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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Loved it. I'm a big George Eliot fan. She was very much ahead of her time ... it is a very interesting look at English society. Her characters are always so beautifully evoked and you come to care deeply for all of them. It is also interesting to understand how Jews lived and were perceived at the time, and it was brave of Eliot to write about a subject that was not overwhelmingly popular in her time. Very well worth reading!
Masterpiece that would have deserved 5 stars from me, if I were not deadly lazy and trudging whenever the author delves into descriptions of places and moods. Granted the landscapes, but the deep knowledge of the human soul and the always appropriate description of even the slightest perceptible changes in facial expressions or the rhythm of breathing, make me feel like one of the most superficial people in the universe and hence one star less, just out of spite. The language, while not my own, is fantastic and the author's own notes in the margins helped me interpret some obscure passages. The characters, Gwendolyn above all, go to join my mental empyrean in which, strictly between us, Daniel Deronda for reasons obvious to all who have read the book, is definitely overrated, but that is just my opinion.
Capolavoro che avrebbe meritato 5 stelle da parte mia, se non fossi mortalmente pigra e arrancassi ogni qual volta l'autrice si dilunga in descrizioni di luoghi e stati d'animo. Passi per i paesaggi, ma la profonda conoscenza dell'animo umano e la descrizione sempre appropriata anche dei minimi cambiamenti percepibili delle espressioni del viso o del ritmo del respiro, mi fanno sentire una delle persone piú superficiali dell'universo e da qui una stella in meno, perché sto rosicando. La lingua, pur non essendo la mia, é fantastica e le note a margine dell'autrice stessa mi hanno aiutato ad interpretare alcuni oscuri passaggi. I personaggi, Gwendolyn su tutti, vanno ad unirsi al mio empireo mentale nel quale, detto tra noi, Daniel Deronda per motivi ovvi a tutti coloro che hanno letto il libro, é decisamente sopravvalutato, ma questa é soltanto la mia opinione.
Capolavoro che avrebbe meritato 5 stelle da parte mia, se non fossi mortalmente pigra e arrancassi ogni qual volta l'autrice si dilunga in descrizioni di luoghi e stati d'animo. Passi per i paesaggi, ma la profonda conoscenza dell'animo umano e la descrizione sempre appropriata anche dei minimi cambiamenti percepibili delle espressioni del viso o del ritmo del respiro, mi fanno sentire una delle persone piú superficiali dell'universo e da qui una stella in meno, perché sto rosicando. La lingua, pur non essendo la mia, é fantastica e le note a margine dell'autrice stessa mi hanno aiutato ad interpretare alcuni oscuri passaggi. I personaggi, Gwendolyn su tutti, vanno ad unirsi al mio empireo mentale nel quale, detto tra noi, Daniel Deronda per motivi ovvi a tutti coloro che hanno letto il libro, é decisamente sopravvalutato, ma questa é soltanto la mia opinione.
There’s a lot of “rich people being awful” at the start, but Daniel is a great character and ultimately the ending is not only satisfying but happy. The performances in this audio production are excellent.
slow-paced
While not terribly challenging in most ways, Geeorge Elliot’s Deronda was a thick thing to slog through. I thought she created some interesting characters, but the good ones were hardly interesting at all. Methinks she has a tendency to idealize certain parties to the point that they cease to be real, as in the case of Mirah. In other cases, we don't get a compelling view in spite of the backstory being spelled out, as in the case of Deronda's mother. The book is like a modern Hollywood movie in that it has not one, but two endings, both of which jerk the tears right out a body.
This novel, first published in 1876, is not easy for modern readers. It has some beautiful writing, interesting and deeply considered characters, and a unique plot, but it also has a very slow pace. I guess that was necessary in the days when there wasn’t that much reading matter around, and every novel had to last you for at least a few months.
So there are pages and pages of philosophizing. Sometimes it’s the author exploring various habits, psychological patterns, and social tendencies. In some instances, it’s the characters themselves. At one point, Daniel Deronda goes to a meeting of philosophers exploring Judaism, and we hear all their opinions in their entirety, even though only one of them is a recurring character.
The main theme of this novel is that Daniel Deronda is a Jew, but he doesn’t know it. His origins are wrapped in mystery, and he assumes he’s actually the illegitimate son of the gentleman he calls his uncle. Beyond the usual assumptions of his class, he never thinks about Judaism until he rescues a distraught young Jewish girl, Mirah, who is about to throw herself in the river. She has run away from an abusive father and is looking for the rest of her family, but has given up hope.
