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A review by armedaphrodite
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Perhaps I'm 150 yeas or so too late to enjoy this book, but I've read others from even before and they were enjoyable. There's little really to recommend this book to a modern reader - the plot makes sense and the characters do fit well into it.
But the writing style just doesn't work. The first 10% of the book doesn't have a single dramatized scene. When the book does bother to dramatize a scene, it often skips over entire sections of dramatics by narrating those parts of the scene. The sheer amount of narration makes it hard to really get into the book on an emotional level or care whatsoever about any of the characters.
On a thematic level, Trollope's utter disdain for the concept of reform grates hard. Those chasing reform are motivated in large part by greed, while those with more than they should have (not that Trollope thinks it's really more than they should have) are framed as deserving. Trollope even lessened the amount that was being argued over to dampen the "problems" of the funding of church figures.
Also, as one might expect in a book of the time, he really needs to write his women better.
But the writing style just doesn't work. The first 10% of the book doesn't have a single dramatized scene. When the book does bother to dramatize a scene, it often skips over entire sections of dramatics by narrating those parts of the scene. The sheer amount of narration makes it hard to really get into the book on an emotional level or care whatsoever about any of the characters.
On a thematic level, Trollope's utter disdain for the concept of reform grates hard. Those chasing reform are motivated in large part by greed, while those with more than they should have (not that Trollope thinks it's really more than they should have) are framed as deserving. Trollope even lessened the amount that was being argued over to dampen the "problems" of the funding of church figures.
Also, as one might expect in a book of the time, he really needs to write his women better.