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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
emotional
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
challenging
funny
hopeful
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
I would say that this is a story about connections. This little society, Middlemarch, with its inhabitants in so many ways connected to each other's lives and relying on so many different people to do something for them. All these characters looking to someone else to furnish their lives with wisdom, opinion, love, occupation, entertainment, financial stability, and even relying on others to be responsible for their happiness.
I admit that I found it difficult to like our main character Dorothea at first. Her exaggerated piety and constant do-good attitude mixed with her beauty and intellect was a bit too much to stand. She did better as she lost some of her naïveté but it was not until I had reached over halfway through the book that I could arrive to one of her scenes without feeling that I'd rather follow some other character around.
We see in this story that you should not trust to chance completely but live with an open mind as you take life into your own hands. We see that even if marriage is built on love it holds its difficulties. We see status, and gossip, and rumors destroy lives. And we see how indirect communication can lead to oh-so many misunderstandings.
I enjoyed reading this, not at first, but eventually.
For a Victorian novel, refreshingly devoid of rosy romanticism but still romantically satisfying.
I admit that I found it difficult to like our main character Dorothea at first. Her exaggerated piety and constant do-good attitude mixed with her beauty and intellect was a bit too much to stand. She did better as she lost some of her naïveté but it was not until I had reached over halfway through the book that I could arrive to one of her scenes without feeling that I'd rather follow some other character around.
We see in this story that you should not trust to chance completely but live with an open mind as you take life into your own hands. We see that even if marriage is built on love it holds its difficulties. We see status, and gossip, and rumors destroy lives. And we see how indirect communication can lead to oh-so many misunderstandings.
I enjoyed reading this, not at first, but eventually.
For a Victorian novel, refreshingly devoid of rosy romanticism but still romantically satisfying.
«Il suo animo nobile continuò a proiettare i suoi nobili raggi, sebbene essi non fossero distintamente visibili. La sua natura traboccante, come quel fiume di cui Ciro indebolì la forza, si riversò in canali che non ebbero grandi nomi sulla terra.
Ma l'influsso della sua esistenza su quelli che le stavano attorno fu incalcolabilmente ampio: perché il bene a venire del mondo dipende in parte da azioni di portata non storica; e se le cose, per voi e per me, non vanno così male come sarebbe stato possibile, lo dobbiamo in parte a tutti quelli che vissero con fede una vita nascosta e riposano in tombe che nessuno visita.»
Ma l'influsso della sua esistenza su quelli che le stavano attorno fu incalcolabilmente ampio: perché il bene a venire del mondo dipende in parte da azioni di portata non storica; e se le cose, per voi e per me, non vanno così male come sarebbe stato possibile, lo dobbiamo in parte a tutti quelli che vissero con fede una vita nascosta e riposano in tombe che nessuno visita.»
Eliot is a genius!! This is my second time reading this book. I was on vacation in Peru and carried the hardback copy with me everywhere. Saw similarities between characters here and the ones from a movie (Heretic) I watched on the plane. A couple of thoughts this time around: I wonder if Eliot, in writing this 800 page long book, ever worried that she was devoting herself to something as quixotic as Casaubon did (her sympathy for everyone, while still creating some selfish villains is incredible), I hated Rosamond more than Bulstrode and wonder how much of that was a bit of misogyny (found myself thinking that she should just shut up and listen to her husband lol-also made me think about how social structures of the time encouraged that kind of misogyny-it is not as if Rosamond could have gone and made her own money/paid off her own debt) and how much was the fact that Rosamond never realizes she has done anything wrong, while Bulstrode does. Anyway, the book makes you look at the world more kindly, and more intelligently I think.
Well, this took a while!
It's beatiful, in parts, and also boring, in parts; you never know which it will be when you start a new chapter. It's a satisfyingly woven story in the end, and its array of vivid characters is impressive; one does really feel as if one has inhabited the place. However, the little gems of beautiful passages or insightful observations come at a price. Unfortunately, there is only so much care I can muster for the problems of middling English aristocrats in the 1830s, which are discussed at length and from all viewpoints throughout the book.
(Listened to the audiobook version, amazingly narrated by Maureen O'Brien.)
It's beatiful, in parts, and also boring, in parts; you never know which it will be when you start a new chapter. It's a satisfyingly woven story in the end, and its array of vivid characters is impressive; one does really feel as if one has inhabited the place. However, the little gems of beautiful passages or insightful observations come at a price. Unfortunately, there is only so much care I can muster for the problems of middling English aristocrats in the 1830s, which are discussed at length and from all viewpoints throughout the book.
(Listened to the audiobook version, amazingly narrated by Maureen O'Brien.)
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
medium-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
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a solid three stars for me. I think that the set up was kind of great. The parts of the book that were putting the characters on the board really had my interest. I liked a lot of this book, but unfortunately, the last quarter was very tedious and full of suffering that just wasn't very fun. The ending was rewarding, but this one was just a little too long for me.
Dorothea was fine. I didn't care about her but I didn't hate her or anything. Lydgate's story made me so sad. I was really rooting for him and we were both disappointed with his life. My real joy came with the story of Fred and Mary. I thought their story was really fun and Fred is the only character that got any real development. Overall, I had a pretty good time with this one.
Dorothea was fine. I didn't care about her but I didn't hate her or anything. Lydgate's story made me so sad. I was really rooting for him and we were both disappointed with his life. My real joy came with the story of Fred and Mary. I thought their story was really fun and Fred is the only character that got any real development. Overall, I had a pretty good time with this one.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes