Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Middlemarch by George Eliot

3 reviews

shieldbearer's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is precisely the type of novel I usually cannot bring myself to care for, but I will admit that the characters are drawn with such nuanced skill here that I cannot help but be invested even though the plot is so terribly uninteresting to me, personally. These sorts of "oh WHO shall Saunterblugget Hampterfuppinshire marry???" plots just don't do it for me in general, especially since the focus is exclusively on the upper class. Having read "Blood in the Machine" by Brian Merchant, the Luddites are far more on my radar than they were, and seeing machine breaking get mentioned off handedly, and yet no actual engagement with it, made me feel like it were truly a missed opportunity, though I know this is partly modern sensibility at play. 

All that said, the misogyny, antisemitism, racism and antiromanyism really hampered my enjoyment. To a large extent, some of this is a product of its time, I'm aware, and it's what one often signs up for when reading these old novels, but still... I think the main things that I am enthralled by when it comes to this novel is Eliot's skill in bringing out nuanced, realistic characters (in the sense that they have very human, very flawed thoughts and impulses, in ways I truly wish more authors would write) and by the missed opportunities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Classism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Racism, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Medical content, Death, and Cursing

Minor: Child death, Cancer, and Death of parent

tenar's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Antisemitism

Moderate: Misogyny, Ableism, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug use, Cancer, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Murder

qqjj's review against another edition

challenging hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Miscarriage