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3.67k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
3.67k reviews for:
Middlemarch: (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions) (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)
George Eliot
4.06 AVERAGE
"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."
Middlemarch is everything modern novels are not. Dozens of point-of-view characters, the narrator a character that gives opinions and speaks directly to the reader, excessive switching of points of view (what we writers call headhopping), an intricately interwoven cast of characters, 904 pages detailing every aspect of life in Georgian England. And yet it is astoundingly brilliant.
Marian Evans wrote under the male pseudonym George Eliot in order to have her work taken seriously. Also, to shield that she lived with a man she was not married to. Quite a modern woman in the Victorian age!
Middlemarch is everything modern novels are not. Dozens of point-of-view characters, the narrator a character that gives opinions and speaks directly to the reader, excessive switching of points of view (what we writers call headhopping), an intricately interwoven cast of characters, 904 pages detailing every aspect of life in Georgian England. And yet it is astoundingly brilliant.
Marian Evans wrote under the male pseudonym George Eliot in order to have her work taken seriously. Also, to shield that she lived with a man she was not married to. Quite a modern woman in the Victorian age!
Finally finished!
4.5 stars trending upwards. Loved this book so much more than I thought I would! It was clever, funny, and surprisingly insightful to modern times. The characters were both endearing and human, although the way women were treated and talked about was frustrating at times coming from a female author, even for the time period. Not particularly accessible to the average reader due to length and of course the language of the time. Might try revisiting this one again sometime.
4.5 stars trending upwards. Loved this book so much more than I thought I would! It was clever, funny, and surprisingly insightful to modern times. The characters were both endearing and human, although the way women were treated and talked about was frustrating at times coming from a female author, even for the time period. Not particularly accessible to the average reader due to length and of course the language of the time. Might try revisiting this one again sometime.
Listened to the audiobook read by Maureen O'Brien, Very glad I finallyread/heard this. I love GA's turn of phrases, and perceptive humorous portrayals of personalities, flaws and all,
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Somehow I got the idea that different parties were to end up together so the ending didn’t work for me.
It is a slow read but one of the best I had in a while. It taught me that people are people and basically don't change throughout humanity. Constantly in search of happiness, we do the right and wrong things and society will always be judgemental. I love the way Elliot portrays people but also from a technical point of view, the narrative is extremely well built.
En anmeldelse af Middlemarch bagerst i min Norton-udgave kalder fortælleren didaktisk, og kritiserer romanen for at være mere interesseret i at udfolde en bestemt teori end at fortælle en god historie. Det er jeg meget uenig i.
Dette er den store fortælling gjort rigtigt. 900 sider, der alle føles uundværlige for helheden, og som folder et helt samfund ud, et samfund befolket med mindeværdige og sprællevende karakterer. Og rigtigt nok, fortælleren er eksponerende og efterlader ikke én af sindets kringelkroge uudforsket. Taget ud af kontekst kan stemmen lyde didaktisk, især når den bevæger sig fra det partikulære til det generelle, som her:
Det kan lyde ensidigt og ja, dikterende, men det er at se bort fra fortællerens empatiske synsvinkel. Den nøjsomme granskning af karakterernes indre motiver og konflikter gør Middlemarch til en særligt demokratisk roman, hvilket især bliver tydeligt i portrætteringen af ægteskabet mellem Dorothea Brooke og Edward Casuabon: Efter at have fulgt Dorothea, en idealistisk Skt. Theresa-figur og det nærmeste man kommer på en egentlig 'hovedperson' i romanen, på nært hold i de første kapitler afbryder fortælleren sig selv i en fantastisk omvending:
Denne insisteren på at undersøge hver enkelt bevidsthed, og at sætte dem op mod hinanden, gør det svært at fælde nogle entydige domme over karaktererne, såvel som romanen i helhed, hvorfor jeg i sidste ende mener at den er langt fra didaktisk. Tværtimod er det en roman med så empatisk og omfattende en fortæller, at man mod slutningen føler sig en smule lamslået, uden evnen til at fordømme eller forherlige nogle af begivenhederne, som George Eliot har spundet i sit 900-siders lange væv. Det er en helhedsfølelse, der placerer enhver partikulær begivenhed i det omsluttende landsbysamfund med alle dets politiske, økonomiske og moralske intriger. Til sidst sad jeg med følelsen af at have levet et lille liv i Middlemarch, som så nøjsomt er skildret i dette pragteksemplar af en roman, at man ikke kan andet end tie stille og beundre bedriften.
Dette er den store fortælling gjort rigtigt. 900 sider, der alle føles uundværlige for helheden, og som folder et helt samfund ud, et samfund befolket med mindeværdige og sprællevende karakterer. Og rigtigt nok, fortælleren er eksponerende og efterlader ikke én af sindets kringelkroge uudforsket. Taget ud af kontekst kan stemmen lyde didaktisk, især når den bevæger sig fra det partikulære til det generelle, som her:
We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.
Det kan lyde ensidigt og ja, dikterende, men det er at se bort fra fortællerens empatiske synsvinkel. Den nøjsomme granskning af karakterernes indre motiver og konflikter gør Middlemarch til en særligt demokratisk roman, hvilket især bliver tydeligt i portrætteringen af ægteskabet mellem Dorothea Brooke og Edward Casuabon: Efter at have fulgt Dorothea, en idealistisk Skt. Theresa-figur og det nærmeste man kommer på en egentlig 'hovedperson' i romanen, på nært hold i de første kapitler afbryder fortælleren sig selv i en fantastisk omvending:
One morning, some weeks after her arrival at Lowick, Dorothea - but why always Dorothea? Was her point of view the only possible one with regard to this marriage? I protest against all our interest, all our effort at understanding being given to the young skins that look blooming in spite of trouble; for these too will get faded, and will know the older and more eating griefs which we are helping to neglect. In spite of the blinking eyes and white moles objectionable to Celia, and the want of a muscular curve which was morally painful to Sir James, Mr Casaubon had an intense consciousness within him, and was spiritually a-hungered like the rest of us.
Denne insisteren på at undersøge hver enkelt bevidsthed, og at sætte dem op mod hinanden, gør det svært at fælde nogle entydige domme over karaktererne, såvel som romanen i helhed, hvorfor jeg i sidste ende mener at den er langt fra didaktisk. Tværtimod er det en roman med så empatisk og omfattende en fortæller, at man mod slutningen føler sig en smule lamslået, uden evnen til at fordømme eller forherlige nogle af begivenhederne, som George Eliot har spundet i sit 900-siders lange væv. Det er en helhedsfølelse, der placerer enhver partikulær begivenhed i det omsluttende landsbysamfund med alle dets politiske, økonomiske og moralske intriger. Til sidst sad jeg med følelsen af at have levet et lille liv i Middlemarch, som så nøjsomt er skildret i dette pragteksemplar af en roman, at man ikke kan andet end tie stille og beundre bedriften.
If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.
Dororthea Brooke is my favorite heroine. A truly inspiring story of the heroics of ordinary people.
The last paragraph:
"Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. 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."
The last paragraph:
"Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. 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."
slow-paced