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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I'll admit that when I dove into this, my first Gaskell, I went solely as a pleasure-seeker. Witticisms, subtle victorian flirtation, delightful english oddities were top of my list, and while North and South did not spare these elements, I didn't find them in as generous a supply as I'd hoped. The rest of the time, a great deal of the time, was filled with Unions, and strikes, and masters, and politics, and the plight of the common man, etc, etc, etc. All well and good in its own right, just not what I thought I'd signed up for. Shame on me for not doing the proper research beforehand, and therefore not giving this book a fair shake. I blame my want bordering on need tiptoeing on obsession to watch any and all BBC series based on classic literature. But of course - bb4m! I just made brilliant initialism up. Book Before Movie, or in this case, Miniseries.
All of that said, a fairly good read. I found Margaret to be not entirely likeable, but as I'm not a you-must-like-the-protagonist-or-it's-a-crap-book kind of reader, that was all good and well. The dim Milton setting clashed severely with the Helstone (Cartagena, Colombia) that I vacationed in while reading. Which convinces me, yet again, that I have to give it another try at another time.
All of that said, a fairly good read. I found Margaret to be not entirely likeable, but as I'm not a you-must-like-the-protagonist-or-it's-a-crap-book kind of reader, that was all good and well. The dim Milton setting clashed severely with the Helstone (Cartagena, Colombia) that I vacationed in while reading. Which convinces me, yet again, that I have to give it another try at another time.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
A slow start, but ya girl is a sucker for the slow burn. Also, Richard Armitage could get it.
The book feels very long winded and has a lot of false endings. I got interested in the book from the miniseries and ultimately I’m glad I read it. But there are so many subplots I almost want an abridged version.
...she tried to settle that most difficult problem for women, how much was to be utterly merged in obedience to authority, and how much might be set apart for freedom in working.
I read Wives and Daughters a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. North and South seems to be Mrs. Gaskell's most popular book and I can understand why. The heroine is a strong, opinionated and headstrong but often gets herself into trouble because of those very admirable traits. Although it is a romance, it also is philosophical as it relates to capitalism and organized labor. It was excellent that although it is a bit left leaning, the book also supports the arguments of capitalism and property ownership fairly well.
This book could easily have been titled "Pride and Prejudice" if that title had not already been taken by another famous British author; there are many prejudices, misunderstandings and secrets. I loved all the characters - none of them perfect but all of them likeable. I ended up not being able to put the book down and so didn't get much done yesterday.
A note about this audio version. The narrator was Kate Petrie and she was excellent - especially when working class characters spoke - reading those parts were significantly more difficult than letting Ms. Petrie do her thing.
I read Wives and Daughters a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. North and South seems to be Mrs. Gaskell's most popular book and I can understand why. The heroine is a strong, opinionated and headstrong but often gets herself into trouble because of those very admirable traits. Although it is a romance, it also is philosophical as it relates to capitalism and organized labor. It was excellent that although it is a bit left leaning, the book also supports the arguments of capitalism and property ownership fairly well.
This book could easily have been titled "Pride and Prejudice" if that title had not already been taken by another famous British author; there are many prejudices, misunderstandings and secrets. I loved all the characters - none of them perfect but all of them likeable. I ended up not being able to put the book down and so didn't get much done yesterday.
A note about this audio version. The narrator was Kate Petrie and she was excellent - especially when working class characters spoke - reading those parts were significantly more difficult than letting Ms. Petrie do her thing.
I have watched and loved the BBC North and South miniseries years ago and I fell in love with it, especially with Richard Armitage portraying John Thornton. I couldn't help but compare the two as I was reading, though it's been awhile since I've watched the show, but I find that perhaps I like the show a little bit more because they fix the pacing and also change a couple of things so that things relate better.
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel though, it wasn't as romantic as Austen, and frankly at times Margaret annoyed me with her holier than though attitude, and her lack of really good motive for disliking the men who proposed to her. Always sassy and headstrong when she doesn't need to be, and awfully shy when a little backbone would do her good. Thornton was a worthy romantic hero, full or angst and righteousness, and honor. And truly, considering how Margaret treated him and the things she said to dissuade him from liking her, it's a wonder he had any feelings with her at all. Man's a glutton for punishment.
Also, the novel ends a bit abruptly after Thornton and Margaret meet again and she strikes a business deal with him, it's so little!!! Needed more, at least the show gave us a kiss!
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel though, it wasn't as romantic as Austen, and frankly at times Margaret annoyed me with her holier than though attitude, and her lack of really good motive for disliking the men who proposed to her. Always sassy and headstrong when she doesn't need to be, and awfully shy when a little backbone would do her good. Thornton was a worthy romantic hero, full or angst and righteousness, and honor. And truly, considering how Margaret treated him and the things she said to dissuade him from liking her, it's a wonder he had any feelings with her at all. Man's a glutton for punishment.
Also, the novel ends a bit abruptly after Thornton and Margaret meet again and she strikes a business deal with him, it's so little!!! Needed more, at least the show gave us a kiss!
1.5 / 5
I read a very unabridged version of this book and even then it couldn’t hold my attention. I still think it was an interesting novel but it was not for me.
I read a very unabridged version of this book and even then it couldn’t hold my attention. I still think it was an interesting novel but it was not for me.
i read this for a bookclub, would probably not have chosen to read it otherwise. it was okay but not my type. too slow-moving, also it seemed like it was going to have a point about class or unions or something but then all of that was just unresolved background noise, so, i didn't care for it. i am however looking forward to watching the bbc miniseries adaptation as it stars richard armitage.