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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I’ve been meaning to read this on the recommendation of several friends and I finally got around to it! True, it was the audiobook, but that still counts.
It took me a while to get into it, but about halfway through, the plot got interesting. Margaret became more well-rounded and less of a spoiled brat. Me. Thornton even became less of a stick-in-the-mud, which was commendable. Mrs. Thornton needed a kick in the backside, but I guess that’s typical of these mother-types in classic literature.
I’m glad I stuck with this book. Now I need to watch the miniseries!
It took me a while to get into it, but about halfway through, the plot got interesting. Margaret became more well-rounded and less of a spoiled brat. Me. Thornton even became less of a stick-in-the-mud, which was commendable. Mrs. Thornton needed a kick in the backside, but I guess that’s typical of these mother-types in classic literature.
I’m glad I stuck with this book. Now I need to watch the miniseries!
adventurous
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated
The BBC series ruined me, this book is lovely and thought-provoking but not nearly as romantic as Richard Armitage praying, “Look back at me, look back at me.” I do love Gaskell’s prose, it’s vivid and ironic.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
When I read this for the first time, I felt like I had discovered a new Jane Austen. I think now, that I almost prefer it. It doesn't quite have the passion of Jane Eyre, but I love the social justice aspect and the northern setting. There are some delightful characters (Mr Bell, sigh) and the ending is lovely. The ending of the BBC production is also lovely, though very different!
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More like 3.5 stars.
I originally picked up this book because some people were gushing about it and how romantic it was - and at the time, I needed something light and fluffy. Maybe I went in with certain expectations that tainted my impressions of the books, but then again, I think some of my issues are valid.
Things I Liked
1. Characters: Probably the best thing about Gaskell’s novel is the range of characters offered throughout the narrative. We get everything from snooty upper class to prideful, big-hearted lower class and everything in between. None of these characters, however, felt like a caricature or a stock character - they all felt fairly true-to-life (at least by Victorian literary standards), and in the end, I found myself quite liking Higgins, Margaret, and Mr. Thornton.
2. View of the Changing Economy: Gaskell obviously knows the ins and outs of a struggling economy and the rich-vs-poor conflict surrounding industrial towns. There are a lot of conversations that happen in the novel about the pros and cons of Unions, the demands on masters, and the grievances of the working class. However, there is also sympathy to be had for the upper class, and it's fairly apparent that there is no "right side" to be arguing for. Overall, these points paint a fairly complex portrait of Victorian England while at the same time, advocating for more rights for the working class.
3. Pace: The second half of the book is filled with a lot of dramatic plot points that seem rather silly in theory, but play out wonderfully as narrative devices. Tragedy upon tragedy befalls the Hale family, and Margaret always manages to bounce back. As a result, it made for an exciting read and increased my admiration for Margaret’s strength.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Pace: Ok, I know this reads like a contradiction, given my plus points above, but hear me out. The first half of the novel (at least for me) was incredibly slow. Not much happened, and it’s filled with a lot more discussions than actions. I almost felt as if I were reading social/economic theory instead of a novel, which almost turned me off entirely. Instead, I’d have liked to see more plot points that illustrate these concepts as opposed to conversations that explained them - maybe we could have gotten a few chapters from Higgins’ point of view, for example, which would have made us sympathize with the workers a bit more.
2. Margaret: While I rather liked Margaret, I also found her to be a bit too boring. She’s always held up as the paragon of grace and beauty, which can get a tad annoying, especially if you've read a lot of novels about beautiful heroines. In my opinion, Margaret is best represented when found in a moral dilemma and after choosing the wrong path (vaguely avoiding spoilers here). It’s these kinds of conflicts that make characters more interesting to me as opposed to perpetual sweetness and idolization.
3. Tone: A lot of this novel is sprinkled with melodrama and unbelievable happenstance. While I liked that things kept happening spontaneously to hold my interest, a lot of the tone was overdone.
4. Lack of Sympathy: I found it extremely difficult to feel any sympathy for the workers in this novel because we hear of so many characters “off-screen,” so to speak. Most of the characters we meet have no direct investment in the mills or factories (save for the Higgins family), and I think it would have been more effective to have POV sections where we heard from the workers about labor conditions.
