Reviews

Middlemarch by George Eliot

bangalee57's review against another edition

3.0

Occasionally I read a book that for me just doesn't measure up to the hype. I read lots of literature on this time in England and I was underwhelmed. I'll blame that on the length of the book. It wasn't bad but I don't see this as the transformative work it is said to be

sophiamt's review against another edition

3.5

boring at times but with many clever lines and metaphors, truly shows the psychological insights within the characters. 

lizzles's review

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.25

awkwardcoffeebean's review

Soft DNF @150 pages. I thought I was more intellectual, but I was wrong

emr158's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

amjammi's review against another edition

4.0

I'm glad to have read it. So many clever lines, but sometimes it just feels formidably long.

readingshan's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved the psychological insights within each character. Eliot shows how small oversights and careless decisions in courtship and in career can have a huge impact on individuals and small communities.

An exquisite period piece from England in the time right as the railroad was entering society and some vocational expectations and cultural shifts were occurring within the strict social hierarchy.

laurenmyers's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

aspiringorakle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This novel is a confusing one. On the one hand, it is very fragmented. The major movements of the novel do not seem to be connected to one another in large part, and the constant stopping to reflect can be quite jarring. However, the novel is a stunning web of consequences and meditation on the human person and living. Few books have made me feel more like a person than this one. Lydgate, with his reluctance to become involved in lowly affairs, poor judgment in a wife, and procrastination, is a very prevalent type of person. So is Rosamond, with her self-assuredness, and inability to take criticism. Mary and Fred are exactly the people you want to root for, and show great resistance in the face of shifting sand. And Eliot masterfully garners incredible sympathy for Dorothea--despite her lack of growth and poor decision making. There is significance in the small things, and staying committed despite your middling (marching) circumstances may or may not turn out well for you. Overall, I loved this book despite its flaws, and its treatment of how humans fail will stick with me for a while. 

octophile's review against another edition

5.0

Life has a way of ruining people's ambitions, even when those ambitions are good and noble ones. Sometimes things work out anyway, so that's still ok. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Maybe that's also still ok.

Terrific main characters and many brilliant passages; most clear when portraying their painfully constructed goals and motives. A good ending, too (though I do wonder what happened to Bulstrode?), and the overarching themes are strong, but there's a lack of relevance in some of the details which I guess was bound to happen in something published serially.

(p.s: Jane Austen, eat your heart out)