A review by erikars
Romola by George Eliot

2.0

The last quarter was good, the middle half reasonable, and the first quarter a slog. Overall, the narrative is muddled. The stories of Tito Melema, Romola de' Bardi, and the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (a real historical figure) are intertwined, but in a way that feels awkward rather than illuminating. The discussions of Florence, both its history and its physical setting, drag on. I kept reading because it did get better as it went along. Overall though, the good wasn't quite enough to make up for the bad.