A review by cpcabaniss
The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope

3.0

"I do not say that Mr Crosbie will be our hero, seeing that that part in the drama will be cut up, as it were, into fragments. Whatever of the magnificent may be produced will be diluted and apportioned out in very moderate quantities among two or more, probably three or four, young gentlemen - to none of whom will be vouchsafed the privilege of much heroic action."

Trollope's writing keeps me enjoying his novels even when I don't particularly care for the characters or stories. I love his wit and humor. His writing in general is rather beautiful.

But alas, this installment has been my least favorite of the Barsetshire novels thus far. Although there were some characters that I liked a lot, and I could understand even those I did not like, the balance was off in a way it was not with the previous books. There was too much focus on the unlikable characters and not much promise for improvement.

I particularly disliked Crosbie, though I could understand his motivations. I did not agree with him and wished he would stop being such an idiot, so having so much of the story from his perspective drove me crazy.

I quite liked the squire. It was nice to see how his character unfolded and how misunderstood he was. He was easy to relate with, since it was easy to see that he was just horrible with communication and thus all of his relationships were muddied.

Not my favorite, but still enjoyable and I'm excited to read the next installment, though I'm sad that it will be my last Barsetshire novel.