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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
Ugh. This was a miserable experience for all of us. I suggested that we tackle a classic of American or British literature as part of our "back to school" movement. Now, the first rule of our book club is that you can't pick something you've read before, so it was hard for me to find a book that worked. As an English teacher, it's tough to find something in the canon that I haven't read. So K suggested this book and D seconded the read. We all hated it. The writing was dense, flowery, and overly sentimental. But M hosted a fun night for all.
I first read this as a teenager and thought she was the greatest. And then to read this book in my 40s, it stands out for being so modern. This hustling woman who tells a lot of uncomfortable truths. Funny as hell.
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Moll Flanders is a badass. She is truly an inspiration - started from the bottom and used one man after another to get ahead. Love a girl with priorities.
I didn’t super love the format. There are no chapters so it was difficult to break. It’s also not the easiest to keep track of the passage of time.
I didn’t super love the format. There are no chapters so it was difficult to break. It’s also not the easiest to keep track of the passage of time.
I don't like giving this book less than 4 stars, since it's a tremendously important work historically (arguably one of the first real English novels) but I found it pretty tedious, without much in the way of the satire I'd expect from Daniel Defoe. It's just awkward and somehow childlike, although he did a great job mimicking the sort of tense you'd imagine a person like the protagonist to write in.
2.5 Stars.
I've been flip-flopping between the two star rating and the three, partially because I'm writing this several days after finishing reading it so I'm already getting a little rosy-retrospection and remembering more of the good things than the bad. But ultimately, it was not actively fun or enjoyable to read.
Moll Flanders is an important step in the process of the development of the novel as we see it today. It's interesting to see the elements of a current novel that it lacks - no chapter division, for instance. And the older form of English might be a little hard for some readers to get into if you're not well versed in it. But there are also elements that form the novel as we come to expect it today; we get insights into the character's psychological motivations (formation of a more well rounded character) and the formation of a first person narration that brings with it the question of an unreliable narrator. It also develops a strong didactic purpose, and introduces fictional autobiographies or "life stories" into the development of the novel genre.
So there's that whole side of it. But then there's the less formal and less scholarly side of me that is more of a leisure reader. And this was not leisurely to read. It wasn't fun, and it didn't really engage me. It was a push to get to finish the reading in time for class because I kept wanting to put it down. So yes, analytically it's an important step along the process of development of novels and has a lot of interesting factors in that sense, but it was unable to hold my interest past that due to the very slow plot and long-windedness of Moll herself.
Not a bad thing to read for school, thus three stars. Not a great thing to read for fun, thus two stars.
I've been flip-flopping between the two star rating and the three, partially because I'm writing this several days after finishing reading it so I'm already getting a little rosy-retrospection and remembering more of the good things than the bad. But ultimately, it was not actively fun or enjoyable to read.
Moll Flanders is an important step in the process of the development of the novel as we see it today. It's interesting to see the elements of a current novel that it lacks - no chapter division, for instance. And the older form of English might be a little hard for some readers to get into if you're not well versed in it. But there are also elements that form the novel as we come to expect it today; we get insights into the character's psychological motivations (formation of a more well rounded character) and the formation of a first person narration that brings with it the question of an unreliable narrator. It also develops a strong didactic purpose, and introduces fictional autobiographies or "life stories" into the development of the novel genre.
So there's that whole side of it. But then there's the less formal and less scholarly side of me that is more of a leisure reader. And this was not leisurely to read. It wasn't fun, and it didn't really engage me. It was a push to get to finish the reading in time for class because I kept wanting to put it down. So yes, analytically it's an important step along the process of development of novels and has a lot of interesting factors in that sense, but it was unable to hold my interest past that due to the very slow plot and long-windedness of Moll herself.
Not a bad thing to read for school, thus three stars. Not a great thing to read for fun, thus two stars.
What a first page opener:
"Moll Flanders Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and dies a Penitent. Written from her own Memorandums …"
It wasn’t bad for its day I bet but it really hasn’t aged well. It’s constantly filled with Moll stating such things as “the devil made me do it” and “wo is me the sinner”. In addition it’s a bit too long and repetitive. However, it is interesting to read how things were historically in the late 17th century though the book was published in 1721. So it's nearly 300 years old.
the premise of this novel was Awesome. and i did enjoy it!! not the best book i've ever read by any means but i did like it and i think it was super interesting
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i can't decide whether i love or hate her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. At first, it was distinctly difficult to maintain interest in it, getting through Moll's first affairs and husbands and the like. It was also very tragic, and sad. Her lot in life felt so hopeless and heavy. The pace picked up, however, when she married the man who turned out to be her half-brother (Yup TW: INCEST). That point in the book was actually so sad and heartwrenching and unsettling, and Moll's responses were so realistic and her decisions really resonated with me. I have no experience with that subject matter, but it's like I could feeling the sudden weight, the aching shock and horror of it all.
