this chapter is titled "a blow and its consequences." heh.
women in the 1800s were built different. by which i mean an errant pebble or a missed step or a cough seemed capable of killing them at any given moment.
DAY 9: CHAPTERS 25-27
this book is so pride & prejudice coded it's insane.
if p&p had a mealy-mouthed point to make about labor that i still don't really understand, that is.
DAY 10: CHAPTERS 28-30
i have to say, the father in this book is so useless and men in literature are so apt to share that disposition i never thought in a million years Big Brother would show up.
and i guess also because Ms. Austen would never pass up the opportunity to make him comic relief.
DAY 11: CHAPTERS 31-33
"She is not eighteen; but if she is in the same mind another year, she is to be my wife." oh, god...send this guy back into exile already.
DAY 12: CHAPTERS 34-36
this book is just too goofy. our swoon count is at like 98 and our death count is 4, and two of the causes of death are "falling 4 feet onto grass" and "was forced to join a union against his will."
DAY 13: CHAPTERS 37-39
the real slow burn of this book is the slowly progressing relationship between our hoity toity main characters and their realizing that workers are people.
DAY 14: CHAPTERS 40-42
i cannot even convey to you how high the casualty rate is in this book. to be a character with a name in margaret hale's periphery is more dangerous than a cancer diagnosis.
DAY 15: CHAPTERS 43-45
well, it's officially december, i've been reading 6 chapters a day, and i'm about to go away for the weekend without a snowball's chance in hell of bringing this with me.
it's safe to say this is among the worst attempts i've ever made at this project.
DAY 16: CHAPTERS 46-48
followed up that statement with, yes, taking the full weekend off. hello again.
the absolute best possible reaction to a loved one telling you how another loved one committed an accidental murder is "How awkward."
HOW ARE THERE EVEN STILL PEOPLE TO KILL OFF IN THIS BOOK.
DAY 17: CHAPTERS 49-END
it is with great pleasure that i inform you that with 4 pages to go until the end of this book, our two presumable love interests have not spoken to each other in months. possibly longer. the way time passes here remains a mystery to me.
aaaand the declaration of love happened on the literal last page.
OVERALL
to be honest, i found this a pale comparison to pride & prejudice: margaret hale is no lizzy, with me being continually told by the narrator that to know her is to love her and being utterly untempted to do so; thornton is no darcy, with his total disappearance from the text; and gaskell, sadly, is no austen. a lot of this book is confusing and contradictory, and it is unable to attain the comic relief, the grand romance, or altogether the emotion jane does.
sorry!
rating: 2.5
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Inspired to read this by the BBC series which I absolutely adored and highly recommend. As always, the book was [slightly] better than its TV adaption. I loved having all the additional details, dialogues and scenes. Here for the yearning and repressed desire, haha, and especially enjoyed the glimpses into Mr. Thornton’s thoughts as he pined after Margaret, of course. His character overall I liked better than the TV series though Richard Armitage was wonderful. My only disappointment was that the last quarter of the book seemed so rushed! I felt the last bit of plot was told to me rather than my experiencing it as it happened. And the end UGH I could have done with at least 50 more pages, haha. For that alone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not ashamed to admit that I found this book through the televised version. I’ve always wanted to read it, and I was not at all disappointed. I really appreciated being given Thornton’s POV alongside Margaret’s.
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
THE YEARNING!!! god the tense, slow burn, yearning angst was beautiful in this book. my only irk is that we didn't get any more of the actual relationship as a couple. just a few short pages :( however, the commentary on the north south divide and class was immaculate, so interesting and so thoughtprovoking.
For a pious and respectable Christian woman, Margaret is clearly cursed. Everyone around her drops like flies! Anyway I enjoyed this, not quite as much as I like the Austens because it is less witty, but there is the same familial dramas, arguments about the church, and half spoken romances.