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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Forever one of my favorite books. The slow burn of the love between Margaret Hale and John Thornton, the way she learns to value people she couldn’t understand at first, I never grow tired of it.
I can't believe I'm saying it, but the movie was better. More accurately, the mini series. Maybe I should have read the book first.
I've been sitting here staring at the screen for half an hour, trying to write a review, but I'm too overcome after finishing this beautiful, heart-wrenching, moving and romantic novel to know quite where to begin. Maybe one day I'll be able to say something more eloquent, but for now - bulletpoints.
* The characters, especially the heroine, Margaret Hale, and the wonderful hero, John Thornton, are beautifully rendered, three-dimensional and complex. The journeys they both take over the course of the three years during which the novel takes place are emotional and truthful, and really beautiful to see. Not only do they grow as individuals, but they grow in their ability to understand and love one another. That's my favorite kind of romance, where the happiness the hero and heroine find is completely earned by what the story puts them through. The supporting characters are vivid, too - Mr. and Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Thornton, Nicholas and Bessy Higgins, Dixon, Mr. Bell. Elizabeth Gaskell created a group of characters that feel like real human beings.
* The novel's settings, in particular the industrial town of Milton and the rural village of Helstone, seem very real - almost like characters in and of themselves. I could feel the contrast between North and South on a visceral level, seeing the good and bad of both by the book's end.
* As much as North and South is a gripping story and romance and totally enjoyable on just that level, it's also a fascinating look at some of the societal issues rocking Victorian Britain in the mid-19th century - the growing influence of cities and industry and the lessening importance of rural village life; the clashes between "masters" and "hands" in the mills; the inhumane and dangerous conditions for workers; the increasing doubts about religion and the existence of God in an increasingly harsh and dog-eat-dog country. None of it is preachy or heavy-handed, though. It's all simply part of the lives of these characters, and part of what they experience and learn from during the story. Gaskell did a masterful job of weaving all aspects of the story together and making it all very readable and interesting.
* THE LOVE! Oh, the love. This is such a romantic novel at its heart, and Margaret Hale and John Thornton are one of the best couples out there. Their clashes, misunderstandings, and hard-won respect for and love of each other is beautiful. John Thornton has to be one of the most wonderful heroes in any book - a strong, moral, and seemingly hard man with an incredibly tender heart and deep reserves of passion beneath it all. I fell in love with him long before Margaret got her act together, I'll say that!
Such a great book, and one I know I'll read again one day. It goes straight onto the "Favorites" list. Five big stars.
* The characters, especially the heroine, Margaret Hale, and the wonderful hero, John Thornton, are beautifully rendered, three-dimensional and complex. The journeys they both take over the course of the three years during which the novel takes place are emotional and truthful, and really beautiful to see. Not only do they grow as individuals, but they grow in their ability to understand and love one another. That's my favorite kind of romance, where the happiness the hero and heroine find is completely earned by what the story puts them through. The supporting characters are vivid, too - Mr. and Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Thornton, Nicholas and Bessy Higgins, Dixon, Mr. Bell. Elizabeth Gaskell created a group of characters that feel like real human beings.
* The novel's settings, in particular the industrial town of Milton and the rural village of Helstone, seem very real - almost like characters in and of themselves. I could feel the contrast between North and South on a visceral level, seeing the good and bad of both by the book's end.
* As much as North and South is a gripping story and romance and totally enjoyable on just that level, it's also a fascinating look at some of the societal issues rocking Victorian Britain in the mid-19th century - the growing influence of cities and industry and the lessening importance of rural village life; the clashes between "masters" and "hands" in the mills; the inhumane and dangerous conditions for workers; the increasing doubts about religion and the existence of God in an increasingly harsh and dog-eat-dog country. None of it is preachy or heavy-handed, though. It's all simply part of the lives of these characters, and part of what they experience and learn from during the story. Gaskell did a masterful job of weaving all aspects of the story together and making it all very readable and interesting.
* THE LOVE! Oh, the love. This is such a romantic novel at its heart, and Margaret Hale and John Thornton are one of the best couples out there. Their clashes, misunderstandings, and hard-won respect for and love of each other is beautiful. John Thornton has to be one of the most wonderful heroes in any book - a strong, moral, and seemingly hard man with an incredibly tender heart and deep reserves of passion beneath it all. I fell in love with him long before Margaret got her act together, I'll say that!
Such a great book, and one I know I'll read again one day. It goes straight onto the "Favorites" list. Five big stars.
It truly has it all: enemies to lovers, class discourse, some light Marxism, feminism, religious thoughts, commentary on the industrial revolution, death, men who practice self-improvement, and naps!
Forget Mr Darcy and Mr Rochester. Mr Thornton is the only hero for me. North and South is often called “the Pride and Prejudice of industrialization,” and I can’t say that descriptor isn’t accurate. Margaret is a justice-loving but classist heroine, and Mr. Thornton is an equally proud hero from the business class that Margaret finds distasteful. Of course they fall in love, after a series of miscommunications and competing love interests so common to Victorian novels. Yet despite being published in 1855 this book feels modern and vibrant. The discussions of class and labor, of each person’s responsibility to others is still deeply relevant to our times. I adore this book.
Wound up reading it because of the BBC mini-series. While I found Gaskill's writing compelling the difference in the text and the series made me long for the heat that I found missing in the text. But an overall good read.
Least satisfying ending. Spent the whole book waiting for some good ol’ Elizabethan confession of feelings - got two pages. Back to Pride and Prejudice.
Would I have enjoyed this half as much if I didn't have this image running through my brain the whole time?
Who can say for sure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Bonus xD
Who can say for sure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bonus xD
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
