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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
Appropriately, finished this in the middle of March. On my grandma Alice's birthday.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a pleasant enough story, but really just a soap opera for the 19th Century, full of love, death, secrets, misunderstandings, revenge, coincidences, etc. The characters were vain, class-conscious, vindictive, stubborn, and cared too much about what others thought. Although they tended to keep a “stiff upper lip” rather than confide in friends and family to possibly fix misunderstandings and hardships, somehow the characters were by and large likable, and the ending resolved things in a sweet way.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
This was my first foray into the works of George Eliot. It took me a while to adjust to her tone: I expected the gentle humor and happy endings of Dickens or Austen, but frequently her humor is NOT gentle. And a happy ending -- for any ONE of her many characters -- seemed very unlikely. In its structure, it's a 19th century novel --broad canvas, large cast, shifting points of view-- but its ideas are completely contemporary. Although the different plot strands are all involving, I missed the deeper connection that comes from a single (or at least fewer) POVs. And of course, I'm woefully ignorant about the hierarchy of the Anglican church, which plays a significant role in the book. (Perhaps an annotated edition might have helped.) It's not really accurate to call this a soap opera, because it's so much more revealing of true human nature, but it certainly gives us an in-depth study of small-town rural life. Now that I've [finally] read it, I can see the influence "Middlemarch" has had in so much literature that's come in its wake. (The brilliant Robertson Davies comes to mind.) Very satisfying to read and even more satisfying to consider. How did I get a degree in English (literature) without ever having read this?
I overuse the word "love" when it comes to books, but I absolutely LOVE Middlemarch. It's been eight days since I finished it and I still cannot pick up another novel.
I wrote a blog post about it: https://chriswolak.com/2019/08/18/middlemarch-by-george-eliot/
I wrote a blog post about it: https://chriswolak.com/2019/08/18/middlemarch-by-george-eliot/
George Eliot treats her characters so compassionately and respectfully. They're flawed and make mistakes but you never lose your sympathy for the naive idealist Dorothea or the ambitious and betrayed Lydgate.
Middlemarch captures human nature so beautifully and brilliantly well. The moral decisions made and mulled over are stirring; when I read this book, I felt the pain and delight of the characters quite piercingly as they grappled with the wrongs and hardships and small joys of life.
Middlemarch captures human nature so beautifully and brilliantly well. The moral decisions made and mulled over are stirring; when I read this book, I felt the pain and delight of the characters quite piercingly as they grappled with the wrongs and hardships and small joys of life.