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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The biggest surprise for me in this book was that the "older man adopts baby" thing that i always heard about when i heard anyone talk about this book... only happens in the last 1/3 of this book. That is always something that surprises/confuses me with classics.
Why is it okay to talk about things that happen pretty late in the book when its a classics and make exactly that part of the most discussed part even though that is actually just a tiny little section of the book to begin with?
If anybody would do that with a modern book and talk about anything that happens in a book in the last 1/3 everyone would explode and shout about spoilers and make the review regret ever meeting the internet.
Yet with classics its okay?!?!
Okay sorry... rant over.
Lets talk about the book itself.
As i said i was surprised with how different the actual plot of this book was to what i heard about it before.
Its much more a book about the simpler life of the very day people during the victorian times, the poorer or common folks instead of the higher classes. Which i really enjoyed. It was lovely to see a story being told from the everyday man. And Eliot really did a great job describing that type of life.
Interestingly enough, fitting with some of the newest "trends" currently going about, this book actually is quite a bit about figuring out what brings you joy in life, what makes you happy and doing exactly that even if it might not be the typical way of life. Or at least that is what i got from most of this book.
I also really enjoyed silas marner as a character, he was different, quiet and clearly a bit unsure about how he fitted into the world, he enjoyed his work as a weaver and had a good amount of bad things happen to him throughout his life. And even though he had to deal with a lot he kept on going in one way or another.
I can't say that i enjoyed most of the other characters in this book but i don't think that the reader really was supposed to like or enjoy those characters. I think mostly they where just there to give a bit of a background to Silas Marner and his life and in that sense it did work pretty well.
the way that money was treated in this book was also really well done. It was a big topic -as it is in everyones life- but it was handled really well in my option. Eliot didn't push a specific mind set onto the reader -that for example being poor is horrible or being rich is bad- she simply showcased different ways of living and mindsets to money. She showed good and bad of having and not having it, how people treat others for having or not having it and how happy people can be having money or not having a lot of money.
I also thought that Eliot really timed this book very well. She managed to pace Marner's life from early/mid twenties through his old age in a short amount of pages without rushing it or making it feel as if she left out big moments that would have been important to understand or connect to the character.
Which i do confess being a little surprised by since i have read others of her books which i found a bit long winded which made me a bit sceptical going into this book, not knowing how she would handle her normally long winded introductions to characters in such a short book.
But she did it very well!
And lastly, i really enjoyed reading about an unmarried man during those times adopting a baby simply because he sees that the baby needs someone to care for it. Its one of the few classics where its more about the child and what it needs instead of adopting because of greed or necessity and that was very lovely to read about.
In my eyes this is actually a very under appreciated classic, especially by Eliot herself!
Its defiantly one i will reread in the future and think a lot more people should pick up and discuss!
Also my enjoyment of this book could have had something to do with the fact that was yet another buddy read with the wonderful courtney! Very possible ;)
Why is it okay to talk about things that happen pretty late in the book when its a classics and make exactly that part of the most discussed part even though that is actually just a tiny little section of the book to begin with?
If anybody would do that with a modern book and talk about anything that happens in a book in the last 1/3 everyone would explode and shout about spoilers and make the review regret ever meeting the internet.
Yet with classics its okay?!?!
Okay sorry... rant over.
Lets talk about the book itself.
As i said i was surprised with how different the actual plot of this book was to what i heard about it before.
Its much more a book about the simpler life of the very day people during the victorian times, the poorer or common folks instead of the higher classes. Which i really enjoyed. It was lovely to see a story being told from the everyday man. And Eliot really did a great job describing that type of life.
Interestingly enough, fitting with some of the newest "trends" currently going about, this book actually is quite a bit about figuring out what brings you joy in life, what makes you happy and doing exactly that even if it might not be the typical way of life. Or at least that is what i got from most of this book.
I also really enjoyed silas marner as a character, he was different, quiet and clearly a bit unsure about how he fitted into the world, he enjoyed his work as a weaver and had a good amount of bad things happen to him throughout his life. And even though he had to deal with a lot he kept on going in one way or another.
I can't say that i enjoyed most of the other characters in this book but i don't think that the reader really was supposed to like or enjoy those characters. I think mostly they where just there to give a bit of a background to Silas Marner and his life and in that sense it did work pretty well.
the way that money was treated in this book was also really well done. It was a big topic -as it is in everyones life- but it was handled really well in my option. Eliot didn't push a specific mind set onto the reader -that for example being poor is horrible or being rich is bad- she simply showcased different ways of living and mindsets to money. She showed good and bad of having and not having it, how people treat others for having or not having it and how happy people can be having money or not having a lot of money.
I also thought that Eliot really timed this book very well. She managed to pace Marner's life from early/mid twenties through his old age in a short amount of pages without rushing it or making it feel as if she left out big moments that would have been important to understand or connect to the character.
