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sammystarbuck's review against another edition
2.0
Don't think by my rating that this isn't a good book... there's absolutely nothing wrong with this at all, and if you enjoy this type of book, there's an excellent chance you'll enjoy this too.
But for me, unfortunately, Trollope just doesn't hit my funny bone. The book is just a little too absurd to try to ignore the humour aspect, but subjectively speaking, it's just not very funny to me. Very well written though.
But for me, unfortunately, Trollope just doesn't hit my funny bone. The book is just a little too absurd to try to ignore the humour aspect, but subjectively speaking, it's just not very funny to me. Very well written though.
thesummer's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this! Trollope is truly a class of his own. I thought it being a "political" novel would mean it'd be boring and not character-focused, but it's not about the nitty gritty of politics so much as it is the navigating of the system of becoming and being an MP, which is quite dramatic, ridiculous, and provides lots of opportunity for character development and growth. (Fine, some of it is a little boring, but it's very skimmable--just skip to the fun stuff with relationships and characters.) I loved Can You Forgive Her and was loathe to switch to a male main character for this one, but there are lots of women in this book too, and they all had interesting characters, dilemmas, and perspectives and get a decent amount of screen time. Trollope has the rare talent at creating situations where characters make decisions that you later realize were mistakes, but where at the time, you thought they were understandable and justified decisions; you weren't banging your head against the wall.
I thought this would be more of a sequel to Can You Forgive Her?, but it's actually just set in the same universe--we get glimpses of Lady Glencora and Mrs. Grey, but they're true cameos rather than the thing romance authors do when they write another novel about the character's brother and we see the people from the first novel being nauseatingly happy. I would have liked some more fluff about them tbh, but it was nice that there was at least a throwaway line about them still being very good friends.
Phineas reminded me a bit of George from the last book--I hate it, but this phenomenon of meh men getting a lot of love, faith, and accolades from smart women is definitely a thing that happens in life. Phineas was a total Hufflepuff, but like not even one who works hard? Just coasts through life on his good looks and pleasant personality. Trollope nailed his character down so well, but also made him just sympathetic enough that you're invested in his life. Such a master of combining cynicism with faith and capacity for growth when it comes to humans. Anyways, I'm really excited about the next book, where the main character is apparently a Slytherin gal; those are my absolute favourites.
I thought this would be more of a sequel to Can You Forgive Her?, but it's actually just set in the same universe--we get glimpses of Lady Glencora and Mrs. Grey, but they're true cameos rather than the thing romance authors do when they write another novel about the character's brother and we see the people from the first novel being nauseatingly happy. I would have liked some more fluff about them tbh, but it was nice that there was at least a throwaway line about them still being very good friends.
Phineas reminded me a bit of George from the last book--I hate it, but this phenomenon of meh men getting a lot of love, faith, and accolades from smart women is definitely a thing that happens in life. Phineas was a total Hufflepuff, but like not even one who works hard? Just coasts through life on his good looks and pleasant personality. Trollope nailed his character down so well, but also made him just sympathetic enough that you're invested in his life. Such a master of combining cynicism with faith and capacity for growth when it comes to humans. Anyways, I'm really excited about the next book, where the main character is apparently a Slytherin gal; those are my absolute favourites.
jayshay's review against another edition
I so much wanted to throttle Finn, but in an engaging way. Loved the politics and the many characters around Finn, especially the women who inexplicably loved him. Madame Goesler! Violet! But Violet slaps him down which means she wins the novel! Though the dude she ends up with...
Oh, and 'nice' Finn is give the unimportant job of getting railroads to unify Canada. So the nice character makes Canada in a throw away 'nice Canadian' joke! :) thanks Trollope!
Oh, and 'nice' Finn is give the unimportant job of getting railroads to unify Canada. So the nice character makes Canada in a throw away 'nice Canadian' joke! :) thanks Trollope!
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
My first Trollope; rough going at first but it grew on me. Phineas is a likable innocent, both politically and romantically; he blunders into Parliament through luck, but leaves after he is forced to examine his convictions. Likewise, though he somewhat callously flirts with local sweetheart Mary before leaving Ireland, it is only when he is tempted by an advantageous marriage to a woman who could advance him politically that he realizes whom he really loves.
For me the true hero of the book is plucky heiress Violet Effingham, whom Phineas ineffectually woos. Independent of fortune, Violet is quite aware of her privileged position and reluctant to give up her freedom, even to a man she has loved since childhood.Her cheeky ripostes to Phineas, to her friend Laura and her starchy aunt had me in stitches. If only Trollope had written a novel completely dedicated to the effervescent Miss Effingham!
