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cvolanges's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
habibaaibrahim's review
4.0
This is an unforgettable book. Some books with their characters will just imprint themselves on the reader, The Mill on the Floss is one of those books. I cannot express the extent of love and admiration I have for this book.
Despite the slow start and the length of some chapters but I enjoyed it. I loved how the words flowed with so much passion. This was a really quotable book.
I loved the family theme which enveloped the book up until the end. Maggie called for attention and I loved her. I loved her growth and developed and how she held on to the memories and the childhood. Tom was not my favourite character.
The unrealistic ending was not for me, and it needed more.
The Mill on the Floss left its mark on me, and I still cannot get over it.
Despite the slow start and the length of some chapters but I enjoyed it. I loved how the words flowed with so much passion. This was a really quotable book.
I loved the family theme which enveloped the book up until the end. Maggie called for attention and I loved her. I loved her growth and developed and how she held on to the memories and the childhood. Tom was not my favourite character.
The unrealistic ending was not for me, and it needed more.
The Mill on the Floss left its mark on me, and I still cannot get over it.
katiemoten's review
1.0
Rating 1.5/5
I do not like gloomy books, and this is a gloomy book. I also do not like books where characters do stupid things knowing they're stupid, and that happens here too.
Eliot is a very insightful writer, with an amazing grasp of human character, and it's no different in this book. The characters are complex and she gets into their minds in a way many other writers couldn't possibly do, but her sense of human strengths and weaknesses doesn't keep this book from being plodding and irritating, and ultimately disappointing.
I really liked the first few pages. Eliot's depiction of passionate young Maggie Tulliver and her self-righteous brother Tom felt very true to life. Their sibling squabbles felt relatable, but Maggie's intensely passionate nature and Tom's self-righteousness got irritating. Most of the other characters were irritating too, and don't get me started on Stephen and all that stuff. I dislike when authors write obviously doomed relationships that are clearly going to hurt the people involved and other people, yet the people involved indulge in them anyway. When I'm sitting there saying 'this is going to end badly' and then it does, I get annoyed, because I want characters not to do stupid things like that. When you know something is a stupid idea, maybe don't do it?
Another thing that irritates me about this book is that you know early on how it's going to end. There's only one way it CAN end, being a Victorian novel and dealing with the subject matter it deals with. Eliot foreshadows the ending very early on. It's sort of set up as redemption, but it's not at all satisfying. It's kind of a cop out, really.
Definitely not Eliot's best work. It drags for ages and then the ending is really abrupt. I'll stick with Middlemarch.
I do not like gloomy books, and this is a gloomy book. I also do not like books where characters do stupid things knowing they're stupid, and that happens here too.
Eliot is a very insightful writer, with an amazing grasp of human character, and it's no different in this book. The characters are complex and she gets into their minds in a way many other writers couldn't possibly do, but her sense of human strengths and weaknesses doesn't keep this book from being plodding and irritating, and ultimately disappointing.
I really liked the first few pages. Eliot's depiction of passionate young Maggie Tulliver and her self-righteous brother Tom felt very true to life. Their sibling squabbles felt relatable, but Maggie's intensely passionate nature and Tom's self-righteousness got irritating. Most of the other characters were irritating too, and don't get me started on Stephen and all that stuff. I dislike when authors write obviously doomed relationships that are clearly going to hurt the people involved and other people, yet the people involved indulge in them anyway. When I'm sitting there saying 'this is going to end badly' and then it does, I get annoyed, because I want characters not to do stupid things like that. When you know something is a stupid idea, maybe don't do it?
Another thing that irritates me about this book is that you know early on how it's going to end. There's only one way it CAN end, being a Victorian novel and dealing with the subject matter it deals with. Eliot foreshadows the ending very early on. It's sort of set up as redemption, but it's not at all satisfying. It's kind of a cop out, really.
Definitely not Eliot's best work. It drags for ages and then the ending is really abrupt. I'll stick with Middlemarch.
readingpenguin's review
5.0
Best of 2019, #16
The only classic to make my list this year. It's beautifully written, lyrical in style and dense in a good way. I loved how thought provoking it was, without seeming pretentious.
~
I loved this one.
On the surface it's a tale about overcoming financial disaster inorder to restore the family's honor and good name, along with the home and business that is the titular mill. On a deeper level, it's concerned with drawing a comparison between true morality and the appearance of propriety. It's a thought provoking character based story that I've enjoyed digesting since completing the book. I also found the writing style to be lovely, with many sentences that were beautiful just for their own sake.
I would recommend this.
The only classic to make my list this year. It's beautifully written, lyrical in style and dense in a good way. I loved how thought provoking it was, without seeming pretentious.
~
I loved this one.
On the surface it's a tale about overcoming financial disaster inorder to restore the family's honor and good name, along with the home and business that is the titular mill. On a deeper level, it's concerned with drawing a comparison between true morality and the appearance of propriety. It's a thought provoking character based story that I've enjoyed digesting since completing the book. I also found the writing style to be lovely, with many sentences that were beautiful just for their own sake.
I would recommend this.
kathym91's review
1.0
DNF'd at just over 300 pages. I found it too slow moving and somewhat repetitive, just not what I want to read right now
valje's review
5.0
This was a re-read. I still give it 5 stars! It hasn't lost any of it's power. It's a novel so full of passion and so tragic - I just love it! I also love Maggie - a heroine ahead of her time!
mappingoutasky's review
3.0
3.5 Stars.
I liked it, but wasn't blown away by it.
Read for ENGL 3032: British Fiction - Dickens to Hardy
I liked it, but wasn't blown away by it.
Read for ENGL 3032: British Fiction - Dickens to Hardy
julia562's review
4.0
At the beginning and through the middle I was a bit bored, but it started picking up pace like 60% of the way through and I was digging it, thinking "dang I actually really like this book." And then I got to the last page and I just don't even know what to feel now
toria's review
2.0
Well I've finally finished. it was hard going. It is a long book with large chunks of description and, dare I say, info dumps. Yes, I know that I can't judge Victorian books using modern standards but it would still have been nice to be shown how the characters felt and not told. The info dumps get in the way, stopping us getting to know the characters.