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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
So it what can only be described as a moment of madness over Christmas (I blame all the chocolate. It had addled my brain) I set myself the task of reading George Eliot’s colossal masterpiece Middlemarch. Running to over 900 pages it’s quite the undertaking and at the beginning I’ll admit I was rather daunted. However once I got into it I was hooked.
I could talk about how Eliot lifts the lid on a small provincial town, but that’s what everyone talks about in relation to this book. For me Middlemarch is like a Victorian soap, with its host of characters and numerous storylines. Many of the story lines intersect or cross over, yet they remain distinct. Such a number of storylines all of apparent equal status is unusual in a novel though would not be out of place in a soap. The is little dramatic action, yet the stories twist and turn. There are star crossed lovers, unhappy marriages, contested wills and seedy pasts. In other words all the full range of story lines from any soap or drama.
In terms of characters there is the typical host of Victorian characters. The focus is very much on the middle and upper classes, therefore there are the aspiring merchants, the landed gentry and the clergymen. There is no clear heroine due to the number of story lines, though in so much as there is, it would be Dorothea. She is the typical virtuous angelic Victorian heroine. I have little time for such angles. Rosamond is a spoilt brat who ended up annoying me. The most interesting of the female characters is Mary Garth. She is funny and clever, and not afraid to speak her mind. She is probably the most spirited of the female characters. The male characters were less irritating and overall I liked them equally well. Dr Lydgate was a bit serve and I feel there was a missed opportunity of a witty sarcastic character in him. Both Fred Vincy and Will Ladislaw were charming and likable in different ways, with Ladislaw falling the most easily into the role of a Victorian hero though not in the irritating way of Dorothea.
Overall a really enjoyable book and if you get mentally make it past it daunting size it is actually an easy enough read. For anyone who enjoys reading classics I would strongly recommend it.
I could talk about how Eliot lifts the lid on a small provincial town, but that’s what everyone talks about in relation to this book. For me Middlemarch is like a Victorian soap, with its host of characters and numerous storylines. Many of the story lines intersect or cross over, yet they remain distinct. Such a number of storylines all of apparent equal status is unusual in a novel though would not be out of place in a soap. The is little dramatic action, yet the stories twist and turn. There are star crossed lovers, unhappy marriages, contested wills and seedy pasts. In other words all the full range of story lines from any soap or drama.
In terms of characters there is the typical host of Victorian characters. The focus is very much on the middle and upper classes, therefore there are the aspiring merchants, the landed gentry and the clergymen. There is no clear heroine due to the number of story lines, though in so much as there is, it would be Dorothea. She is the typical virtuous angelic Victorian heroine. I have little time for such angles. Rosamond is a spoilt brat who ended up annoying me. The most interesting of the female characters is Mary Garth. She is funny and clever, and not afraid to speak her mind. She is probably the most spirited of the female characters. The male characters were less irritating and overall I liked them equally well. Dr Lydgate was a bit serve and I feel there was a missed opportunity of a witty sarcastic character in him. Both Fred Vincy and Will Ladislaw were charming and likable in different ways, with Ladislaw falling the most easily into the role of a Victorian hero though not in the irritating way of Dorothea.
Overall a really enjoyable book and if you get mentally make it past it daunting size it is actually an easy enough read. For anyone who enjoys reading classics I would strongly recommend it.
i tried this one twice. she’s just not for me
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hadn't for the like of me been able to remember exactly why I'd always meant to read this. And then it turns out it was the very final paragraph I had seen quoted in some piece of lit crit almost twenty years ago. What a humanistic piece of writing.
Superb scope, fascinating historical backdrop, great characters. The precision of the narrative on the psychological level is so what particularly blew me away. The nitty-gritty of conflicting emotions and often ultimately ambiguous motivations is outstanding.
After Tristram Shandy I do seem to be on a roll of enjoying classic lit which features an excellent weird uncle character: Captain Toby followed by Mr. Brooke.
I did not read the Introduction to the edition.
Superb scope, fascinating historical backdrop, great characters. The precision of the narrative on the psychological level is so what particularly blew me away. The nitty-gritty of conflicting emotions and often ultimately ambiguous motivations is outstanding.
After Tristram Shandy I do seem to be on a roll of enjoying classic lit which features an excellent weird uncle character: Captain Toby followed by Mr. Brooke.
I did not read the Introduction to the edition.
emotional
lighthearted
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