This is tough going for those ignorant of 19th century politics, (as I was). I couldn't find a good annotated edition, so struggled with references to tenant right, rotten and pocket boroughs, divisions and the Reform Bill. I'm on the lookout for the Oxford World Classics edition which has appendices explaining the political context, (many of the characters are based on real life British politicians).
An enjoyable political soap opera.
For me the true hero of the book is plucky heiress Violet Effingham, whom Phineas ineffectually woos. Independent of fortune, Violet is quite aware of her privileged position and reluctant to give up her freedom, even to a man she has loved since childhood.Her cheeky ripostes to Phineas, to her friend Laura and her starchy aunt had me in stitches. If only Trollope had written a novel completely dedicated to the effervescent Miss Effingham!
This is tough going for those ignorant of 19th century politics, (as I was). I couldn't find a good annotated edition, so struggled with references to tenant right, rotten and pocket boroughs, divisions and the Reform Bill. I'm on the lookout for the Oxford World Classics edition which has appendices explaining the political context, (many of the characters are based on real life British politicians).
An enjoyable political soap opera.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Trollope, Anthony. Phineas Finn: The Irish Member. Palliser No. 2. 1866-67, 1869.
Written during the debate that led up to the second reform act (1867), at a time when Trollope himself was considering a political career, Phineas Finn is his most political novel. It follows the career of a small-town young Irish lawyer as he tries his luck as a member of Parliament. It means abandoning the hometown girl he did not quite get engaged to and throwing himself into a social milieu well above his head. Everyone tells him that if he is to have a career that lasts longer than the next election, he will have to marry money. And he has several chances at it. He is a good-looking guy who makes friends easily and seems quite innocent in his ability to, as Stephen Stills would one-day put it, “love the one you’re with.” (This is a middle-class Victorian novel, so don’t expect any heavy breathing.) Politically, Phineas is faced the ethical dilemma of voting his liberal party line or his own more radical convictions—thereby bowing out of public life. It would be unfair to say that the characters in this novel have no inner lives. They do, but like the people on the beach in a Robert Frost poem, they look neither out far nor in deep. There is no subtle probing of motives or much long-range thinking about political issues. Most of the cast mostly try to do the right thing, and when they don’t manage it, they are quick to make amends. To get something much more profound, we will have to wait a few years. By the time James Joyce considers Irish politics in Dubliners (1914), the Anglo-Irish world will have been transformed.
Written during the debate that led up to the second reform act (1867), at a time when Trollope himself was considering a political career, Phineas Finn is his most political novel. It follows the career of a small-town young Irish lawyer as he tries his luck as a member of Parliament. It means abandoning the hometown girl he did not quite get engaged to and throwing himself into a social milieu well above his head. Everyone tells him that if he is to have a career that lasts longer than the next election, he will have to marry money. And he has several chances at it. He is a good-looking guy who makes friends easily and seems quite innocent in his ability to, as Stephen Stills would one-day put it, “love the one you’re with.” (This is a middle-class Victorian novel, so don’t expect any heavy breathing.) Politically, Phineas is faced the ethical dilemma of voting his liberal party line or his own more radical convictions—thereby bowing out of public life. It would be unfair to say that the characters in this novel have no inner lives. They do, but like the people on the beach in a Robert Frost poem, they look neither out far nor in deep. There is no subtle probing of motives or much long-range thinking about political issues. Most of the cast mostly try to do the right thing, and when they don’t manage it, they are quick to make amends. To get something much more profound, we will have to wait a few years. By the time James Joyce considers Irish politics in Dubliners (1914), the Anglo-Irish world will have been transformed.
bent's review against another edition
5.0
This was the first Trollope that I ever read. I found it fascinating - all Finn's efforts to afford and hold a seat, and then to give it up on a point of principle. The politics were fascinating, the characters kept me enthralled, and it opened up the world of Anthony Trollope to me.
pedantic_reader's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mothwing's review against another edition
3.0
An Irishman is sent to London and tries to stay true to his value. Longwinded and yet strangely entertaining.
suzmac's review against another edition
3.0
Slow start this time. But provides slice of insight into politics at the time. Phinneas is from humble Irish beginnings (as was the author) and makes his way into London to serve the British government. One of the highlights is the number of informed and clever women whom he seeks out for guidance. Several are are beautiful or wealthy and wise in ways of the world.
Not as Austenesque as other Trollope books but fully fleshed out and therefore hard to put down.
Not as Austenesque as other Trollope books but fully fleshed out and therefore hard to put down.
csd17's review against another edition
3.0
3 and 1/2 stars really. Phinny Finn redeemed himself in some ways from the 1970s BBC series and incriminated himself in others. And I sorely missed Lady Glencora and grew rather tired of Lady Laura. I don't think I was meant to, but she was always whining about the same choice to Violet and it was repetitive. But, since Trollope is dead, I suppose he won't care. Pretty masterful for a political drama from the 1800s though.