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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
This was most definitely the first English novel. It was hard to follow at times, especially since Defeo rarely uses names for his characters, and many either aren't names or aren't the characters' real names. But there was some merit to the novel, and it's interesting to see how novels in England began.
My first thoughts on the reason why I disliked this book were that it was because of the old style of writing, but considering Shakespeare, Marlowe, Ford and Cervantes all provided enjoyable works before Defoe was on the scene, I therefore must look to the writer's skill as a fault in itself.
I don't believe 'Moll Flanders' to be a well crafted story. This is mainly due to the fact that the protagonist's many displays of 'dumb luck' leave an air of contrivance which contaminates the entire novel. The reader cannot help but assume the author was, at times, granting his central character too many lucky escapes to make her appear, perhaps, more wretched, and perhaps, more hard-done by. I couldn't help but dislike Moll due to this - Defoe made her too special, which in turn made her, to me, too unbelievable.
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"...if a young woman have beauty, birth, breeding, wit, sense, manners, modesty, and all these to an extreme; yet, if she have not money, she's nobody, she had as good want them all, for nothing but money now recommends a woman..."
"...if a young woman once thinks herself handsome, she never doubts the truth of any man that tells her he is in love with her, for if she believes herself charming enough to capture him, 'tis natural enough to expect the effects of it."
"...she is always married too soon who gets a bad husband and she is never married too late who gets a good one."
I don't believe 'Moll Flanders' to be a well crafted story. This is mainly due to the fact that the protagonist's many displays of 'dumb luck' leave an air of contrivance which contaminates the entire novel. The reader cannot help but assume the author was, at times, granting his central character too many lucky escapes to make her appear, perhaps, more wretched, and perhaps, more hard-done by. I couldn't help but dislike Moll due to this - Defoe made her too special, which in turn made her, to me, too unbelievable.
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"...if a young woman have beauty, birth, breeding, wit, sense, manners, modesty, and all these to an extreme; yet, if she have not money, she's nobody, she had as good want them all, for nothing but money now recommends a woman..."
"...if a young woman once thinks herself handsome, she never doubts the truth of any man that tells her he is in love with her, for if she believes herself charming enough to capture him, 'tis natural enough to expect the effects of it."
"...she is always married too soon who gets a bad husband and she is never married too late who gets a good one."
Much, much more entertaining than I ever would have expected - and I expected to like this book going into it. I can see how it was very sensational for the time - among this woman's many "adventures" is the moment when she realizes her husband (one of several throughout her lifetime) is her brother. Very soap, but very fun to read. The language wasn't an issue for me, once I got into the book, I didn't really notice it. However, I grew up reading Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Shakespeare (and read them for fun), so it might be more distracting for those that aren't accustomed to the style, language, and colloquialisms.
I don't think that Dafoe and I were meant to get on. I bailed on Robinson Crusoe and found Moll Flanders to be okay. At least this was more engaging than RC. I probably would have enjoyed the story more if it wasn't told in such a run on style with absolutely no chapter breaks. It just goes and goes through all of her misadventure and dubious choices. I could sympathize with her a bit since the options for women at that time were slim. Yet there was something about here that just made you shake your head - especially her relationship or lack there of with her numerous children who seemed to just disappear into thin air.
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not something I normally would have picked up outside of a class, but I'm glad I got the chance to read it. Slow to start, but picks up fairly quickly.
This has the best subtitle ever and I was excited to finally read this, but man this didn't turn out to be an enjoyable experience. Part of the problem is that it's so plot driven, but the whole plot is in the subtitle. You can see the beginning of a more character driven novel here, but it's not quite there so knowing the plot took away much of the pleasure of reading it. I also had a hard time staying focused. I'd read a few pages and then realize I wasn't paying attention, mainly because I didn't care. Oddly, at times I would picture Moll as Polly from Peaky Blinders and then did care because I love Polly but that didn't save the book. I can appreciate how this is a stepping stone in the development of the novel, but didn't enjoy it. It is also a nice souvenir from one of the oldest bookstores in America, Brattle Books in Boston, so I'll be keeping my copy even though I didn't love it.
A very promising beginning to this book, but lost me about 2/3 in and I started not to care. Surprisingly readable for a book written in the 1700's and surprisingly close to Defoe's own personal life. Excellent example that sin, especially prostitution, and sex before marriage were extremely common even "back in the day". Things really don't change that much.
I always feel like classics are hard books to judge and critique, since my own experience of the book is more modernized than the intended audience of them. Additionally, I generally read these books for academic purposes, leaving my intentions behind it more critical than enjoyable.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like, but many other moments where it was just waaay too much and way too repetitive
All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like
Spoiler
when she turned out to have married her brother and had 3 kids with himSpoiler
specifically the 8 years of her thievery. The stories were intriguing and sometimes even funny, but I didn't need to hear her happen upon the perfect heist 700 times in a row, thanks.All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.