But, I didn't really fall in love with Moll until she eventually turned to thieving. I absolutely adored every minute of that part of the book. She became a master. freaking. thief. She became infamous, made a remarkable amount of money, developed relationships with other people in the underbelly of society. And then she got caught over the stupidest thing. I think some asshole even tried or succeeded in groping her while she was arrested at some point.
Regardless, how has no one made a mini-series of this, book yet? So much happens in it. The drama! The intrigue! I mean "Twelve year a whore, five times a wife (whereof once to her own brother), twelve year a thief, eight year a transported felon in Virginia..." it says it all. It doesn't help that if Moll had more of a bent for murder, I'd say Lady de Winter from BBC's Musketeers was based on Moll Flanders. I don't remember which books came first, but I get vibes.
Moll is such an intelligent and morally ambiguous character. It's precisely because she stops playing by society's rules that she stays so independent. There's moments where Defoe has her go "Oh, I'm so wicked, blah, blah, blah, God forgive me, blah, blah," and you have to suspend your disbelief a bit extra. But also, it's kind of funny to read because it sounds so ridiculous in juxtaposition to Moll's actions.
There is a mention of Black American chattel slavery as Moll does make her way to the Americas towards the end of the book. It's not respectful from what I recall. Be prepared for all the bigoted things you can unfortunately expect from your average 18th century Englishman writing an as Englishwoman character--and in general the acceptance of slavery itself. I don't recall if those moments are very significant to the plot or not, but they do speak to the twisted moral compass so many people had at the time. Incest is horrific but slavery is somehow okay? Jfc. And the fact that Moll can die a "penitent" when she participated in slavery? Yup. That was something many white people were that okay with.
I love Moll as a character, and she's absolutely problematic--but she's allowed to be. Where women were so often condemned for such actions hers, this book portrays her in a way roguish men were at the time. She's allowed to stand with dignity, flaws and all. And damn if that isn't rare from this time period.
Note: The text can be very heavily laden with excess words at times, so I highly recommend getting an audiobook version. It's very worth it--and makes it all the more entertaining.
But, I didn't really fall in love with Moll until she eventually turned to thieving. I absolutely adored every minute of that part of the book. She became a master. freaking. thief. She became infamous, made a remarkable amount of money, developed relationships with other people in the underbelly of society. And then she got caught over the stupidest thing. I think some asshole even tried or succeeded in groping her while she was arrested at some point.
Regardless, how has no one made a mini-series of this, book yet? So much happens in it. The drama! The intrigue! I mean "Twelve year a whore, five times a wife (whereof once to her own brother), twelve year a thief, eight year a transported felon in Virginia..." it says it all. It doesn't help that if Moll had more of a bent for murder, I'd say Lady de Winter from BBC's Musketeers was based on Moll Flanders. I don't remember which books came first, but I get vibes.
Moll is such an intelligent and morally ambiguous character. It's precisely because she stops playing by society's rules that she stays so independent. There's moments where Defoe has her go "Oh, I'm so wicked, blah, blah, blah, God forgive me, blah, blah," and you have to suspend your disbelief a bit extra. But also, it's kind of funny to read because it sounds so ridiculous in juxtaposition to Moll's actions.
There is a mention of Black American chattel slavery as Moll does make her way to the Americas towards the end of the book. It's not respectful from what I recall. Be prepared for all the bigoted things you can unfortunately expect from your average 18th century Englishman writing an as Englishwoman character--and in general the acceptance of slavery itself. I don't recall if those moments are very significant to the plot or not, but they do speak to the twisted moral compass so many people had at the time. Incest is horrific but slavery is somehow okay? Jfc. And the fact that Moll can die a "penitent" when she participated in slavery? Yup. That was something many white people were that okay with.
I love Moll as a character, and she's absolutely problematic--but she's allowed to be. Where women were so often condemned for such actions hers, this book portrays her in a way roguish men were at the time. She's allowed to stand with dignity, flaws and all. And damn if that isn't rare from this time period.
Note: The text can be very heavily laden with excess words at times, so I highly recommend getting an audiobook version. It's very worth it--and makes it all the more entertaining.