Recommendations: Definitely pick up this novel if you have an interest in worker's rights, industrialization, and labor unions, especially in the context of urbanization in England in the 19th century. You might also like this novel if you liked Pride and Prejudice, since it follows the same basic romance plot of "two people somewhat dislike each other at first but then grow to admire one another." (Though don't expect the novels to be the same.)
I originally picked up this book because some people were gushing about it and how romantic it was - and at the time, I needed something light and fluffy. Maybe I went in with certain expectations that tainted my impressions of the books, but then again, I think some of my issues are valid.
Things I Liked
1. Characters: Probably the best thing about Gaskell’s novel is the range of characters offered throughout the narrative. We get everything from snooty upper class to prideful, big-hearted lower class and everything in between. None of these characters, however, felt like a caricature or a stock character - they all felt fairly true-to-life (at least by Victorian literary standards), and in the end, I found myself quite liking Higgins, Margaret, and Mr. Thornton.
2. View of the Changing Economy: Gaskell obviously knows the ins and outs of a struggling economy and the rich-vs-poor conflict surrounding industrial towns. There are a lot of conversations that happen in the novel about the pros and cons of Unions, the demands on masters, and the grievances of the working class. However, there is also sympathy to be had for the upper class, and it's fairly apparent that there is no "right side" to be arguing for. Overall, these points paint a fairly complex portrait of Victorian England while at the same time, advocating for more rights for the working class.
3. Pace: The second half of the book is filled with a lot of dramatic plot points that seem rather silly in theory, but play out wonderfully as narrative devices. Tragedy upon tragedy befalls the Hale family, and Margaret always manages to bounce back. As a result, it made for an exciting read and increased my admiration for Margaret’s strength.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Pace: Ok, I know this reads like a contradiction, given my plus points above, but hear me out. The first half of the novel (at least for me) was incredibly slow. Not much happened, and it’s filled with a lot more discussions than actions. I almost felt as if I were reading social/economic theory instead of a novel, which almost turned me off entirely. Instead, I’d have liked to see more plot points that illustrate these concepts as opposed to conversations that explained them - maybe we could have gotten a few chapters from Higgins’ point of view, for example, which would have made us sympathize with the workers a bit more.
2. Margaret: While I rather liked Margaret, I also found her to be a bit too boring. She’s always held up as the paragon of grace and beauty, which can get a tad annoying, especially if you've read a lot of novels about beautiful heroines. In my opinion, Margaret is best represented when found in a moral dilemma and after choosing the wrong path (vaguely avoiding spoilers here). It’s these kinds of conflicts that make characters more interesting to me as opposed to perpetual sweetness and idolization.
3. Tone: A lot of this novel is sprinkled with melodrama and unbelievable happenstance. While I liked that things kept happening spontaneously to hold my interest, a lot of the tone was overdone.
4. Lack of Sympathy: I found it extremely difficult to feel any sympathy for the workers in this novel because we hear of so many characters “off-screen,” so to speak. Most of the characters we meet have no direct investment in the mills or factories (save for the Higgins family), and I think it would have been more effective to have POV sections where we heard from the workers about labor conditions.
Recommendations: Definitely pick up this novel if you have an interest in worker's rights, industrialization, and labor unions, especially in the context of urbanization in England in the 19th century. You might also like this novel if you liked Pride and Prejudice, since it follows the same basic romance plot of "two people somewhat dislike each other at first but then grow to admire one another." (Though don't expect the novels to be the same.)
Sort of Austen-ish, but not as funny. A lot of social commentary regarding industry and workers and owners and unions, which I could have done without.
As a funny aside -- based only on the title, I used to think this book was about the Civil War. Ha. It's not.
As a funny aside -- based only on the title, I used to think this book was about the Civil War. Ha. It's not.
Well. that was a long fight until i finally finished this... The beginning reaally streches out. And there is just a lot of lore and facts pact in but also lots of quite trivial day to day conversations and the meaningful ones were far to short for me... the ending seemed quite abrupt as well. Nevertheless its an amazing book and definitely worth the struggle.