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mumblesnore's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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
5.0
kdahlo's review against another edition
4.0
Published in 1871 and having over 800 pages, this book was not my usual light, escapist, sci fi fare. My approach to reading it was a bit different, I was determined to sprint through it, so as not to forget the names of any of the 30 odd characters and stay immersed in the events. The book is divided into sections however, and was originally serialized, so I could imagine a different approach to reading it that might work quite well.
I was glad I took the approach I did though, I read it relatively quickly and really got to know all the characters and locations well. Ultimately, the book tells the interwoven stories of several families, and eventually several couples who all live together in the same town. The book is packed with difficult-to-unpack slang from the era, my favorites being an obscure reference to someone's family crest that can be dissected to say "they are a huge nerd who writes too much" and 'Italian with white mice', which is evidently a savage burn on one's ancestry.
Another subtheme I enjoyed was picking out the double anachronisms - the book is written in 1871, but concerns events in the 1830s. As a result, there are times when the narrator is gently mocking the old-fashioned choices of the characters, but the alternative that they are praising is itself quite old fashioned to me, reading this book in 2020. There are many discussions of medical inventions and insights in this vein, which were sometimes hard to parse (ie, a character thinks x is right, and I know as a modern reader y is right, is the narrator implying the character is foolish or clever for thinking x when she says that other characters think z?)
Overall, I thought this book was very engaging. I was surprised how I emotionally attached I got to some of the characters. There were sections of the book that I found really gut wrenchingly painful to read, as they concerned misunderstandings between people that were very relatable and difficult to resolve. I also found myself reading sentences aloud to Joshua very often, since the narrator interjects occasionally with some great remarks, and there are some characters and manners of speaking which are really fun to read.
This was not necessarily an easy book for every occasion, but I was really glad I read it and would recommend it to someone looking for something that they can really sink their teeth into.
I was glad I took the approach I did though, I read it relatively quickly and really got to know all the characters and locations well. Ultimately, the book tells the interwoven stories of several families, and eventually several couples who all live together in the same town. The book is packed with difficult-to-unpack slang from the era, my favorites being an obscure reference to someone's family crest that can be dissected to say "they are a huge nerd who writes too much" and 'Italian with white mice', which is evidently a savage burn on one's ancestry.
Another subtheme I enjoyed was picking out the double anachronisms - the book is written in 1871, but concerns events in the 1830s. As a result, there are times when the narrator is gently mocking the old-fashioned choices of the characters, but the alternative that they are praising is itself quite old fashioned to me, reading this book in 2020. There are many discussions of medical inventions and insights in this vein, which were sometimes hard to parse (ie, a character thinks x is right, and I know as a modern reader y is right, is the narrator implying the character is foolish or clever for thinking x when she says that other characters think z?)
Overall, I thought this book was very engaging. I was surprised how I emotionally attached I got to some of the characters. There were sections of the book that I found really gut wrenchingly painful to read, as they concerned misunderstandings between people that were very relatable and difficult to resolve. I also found myself reading sentences aloud to Joshua very often, since the narrator interjects occasionally with some great remarks, and there are some characters and manners of speaking which are really fun to read.
This was not necessarily an easy book for every occasion, but I was really glad I read it and would recommend it to someone looking for something that they can really sink their teeth into.
gentleladybug's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
haami's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jasshicks's review against another edition
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
4.0
It’s a great book and I enjoyed following the lives of the characters, but my god this book is long!
erica_cronje's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
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
4.0
Reading Middlemarch was such an interesting experience. It took me a really long time to get into the novel in the first place, and even once i was into the novel, i would still go through fazes where i just did not have the energy to read two or more chapters. I also feel as though considering this book with regards to a piece of literature vs considering it with regards to my experience reading it, will wildly impact my star rating, so i tried to find a middle ground. Let's just get into this:
The pacing was simultaneously so slow and so over the place, which i do think has do a great deal with the number of characters and the time taken to focus on them. Regardless, there was, objectively, quite a quick start to the book since Dorothea gets engaged and married within the first few chapters, but it feels slow reading it since we are still getting to know all the characters. The middle part of the novel felt all over the place since we are, at that point, jumping between three main plotlines - Stone Court, Lydgate and Dorothea - and that jumping around makes it drag for the reader. And despite the book being 800 pages, the ending felt quite rushed to me. I feel as though the last few chapters were all desperately scrambling to tie up all of the plotlines in a cohesive way, which should not be a problem in an 800-page novel. I firmly believe that multiple middle chapters could have been cut to better pace the novel in its entirety, as well as the last quarter of the novel.
Instead of focussing on the character traits and developments, I want to focus more on how having this multitude of characters affected the novel (and pacing). So, in total throughout the entire novel, we follow 2/3 sets of characters - estate owners. common Middlemarch families, and then a few lower class characters, which totals to at least 13 characters. Most of which have multiple chapters dedicated to their individual storylines, which then causes the all over the place pacing. It feels as though many unnecessary chapters were written about characters who disappeared and only reappeared right at the end of the novel. At the very least, some chapters could have been shorted significantly, especially if the character wasn't a 'main' character, Despite that, the characters were well written, and most of them underwent some form of strong character development.
The themes are very well explored through the characters and throughout the novel. When you read the novel from the perspective of an essay you really do see how the various themes are threaded through every aspect of the novel, and once you finish the novel, you see the clear, larger overarching theme and you are able to understand why the novel is subtitled 'A study of Provincial life.'
In conclusion, reading this book was an experience to say the least. There were moments where i struggled through it, and others where all i wanted to do was read as many chapters in one sitting as possible. I have found some of my favourite quotes so far this year, and i absolutely loved reading this with the GoT book club.
The pacing was simultaneously so slow and so over the place, which i do think has do a great deal with the number of characters and the time taken to focus on them. Regardless, there was, objectively, quite a quick start to the book since Dorothea gets engaged and married within the first few chapters, but it feels slow reading it since we are still getting to know all the characters. The middle part of the novel felt all over the place since we are, at that point, jumping between three main plotlines - Stone Court, Lydgate and Dorothea - and that jumping around makes it drag for the reader. And despite the book being 800 pages, the ending felt quite rushed to me. I feel as though the last few chapters were all desperately scrambling to tie up all of the plotlines in a cohesive way, which should not be a problem in an 800-page novel. I firmly believe that multiple middle chapters could have been cut to better pace the novel in its entirety, as well as the last quarter of the novel.
Instead of focussing on the character traits and developments, I want to focus more on how having this multitude of characters affected the novel (and pacing). So, in total throughout the entire novel, we follow 2/3 sets of characters - estate owners. common Middlemarch families, and then a few lower class characters, which totals to at least 13 characters. Most of which have multiple chapters dedicated to their individual storylines, which then causes the all over the place pacing. It feels as though many unnecessary chapters were written about characters who disappeared and only reappeared right at the end of the novel. At the very least, some chapters could have been shorted significantly, especially if the character wasn't a 'main' character, Despite that, the characters were well written, and most of them underwent some form of strong character development.
The themes are very well explored through the characters and throughout the novel. When you read the novel from the perspective of an essay you really do see how the various themes are threaded through every aspect of the novel, and once you finish the novel, you see the clear, larger overarching theme and you are able to understand why the novel is subtitled 'A study of Provincial life.'
In conclusion, reading this book was an experience to say the least. There were moments where i struggled through it, and others where all i wanted to do was read as many chapters in one sitting as possible. I have found some of my favourite quotes so far this year, and i absolutely loved reading this with the GoT book club.