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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
I might need an English teacher to tell me what I'm missing in Moll Flanders. I get the social commentary on women's roles and rights in society, certainly, but after 60 pages of Moll's hysterical yet petty voice, I needed a break.
Very, very, very episodic. Very easy to miss things that happen. Overall, enjoyable.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this book. As a fan of early 18th century literature (I'm not a huge fan of flowery 19th century prose) I found this book to be fascinating. I'm not sure I understand completely how people found the writing itself boring as it seemed pretty straight forward to me. The story itself is fascinating, the development of Moll's character throughout her lifetime. She is someone who knows how to bend people into believing what she needs them to believe and in all honesty I felt compelled to agree with her on certain aspects. Despite a lot of horrible behavior (I was most disgusted by the treatment of her children... she only mentions them when she needs to... I'm not even sure how many she had) you begin to understand why she might be doing what she is doing.
The story questions the ethics of morality while exposing the underbelly of london. I also love that she marries a dandy.... i found it thoroughly enjoyable and a great change from the strict social structure of 19th century england.
The story questions the ethics of morality while exposing the underbelly of london. I also love that she marries a dandy.... i found it thoroughly enjoyable and a great change from the strict social structure of 19th century england.
challenging
slow-paced
“I am giving an account of what was, not of what ought or ought not to be.”
Enjoyable novel? No.
Interesting story? Yes.
Moll Flanders is an unbending person in horrible reoccurring circumstances. A couple of questions I have.. Why did this book have no chapter breaks?!?! What happens to Moll's children that we just abandon? Why is so much time in the book spent when she's a thief but so little time spent on her life with 5 (?) husbands?
I couldn't stand the decorative writing. There was no break from the long never ending sentences. This book was definitely plot driven for Moll was not really developed as a character at all. Moll sins repeatedly and is sorry about it while she keeps on sinning. Am I missing something here? There wasn't a lot of descriptions about the different locations we traveled too. And if there was it was bogged down by ostentatious writing.
Enjoyable novel? No.
Interesting story? Yes.
Moll Flanders is an unbending person in horrible reoccurring circumstances. A couple of questions I have.. Why did this book have no chapter breaks?!?! What happens to Moll's children that we just abandon? Why is so much time in the book spent when she's a thief but so little time spent on her life with 5 (?) husbands?
I couldn't stand the decorative writing. There was no break from the long never ending sentences. This book was definitely plot driven for Moll was not really developed as a character at all. Moll sins repeatedly and is sorry about it while she keeps on sinning. Am I missing something here? There wasn't a lot of descriptions about the different locations we traveled too. And if there was it was bogged down by ostentatious writing.
Read for Georgian Literature module.
I read this for a second time, since it was nearly a year ago that I read it. It took me exactly a week and made much more sense a) not reading it with a sun-soaked, sleepy brain, and b) after studying it. I actually rather enjoyed it this time around!
Though this book was sometimes hard for my sun-soaked, sleepy brain to follow I did enjoy MOLL FLANDERS. I liked the narrative voice and I think it'll definitely be interesting to see how it fits (or doesn't fit) with conventions from the time! (July 2015)
I read this for a second time, since it was nearly a year ago that I read it. It took me exactly a week and made much more sense a) not reading it with a sun-soaked, sleepy brain, and b) after studying it. I actually rather enjoyed it this time around!
Though this book was sometimes hard for my sun-soaked, sleepy brain to follow I did enjoy MOLL FLANDERS. I liked the narrative voice and I think it'll definitely be interesting to see how it fits (or doesn't fit) with conventions from the time! (July 2015)
This was quite a slog for me to get through. Only read it b/c it was on the 1001 reads before I die, otherwise this would have been one I would have skipped.
Well, since spring break 2014, I've finally read another book! April was a dry month in book-reading, but rich in other ways, like making "Seniors" with Jen and doing Video Every Day in April on my YouTube channel. Nevertheless, I read Moll for Professor Navarette's Senior Seminar class on eighteenth century British Lit. And I really enjoyed it. It was difficult at times because there are no chapter breaks, and Moll goes on and on about specific side stories. But Moll Flanders was a text I could finally dig into in this class, since we've been reading a lot of poetry (Pope, Swift, Johnson), and contextual texts. I like having a novel to dig into. So, I think I enjoyed Moll because I did have all of that background reading under my belt. I'd suggest reading this version of Moll, because it's Defoe's own work (later editions are shortened and changed), and plus it has some enlightening criticisms in the back of the book. Think about how Moll moves through the story. She's quite mobile, especially for a woman. Even though she lies, steals, and cheats, I really admire her. She found her own way of survival in a difficult world.