In looking for Mirah’s family, Daniel explores the Jewish quarter, and is gradually more and more intrigued by everything he finds, especially the words of a physically weak but zealous philosopher named Mordecai. By the time he discovers his own history, he is already immersed in Judaism and ready to embrace a new identity.
Alongside this main plot is another, concerning a spoiled, beautiful rich girl, Gwendolyn, who runs into Daniel (or seeks him out) at various points in her life. Gwendolyn loses her wealth, can’t stand the thought of being a governess, and so accepts the hand of Mr. Grandcourt, a cold and manipulative man. Thinking she can command him, she is soon outmaneuvered.
Gwendolyn deals with a constant guilt, knowing that her husband should have married his long-time mistress, who has three children by him. Daniel Deronda becomes her moral compass, but it’s a tenuous relationship in some ways. The novel moves between Daniel and Gwendolyn, but sometimes this feels like two distinct novels arbitrarily joined together. Both characters present interesting dilemmas, though, and the novel explores these in beautifully-crafted but sometimes exhausting language.
So there are pages and pages of philosophizing. Sometimes it’s the author exploring various habits, psychological patterns, and social tendencies. In some instances, it’s the characters themselves. At one point, Daniel Deronda goes to a meeting of philosophers exploring Judaism, and we hear all their opinions in their entirety, even though only one of them is a recurring character.
The main theme of this novel is that Daniel Deronda is a Jew, but he doesn’t know it. His origins are wrapped in mystery, and he assumes he’s actually the illegitimate son of the gentleman he calls his uncle. Beyond the usual assumptions of his class, he never thinks about Judaism until he rescues a distraught young Jewish girl, Mirah, who is about to throw herself in the river. She has run away from an abusive father and is looking for the rest of her family, but has given up hope.
In looking for Mirah’s family, Daniel explores the Jewish quarter, and is gradually more and more intrigued by everything he finds, especially the words of a physically weak but zealous philosopher named Mordecai. By the time he discovers his own history, he is already immersed in Judaism and ready to embrace a new identity.
Alongside this main plot is another, concerning a spoiled, beautiful rich girl, Gwendolyn, who runs into Daniel (or seeks him out) at various points in her life. Gwendolyn loses her wealth, can’t stand the thought of being a governess, and so accepts the hand of Mr. Grandcourt, a cold and manipulative man. Thinking she can command him, she is soon outmaneuvered.
Gwendolyn deals with a constant guilt, knowing that her husband should have married his long-time mistress, who has three children by him. Daniel Deronda becomes her moral compass, but it’s a tenuous relationship in some ways. The novel moves between Daniel and Gwendolyn, but sometimes this feels like two distinct novels arbitrarily joined together. Both characters present interesting dilemmas, though, and the novel explores these in beautifully-crafted but sometimes exhausting language.
Another masterpiece by George Eliot, which I liked as well as Middlemarch, her most celebrated book.
The central character, Gwendolyn, is a fascination, who attracts the readers in spite of her total self-centeredness. She did not find solutions for her life through a man, though she did attempt to do so.
Her attraction to Daniel seems to have been a reflection of her own sense of good. Yet what she felt for him was really a false image. More than Mirah perhaps she would always see him as an image rather than a real human. I did not agree with the writer of introduction of my book that she made the Jews all good and the Gentile all bad. It was just that the female character had many personal weaknesses and Daniel was a man. Eliot tended to fill out the famale characters more than the male.
My favorate part of the book was the one in which the old impoverished men are gathered in the tavern to discuss their philosophies. "I said, let my body dwell in poverty and my hands be the hands of the toiler; but let my soul be as a temple of remembrance where the treasures of knowledge enter and the inner sanctuary is hope." Mordichai, p. 155
The central character, Gwendolyn, is a fascination, who attracts the readers in spite of her total self-centeredness. She did not find solutions for her life through a man, though she did attempt to do so.
Her attraction to Daniel seems to have been a reflection of her own sense of good. Yet what she felt for him was really a false image. More than Mirah perhaps she would always see him as an image rather than a real human. I did not agree with the writer of introduction of my book that she made the Jews all good and the Gentile all bad. It was just that the female character had many personal weaknesses and Daniel was a man. Eliot tended to fill out the famale characters more than the male.
