Scan barcode
kellieveltri's review
2.0
The last 100 pages of this book are actually pretty good. The characters are well-developed and the drama raises interesting questions about status and class. However, the first 300 pages are dreadfully boring and most of it feels wholly unnecessary. I found myself losing my attention constantly (this book is particularly known for dedicating something like 50 pages just to the Marches’ experience visiting potential apartments). This completely cheapens the experience, leading me to wonder how many people never even came close to finishing the book (I only did because I was examined on it and had to do passage identifications for class) because the majority of it is so painful. Additionally, several characters speak in accents that are reflected through the spelling of your lines and is frustrating to interpret when they are discernible at all.
However, Howells deserves credit for his interesting female characters and genuinely emotional moments at the end of the novel, although basically nothing is learned and those who advocated for change face the worst outcomes.
Skimming a lot of the middle would probably have the same result.
However, Howells deserves credit for his interesting female characters and genuinely emotional moments at the end of the novel, although basically nothing is learned and those who advocated for change face the worst outcomes.
Skimming a lot of the middle would probably have the same result.
beckydham's review
3.0
It's amazing how modern and timely this felt, and even funny in a modern way.
sarahmorecoffee's review against another edition
2.0
Actually, 2 1/2 - see, I don't LOVE all 19th century literature. This one was written in 1890 and it is just too darn boring.
castranosis's review
1.0
Hated this. Skimmed this for my American Realism and Naturalism class. Would have stopped reading this after the first couple of chapters if it hadn't been for class.
inkquisitivequill's review
1.0
I actually didn't even finish this book. It was too painful to get through. The moment of despair came when, in the beginning of the novel, the couple began looking for an appartment in New York, which went on for about 50 dreadfully boring and nearly unbearable pages. The characters annoyed me to no end and the story itself was, in my opinion, presented in a very boring and unappealing way, with dialogues that felt as if each character had an infinite amount of monologue and a plot that seemed like it was going nowhere. Apparently, it did get better and the story got more interesting, but I didn't stick around long enough for that part. If I have to go through 300 pages to get to the possibly better 200 last pages, I'd rather just give up, because, to me, that is not worth the agony.
katieo314's review against another edition
3.0
The end is rather abrupt and doesn't quite work; there are aspects that were probably socially appropriate in 1890 that make us cringe today...which is of course to be expected in period literature. Still a rather engrossing urban novel, inhabited by often-archetypal but interesting characters. It is absolutely a study of the middle class, perhaps a bit too sunny and sentimental, though the echoes of the Haymarket Affair toward the end temper that a bit. Rather enjoyable. Probably an author that deserves to be read more than he is.
gchiararo's review
5.0
Writing which is rare today. The depiction of the times and its dilemmas still have something to say to today's world. We walk alongside those who have made it as well as those who are considered failures. Their humanity and worth shine through if one is willing to listen.