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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
funny
slow-paced
Upon reread via audio-book, I liked this book much better than the first time through. It was fun/ funny and sweet. I loved the character analysis and the varied character types. The story was interesting, if a bit slower paced. I enjoyed Trollope's writing style and narrative voice.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has jumped a star for me on my second read of it. After realizing that there were two Barchester books I hadn't read, I decided to try reading (and where necessary rereading) them in order. On rereading Barchester Towers I find I am less distracted by the conservative frame and the narrative voice's diminishment of women than I was when I first read it (when I was in my early 20s). 20+ years later, I am instead enchanted with the political machinations that give the novel its life. I can ignore the narrative voice's pinching critique of powerful women and can instead enjoy the utter triumph (within the period's social construct) of the text's two most powerful women. Signora Neroni is fabulous. Mrs Proudie is fabulous-er. I read like crazy over my vacation --the only reason this took so long to finish is its substantial hardcover bulk, which did not make it a friendly walking companion. Do note that the book's casual (but thankfully brief) antisemitism remains entirely un-fabulous.
funny
lighthearted
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:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Barchester Towers picks up about five years after where its predecessor left off, re-introducing many of the principal characters from The Warden, including the much loved Mr. Harding, and adding a handful of new ones to the mix.
Alas again Mr. Harding finds himself a pawn in an episcopal battle of wills, this time with newcomers, the she-bishop Mrs. Proudie and the odious Mr. Slope acting as the principal combatants. Naturally there is a romance as well, but instead of a love triangle, Trollope gives the reader a highly comical love quadrangle. Particularly droll are the narrator’s asides and winks to the reader.
I wonder why Trollope is not as well known or as lionized as Dickens; his books are just as engaging, moral, clever and funny and in some ways more accessible to the modern reader.
Alas again Mr. Harding finds himself a pawn in an episcopal battle of wills, this time with newcomers, the she-bishop Mrs. Proudie and the odious Mr. Slope acting as the principal combatants. Naturally there is a romance as well, but instead of a love triangle, Trollope gives the reader a highly comical love quadrangle. Particularly droll are the narrator’s asides and winks to the reader.
I wonder why Trollope is not as well known or as lionized as Dickens; his books are just as engaging, moral, clever and funny and in some ways more accessible to the modern reader.
Perhaps Trollope is a fine writer, but this was way too much a novel of manners to suit me. It seemed to me a 500 page novel about nothing much.
Why have I put off reading this gem of a novel? It is thoroughly delightful in every way. Any fan of Sterne, Fielding, Eliot, Austen, or Gaskell is sure to find a high level of enjoyment in reading Trollope. The book is sly, is wickedly funny, and has heart without being overly sentimental. I love the ways in which Trollope ties his novel to some of his predecessors--Mr Slope linked to Sterne's Dr Slop and Mr Thorne to Fielding's Squire Western both gave me a chuckle. Eleanor Bold is equal to an Austen heroine and Signora Neroni and her brother Bertie reminded me quite a lot of Mary and Henry Crawford, though Bertie is perhaps a bit more sympathetic as a character. I am looking forward to spending more time in Barsetshire!
Πολύ πολύ καλό. Εκκλησιαστικές κόντρες, ακαδημαϊκές έριδες επί των εκκλησιαστικών και οι ήρωες που ξέρουμε ήδη από τον "Επίτροπο". Ένα χορταστικό μείγμα από τον αντίπαλο του Ντίκενς με φόντο την υψηλή κοινωνία και τον κλήρο του Μπαρτσεστερ.