Which i do confess being a little surprised by since i have read others of her books which i found a bit long winded which made me a bit sceptical going into this book, not knowing how she would handle her normally long winded introductions to characters in such a short book.
But she did it very well!
And lastly, i really enjoyed reading about an unmarried man during those times adopting a baby simply because he sees that the baby needs someone to care for it. Its one of the few classics where its more about the child and what it needs instead of adopting because of greed or necessity and that was very lovely to read about.
In my eyes this is actually a very under appreciated classic, especially by Eliot herself!
Its defiantly one i will reread in the future and think a lot more people should pick up and discuss!
Also my enjoyment of this book could have had something to do with the fact that was yet another buddy read with the wonderful courtney! Very possible ;)
Very interesting and comlicated main character. Good short time reading.
এতে চারটি গল্প আছে। এর মধ্যে আমি "সাইলাস মারনার" নিয়ে কথা বলব। ভালো লেগেছে গল্পটা প্রচুর। বলছি, সাইলাস মারনার নামের এক ব্যাক্তির সুখে থাকার গল্প। সুখে থাকতে স্বাভাবিক জীবনযাপন করতে চরম মুল্য দিতে হয় তাকে। কে চুরি করল তার এতদিনের জমানো সোনা? এরকমই বইএর পিছনে লেখা ট্রেলার।
একা থাকতে চাওয়া সাইলাস এর কাছে ঈশ্বর একটি বাচ্চা কে আশির্বাদস্বরুপ পাঠায়, কুড়িয়ে পাওয়া "এপি" কে নিয়ে সাইলাস এর নতুন জীবন তৈরী হয়। নিজের মেয়ের মত করে বেড়ে তোলে সে। তাকে নিয়েই গড়ে ওঠে তার নতুন জীবন। তারপর আরো অনেক কাহিনি রয়েছে। সবটা বলে দিলে মজা থাকবে না। পড়তে হবে অবশ্যই। চারটি গল্পের মধ্যে আমি শুধু সাইলাস মারনার টাই পড়েছি। আর আমি বলছি, সাইলাস মারনার গল্পটা পড়ার জন্য হকেও বইটি সংগ্রহ করতে পারেন। অনেক তৃপ্তিকর একটা কাহিনি। পড়ার পর অবশ্যই মনে হবে না পড়লে দারুন জিনিস মিস হয়ে যেত।
একা থাকতে চাওয়া সাইলাস এর কাছে ঈশ্বর একটি বাচ্চা কে আশির্বাদস্বরুপ পাঠায়, কুড়িয়ে পাওয়া "এপি" কে নিয়ে সাইলাস এর নতুন জীবন তৈরী হয়। নিজের মেয়ের মত করে বেড়ে তোলে সে। তাকে নিয়েই গড়ে ওঠে তার নতুন জীবন। তারপর আরো অনেক কাহিনি রয়েছে। সবটা বলে দিলে মজা থাকবে না। পড়তে হবে অবশ্যই। চারটি গল্পের মধ্যে আমি শুধু সাইলাস মারনার টাই পড়েছি। আর আমি বলছি, সাইলাস মারনার গল্পটা পড়ার জন্য হকেও বইটি সংগ্রহ করতে পারেন। অনেক তৃপ্তিকর একটা কাহিনি। পড়ার পর অবশ্যই মনে হবে না পড়লে দারুন জিনিস মিস হয়ে যেত।
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'Silas Marner' is George Eliot boiled and drained, and what's left is more like an allegory or a fable than a novel. The lesson against parsimony and categorical judgement of our neighbors weighs heavy and overrules the characterization.
In her first two novels there was considerable time spent on developing the rural village community and the local gentry. There the social commentary and the humorous perspective on our daily hypocrisies added to the spirit of the book, they weren't the reason for it. In 'Silas Marner', other than the selfish sons of the squire (more lessons!), there is little time spent on any character not named Silas Marner. And he's a drip.
This is an approachable book, suitable for school children, and I mean that derogatorily. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I have others. Where are the Poysers and the Aunt Gleggs?
In her first two novels there was considerable time spent on developing the rural village community and the local gentry. There the social commentary and the humorous perspective on our daily hypocrisies added to the spirit of the book, they weren't the reason for it. In 'Silas Marner', other than the selfish sons of the squire (more lessons!), there is little time spent on any character not named Silas Marner. And he's a drip.
This is an approachable book, suitable for school children, and I mean that derogatorily. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I have others. Where are the Poysers and the Aunt Gleggs?
It's a slow and sweet story, but not capturing enough for me.
I loved this book! I wanted to read George Eliot, but Middlemarch seemed a bit daunting. Glad Silas was right there on the shelf! A little hard to read at first, but there are so many brilliant moral lessons inside that could easily still apply today. Wish I would have written down passages as I came to them, it was that meaningful.