My favorate part of the book was the one in which the old impoverished men are gathered in the tavern to discuss their philosophies. "I said, let my body dwell in poverty and my hands be the hands of the toiler; but let my soul be as a temple of remembrance where the treasures of knowledge enter and the inner sanctuary is hope." Mordichai, p. 155
First half > second half
Gwendolenms story line > Daniel’s
George Eliot >>>
Gwendolenms story line > Daniel’s
George Eliot >>>
Rating 4/5
In her final novel, Eliot shows her keen understanding of human nature and the way people think. Her characterisation of the vain and selfish Gwendolen Harleth is probably one of the highlights of this book. Gwendolen is intensely unlikable at the beginning, but, through suffering, she becomes softer, seeing herself less as the centre of the world. The unpleasant Grandcourt is also a well drawn character. Daniel Deronda himself, Gwendolen's foil throughout the novel, is an interesting character too, though I think less intimately characterised than Gwendolen, who seems the main character despite the novel bearing Deronda's name.
She's certainly the main character through the early part of the book, which is quite slow moving. It's only the introduction of Mirah where the story really starts to develop. It is a long book. It wouldn't have hurt the story if it had been about 200 pages shorter. At times it felt like two different books also, with Daniel's immersion in his heritage almost making a separate story at times from his interactions with Gwendolen.
My rating is more for the scope of Eliot's vision than the execution. Her view of the world was wide and deep, and not for nothing was she called the Wise Woman. She is very wise, here: her observations of human nature are incisive. I think an opportunity was missed by not having Gwendolen interact more with Mirah, though. Making Daniel Gwendolen's moral superior seems rather condescending to me, having grown up with feminism. At the time of Eliot's writing, a man acting as a woman's moral superior may have seemed less condescending. I don't think the book dates particularly well because of that. If we'd had Mirah as Gwendolen's moral superior, it would have been a very different book, and perhaps Eliot may not have been able to include as wide a scope. I know Eliot had women helping each other in other novels (Dorothea Casaubon and Rosamond Lydgate in Middlemarch is one example), but I still would have preferred that than having Gwendolen look to a man for her salvation. I think it weakened her character quite a bit to have her so beseeching towards the end. I'd also like to have seen more of her journey, with her becoming that good woman she hoped to be.
I'd like to have seen more of some of the more minor characters too, especially the Klesmers.
Interesting ideas and scope, but Eliot's final novel wouldn't be her best for me.
In her final novel, Eliot shows her keen understanding of human nature and the way people think. Her characterisation of the vain and selfish Gwendolen Harleth is probably one of the highlights of this book. Gwendolen is intensely unlikable at the beginning, but, through suffering, she becomes softer, seeing herself less as the centre of the world. The unpleasant Grandcourt is also a well drawn character. Daniel Deronda himself, Gwendolen's foil throughout the novel, is an interesting character too, though I think less intimately characterised than Gwendolen, who seems the main character despite the novel bearing Deronda's name.
She's certainly the main character through the early part of the book, which is quite slow moving. It's only the introduction of Mirah where the story really starts to develop. It is a long book. It wouldn't have hurt the story if it had been about 200 pages shorter. At times it felt like two different books also, with Daniel's immersion in his heritage almost making a separate story at times from his interactions with Gwendolen.
My rating is more for the scope of Eliot's vision than the execution. Her view of the world was wide and deep, and not for nothing was she called the Wise Woman. She is very wise, here: her observations of human nature are incisive. I think an opportunity was missed by not having Gwendolen interact more with Mirah, though. Making Daniel Gwendolen's moral superior seems rather condescending to me, having grown up with feminism. At the time of Eliot's writing, a man acting as a woman's moral superior may have seemed less condescending. I don't think the book dates particularly well because of that. If we'd had Mirah as Gwendolen's moral superior, it would have been a very different book, and perhaps Eliot may not have been able to include as wide a scope. I know Eliot had women helping each other in other novels (Dorothea Casaubon and Rosamond Lydgate in Middlemarch is one example), but I still would have preferred that than having Gwendolen look to a man for her salvation. I think it weakened her character quite a bit to have her so beseeching towards the end. I'd also like to have seen more of her journey, with her becoming that good woman she hoped to be.
I'd like to have seen more of some of the more minor characters too, especially the Klesmers.
Interesting ideas and scope, but Eliot's final novel wouldn't be her best for me.
While not my favorite Eliot novel (that honor is reserved, forever and always, for Mill on the Floss) I did thoroughly enjoy it. Well, most of it. I'm not quite sure why it's called "Daniel Deronda" as the majority of the story revolves around Gwendolen Harleth. The Deronda plotline mainly involves spiritual/philosophical matters -- matters which lie outside my understanding and my interests. But Gwendolen's story is so heartbreakingly tragic, and it strongly resonated in me.