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A review by caterinaanna
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
4.0
Christmas was over but two teacher days and a snow day and a half meant I could wallow in yet another huge novel.
Is Gwendolen Harleth the most spoilt heroine of a novel, or does Emma Wodehouse keep that prize? I warmed to Emma in the end and only ever felt sorry for Gwendolen: in spite of her inevitable redemption I never really got to like her - or any of the other major characters. Apart from the despicable Grandcourt, his toady Lush and the pathetic mrs Glasher, Mirah and her adoptive family are too goody-goody, and Deronda's vacillation, willing blindness to the effects of his actions on Gwen, and his obsession with his found heritage, although explained and supported by his upbringing, don't make him a sympathetic hero. Then painting of Mordecai and his family as people like us with an undeserved load to bear now seems rather sentimental and overdone - although in some places horribly prophetic.
So why a high rating? Because the tale drags one on through the philosphising and politicing and melodrama. I did want to find out what happened to these people - I cared about their fates and feelings, even if I didn't like them - so, were someone to ask me if it's worth reading, I would still say yes.
Is Gwendolen Harleth the most spoilt heroine of a novel, or does Emma Wodehouse keep that prize? I warmed to Emma in the end and only ever felt sorry for Gwendolen: in spite of her inevitable redemption I never really got to like her - or any of the other major characters. Apart from the despicable Grandcourt, his toady Lush and the pathetic mrs Glasher, Mirah and her adoptive family are too goody-goody, and Deronda's vacillation, willing blindness to the effects of his actions on Gwen, and his obsession with his found heritage, although explained and supported by his upbringing, don't make him a sympathetic hero. Then painting of Mordecai and his family as people like us with an undeserved load to bear now seems rather sentimental and overdone - although in some places horribly prophetic.
So why a high rating? Because the tale drags one on through the philosphising and politicing and melodrama. I did want to find out what happened to these people - I cared about their fates and feelings, even if I didn't like them - so, were someone to ask me if it's worth reading, I would still say yes.