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3.66k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
3.66k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
Finally, after I had to put this book down twice for extended periods, I have finished.
People have been telling me for several years that I needed to read this book. Though I'm glad I finally did read it, I must say that I didn't enjoy it as much as other books of the same time period. The book was a bit tedious at parts, but hard to put down during the last half. The characters, though not as memorable as some of those Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins created, really started to capture my interest about half way through and held it til the very last page. Rosamond drove me insane, and I especially enjoyed Fred Vincy's and Dorothea's story lines. I was grateful for the Finale section at the end, for I very much wanted to know what became of each character.
So, all in all, not my favorite Victorian novel but one I very much enjoyed reading, nonetheless. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it a little more if I hadn't been forced to put it down twice, for it took time to remember all of the characters and side stories.
People have been telling me for several years that I needed to read this book. Though I'm glad I finally did read it, I must say that I didn't enjoy it as much as other books of the same time period. The book was a bit tedious at parts, but hard to put down during the last half. The characters, though not as memorable as some of those Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins created, really started to capture my interest about half way through and held it til the very last page. Rosamond drove me insane, and I especially enjoyed Fred Vincy's and Dorothea's story lines. I was grateful for the Finale section at the end, for I very much wanted to know what became of each character.
So, all in all, not my favorite Victorian novel but one I very much enjoyed reading, nonetheless. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it a little more if I hadn't been forced to put it down twice, for it took time to remember all of the characters and side stories.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
4.5/5
For such a long classic (almost 800 pages), I got through this very quickly, which was difficult at times. However, it allowed me to not forget things.
I saw some parallels with Anna Karenina, and possibly other stories of its time that I haven't read yet. The chapters about politics dragged, but I enjoyed some of the characters to continue cheering for them.
For such a long classic (almost 800 pages), I got through this very quickly, which was difficult at times. However, it allowed me to not forget things.
I saw some parallels with Anna Karenina, and possibly other stories of its time that I haven't read yet. The chapters about politics dragged, but I enjoyed some of the characters to continue cheering for them.
36 hours of listening in 21 days -- PHEW! This has been on my to-read list for a while, and what better time to read than a summer made unexpectedly low-key by quarantine? I think I need to let this one marinate for a little before I decide whether I liked it fine or I liked it a lot. I enjoyed Eliot's on-the-nose observations and arch narrative voice, but this book was really quite long. I couldn't help but feel I could get a similar experience out of Austen or Trollope for less commitment, but that seems like a lazy critique. In any event, I'm glad I read it now because that means I can revisit it in ten or twenty years; I get the sense that it's a book that rewards re-reading at different points in one's life.
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was brilliant and I'm having a lot of trouble articulating my thoughts, but the closing line is just so beautiful and sums it up so well:
"But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: 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."
Human life is fleeting and most of us end up living quiet un-written lives significant to those around us but largely forgotten. And that's ok.
"But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: 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."
Human life is fleeting and most of us end up living quiet un-written lives significant to those around us but largely forgotten. And that's ok.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
How could I not give five stars to this? It took a long time to rad - about 800 pages - and is heavy-going at times, but also very funny in a particularly nineteenth century English way. There are about four intertwined stories in this, and towards the end I could not see how the author was going to pull her characters through, but of course she did. I think all of the characters are flawed, some endearingly so, others not so much. Eliot has an 'edge' to her writing that you won't find in Jane Austen, much as I love her too.
[ I can't believe I started this in April, but I did take time off to read a few library books along the way.]
[ I can't believe I started this in April, but I did take time off to read a few library books along the way.]