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3.64k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
3.64k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
Nederlands (English below)
Als ik toch eens één boek mocht uitkiezen over sociale verwachtingen, schone schijn en ontluikende verlangens! In Middlemarch schetst George Eliot – echte naam: Mary Ann Evans, 1819-1880 – een haarscherp beeld van het Engelse provinciale leven tussen 1829 en 1832. Verschillende verhaallijnen lopen langs en door elkaar heen. Weliswaar zijn ze niet alle even intrigerend, maar tezamen vormen ze een innig beeld van het fictieve dorp Middlemarch.
De observaties van de eigengereide Dorothea Brooke zijn wat mij betreft een absoluut hoogtepunt in de literatuur. Was Middlemarch beperkt gebleven tot haar dagdromen, gevecht tegen de sociale orde en haar teleurstellende huwelijk met Mr. Casaubon, dan had ik het boek beslist met vijf sterren bekroond. Ook de opmerkelijke rivaliteit tussen haar man en diens neef Will Ladislaw en de beslommeringen van Fred Vincy, een fuck-up die met de beste bedoelingen anderen in zijn val meesleept, zijn het lezen zeer waard. Eliot heeft een scherp oog voor (onderhuidse) gevoelens en schroomt niet haar personages in volstrekt ongemakkelijke situaties te brengen. Onttovering is een centraal thema, terwijl de feministische inslag onmiskenbaar en naar mijn mening sterker is dan in veel modern werk.
Tot op zekere hoogte is Middlemarch ook een negentiende-eeuws coming-of-ageverhaal, waarin verlangen en verstand vaak een bittere strijd voeren. Helaas doen sommige hoofdstukken onder en wordt het verhaal op den duur wat langdradig. Daarentegen plaatst Eliot haar dorp fraai in een context van politieke strijd tussen conservatieven en liberalen en gunt ze een hoofdrol aan de ethiek als zodanig. Ik ben diep onder de indruk!
English
Middlemarch is a delightful masterpiece on the English age of reform. The storyline about Dorothea Brooke in particular is one of the utter best, given her desires, struggle with society, and marital disappointment. I found the book a rare good piece on social (provincial) life, and I enjoyed George Eliot’s sharp observations of human behaviour. It should have received five stars, were it not for the fact that not all storylines were worth telling, and the book as such is rather long.
Women were expected to have weak opinions; but the great safeguard of society and of domestic life was, that opinions were not acted on. Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.
Als ik toch eens één boek mocht uitkiezen over sociale verwachtingen, schone schijn en ontluikende verlangens! In Middlemarch schetst George Eliot – echte naam: Mary Ann Evans, 1819-1880 – een haarscherp beeld van het Engelse provinciale leven tussen 1829 en 1832. Verschillende verhaallijnen lopen langs en door elkaar heen. Weliswaar zijn ze niet alle even intrigerend, maar tezamen vormen ze een innig beeld van het fictieve dorp Middlemarch.
She was usually spoken of as begin remarkably clever, but with the addition that her sister Celia had more common-sense.
De observaties van de eigengereide Dorothea Brooke zijn wat mij betreft een absoluut hoogtepunt in de literatuur. Was Middlemarch beperkt gebleven tot haar dagdromen, gevecht tegen de sociale orde en haar teleurstellende huwelijk met Mr. Casaubon, dan had ik het boek beslist met vijf sterren bekroond. Ook de opmerkelijke rivaliteit tussen haar man en diens neef Will Ladislaw en de beslommeringen van Fred Vincy, een fuck-up die met de beste bedoelingen anderen in zijn val meesleept, zijn het lezen zeer waard. Eliot heeft een scherp oog voor (onderhuidse) gevoelens en schroomt niet haar personages in volstrekt ongemakkelijke situaties te brengen. Onttovering is een centraal thema, terwijl de feministische inslag onmiskenbaar en naar mijn mening sterker is dan in veel modern werk.
Confound you handsome young fellows! you think of having it all your own way in the world. You don’t understand women. They don’t admire you half so much as you admire yourselves.
Tot op zekere hoogte is Middlemarch ook een negentiende-eeuws coming-of-ageverhaal, waarin verlangen en verstand vaak een bittere strijd voeren. Helaas doen sommige hoofdstukken onder en wordt het verhaal op den duur wat langdradig. Daarentegen plaatst Eliot haar dorp fraai in een context van politieke strijd tussen conservatieven en liberalen en gunt ze een hoofdrol aan de ethiek als zodanig. Ik ben diep onder de indruk!
[…] for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
English
Middlemarch is a delightful masterpiece on the English age of reform. The storyline about Dorothea Brooke in particular is one of the utter best, given her desires, struggle with society, and marital disappointment. I found the book a rare good piece on social (provincial) life, and I enjoyed George Eliot’s sharp observations of human behaviour. It should have received five stars, were it not for the fact that not all storylines were worth telling, and the book as such is rather long.
“A prig is a fellow who is always making you a present of his opinions.”
“Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.”
Reading this book was a PROJECT. It was so long and took up so much space in my head. Excited to chat about it with Yao (:
“Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.”
Reading this book was a PROJECT. It was so long and took up so much space in my head. Excited to chat about it with Yao (:
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
George Eliot knows how to turn a phrase, and she has deep and sympathetic insight into human nature. Her characters want to be heroic, want to break out of their ordinary lives, but character and circumstance conspire against them. Eliot describes this struggle with humor but also with compassion -- and with the conviction that ordinary lives, imperfectly lived, have as much value and impact as the great men of history.
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the time I spent in Middlemarch. These little lives were so exciting to follow. It’s amazing how I can get so invested in old time gossip between characters that I feel like I know so well. Miss Dorothea Brooke is definitely a character of all time for her idealism and honesty. Mr. Farebrother and Mr. Garth were my other two favorites. These characters felt so real and lively and I will miss them dearly!
It's hard to explain exactly what it is that makes MIDDLEMARCH so delightful, but it is. Eliot's take on society and morality is so dynamic, so nuanced and modern, that it is at times difficult to reconcile the content of the novel with the period in which it was written. For all the sense of entitlement its characters seem to have, MIDDLEMARCH is in many ways a story of how little bearing what we *deserve* has on either what we get or what we want. And that is something extraordinary.
Almost gave up on this after 100 pages or so, because some of the sections with Casaubon were just painful. It picked up towards the middle, although it’s still very much like Jane Austen or Dickens in style. It was very interesting to see a book from this time period that was not really about the nobility/gentry or the very poor, but the middle class. It was also interesting that their concerns were by and large not that different from those portrayed in Austen.
I’ve often heard this as a work of comic genius, and I definitely did not get that. I laughed in a few places, but more often I thought the stories were rather tragic. Lydgate and Rosamund are particularly sad, although everything works out (more or less) in the end.
I’ve often heard this as a work of comic genius, and I definitely did not get that. I laughed in a few places, but more often I thought the stories were rather tragic. Lydgate and Rosamund are particularly sad, although everything works out (more or less) in the end.
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Middlemarch has been called a novel for grown-ups, and I can see why. Eliot has such great observations about human behavior, deftly weaving together the strands of many characters' lives. Our author is at the peak of her powers here.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys classics and wants a bit of a challenge. It's nearly 800 pages in paperback, over 30 hours as an audiobook. I switched back and forth between a delightful audiobook and a paperback so I could look at the notes and other supplemental material.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys classics and wants a bit of a challenge. It's nearly 800 pages in paperback, over 30 hours as an audiobook. I switched back and forth between a delightful audiobook and a paperback so I could look at the notes and other supplemental material.