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A review by jocelynw
Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson
2.0
I figured the longest novel originally written in English was too long to dismiss with one of my patented Extremely Reductive Reviews, so here are my kvetchings about it as I went along:
Page 72: I got this for Christmas 2016 and it's been sitting taunting me for a year. I didn't want to hamstring my 2017 reading challenge by trying to get through the longest novel written in English, but I figured if I started it now and all went well I might get through it by Christmas.
Page 160: If anyone in this book besides Clarissa was operating with the understanding that no means no, this mess'd be over already.
Page 260: So many books I read are over too fast. I don't think this'll be one of those.
Page 417: Around page 270 I thought "When is something actually going to happen?" and started flipping forward. Looked like about a hundred pages later, unless I missed something obvious in flipping forward.
I didn't.
And I did slog through that hundred pages. Clarissa would.
Page 552: I had a nightmare I was in a terrible English class in which I'd been assigned this book. The instructor was a man who was shockingly little help at conveying the cultural context of it, which is kind of an appropriate representation of this Penguin edition. Other Penguins I've used have had good notes, but maybe this one lacks them because adding notes would send the book's weight into "definite hernia" territory.
Page 654: I can't believe I'm still not even halfway there. I also can't believe that Lovelace's lackeys could get all those letters pored through and relevant extracts made in the time allotted.
Page 764: Halfway! You know, I'm beginning to think maybe Robert Lovelace is not a good person.
Page 888: It says in the preface that one of Richardson's friends he gave this to read said not to edit it down because you might lose what was instructive about it, but given the fewer-than-7,000 Goodreaders who claim to have read this and, say, the 1.3 million who've read _Jane Eyre_, a good editor might have helped spread the instructiveness further.
Page 989: Robert Lovelace: "What about the person I *didn't* sexually assault?"
That recently-deployed non-defense has a long history, I see.
Page 1112: Richardson, you had 1500 pages, much more text than plot, and you couldn't find *somewhere* to jam in Clarissa's own account of how she escaped? It's almost like you don't believe in female agency.
Page 1224: Clarissa is too angelic to be real and Lovelace too dastardly, but this depiction of a doctor telling a clearly ill young woman that it's all in her head and if she'd just exercise is true to life.
Page 1460: The last few hundred pages of this have been Richardson going DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH IS COMING FOR US ALL YOU WILL DIE REPENT REPENT REPENT. Part of why I read so many books is to distract myself from how sick and fragile I am, so I GET IT ALREADY SAM.
Page 1478: A duel? This is where I came in.
*
In the end, I liked this better than Pamela, but I really hated Pamela.
Page 72: I got this for Christmas 2016 and it's been sitting taunting me for a year. I didn't want to hamstring my 2017 reading challenge by trying to get through the longest novel written in English, but I figured if I started it now and all went well I might get through it by Christmas.
Page 160: If anyone in this book besides Clarissa was operating with the understanding that no means no, this mess'd be over already.
Page 260: So many books I read are over too fast. I don't think this'll be one of those.
Page 417: Around page 270 I thought "When is something actually going to happen?" and started flipping forward. Looked like about a hundred pages later, unless I missed something obvious in flipping forward.
I didn't.
And I did slog through that hundred pages. Clarissa would.
Page 552: I had a nightmare I was in a terrible English class in which I'd been assigned this book. The instructor was a man who was shockingly little help at conveying the cultural context of it, which is kind of an appropriate representation of this Penguin edition. Other Penguins I've used have had good notes, but maybe this one lacks them because adding notes would send the book's weight into "definite hernia" territory.
Page 654: I can't believe I'm still not even halfway there. I also can't believe that Lovelace's lackeys could get all those letters pored through and relevant extracts made in the time allotted.
Page 764: Halfway! You know, I'm beginning to think maybe Robert Lovelace is not a good person.
Page 888: It says in the preface that one of Richardson's friends he gave this to read said not to edit it down because you might lose what was instructive about it, but given the fewer-than-7,000 Goodreaders who claim to have read this and, say, the 1.3 million who've read _Jane Eyre_, a good editor might have helped spread the instructiveness further.
Page 989: Robert Lovelace: "What about the person I *didn't* sexually assault?"
That recently-deployed non-defense has a long history, I see.
Page 1112: Richardson, you had 1500 pages, much more text than plot, and you couldn't find *somewhere* to jam in Clarissa's own account of how she escaped? It's almost like you don't believe in female agency.
Page 1224: Clarissa is too angelic to be real and Lovelace too dastardly, but this depiction of a doctor telling a clearly ill young woman that it's all in her head and if she'd just exercise is true to life.
Spoiler
Page 1460: The last few hundred pages of this have been Richardson going DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH DEATH IS COMING FOR US ALL YOU WILL DIE REPENT REPENT REPENT. Part of why I read so many books is to distract myself from how sick and fragile I am, so I GET IT ALREADY SAM.
Page 1478: A duel? This is where I came in.
*
In the end, I liked this better than Pamela, but I really hated Pamela.