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A review by libraryofdreaming
Middlemarch by George Eliot
4.0
It took me a good long while to get into Middlemarch. I'm not sure if it was just the mushy condition of my brain at the time or what, but I struggled a lot with some of the speeches in the first quarter of the book. I read them, and the point just seemed to fly over my head. But then, about halfway through, the book hit its stride. Or maybe it was me that finally it my stride. Either way, I was hooked.
The real appeal of this book for me was its utter humanity. It is daunting in size because it portrays so many different characters and different stories, but they all contain evocative grains of truth. The overused quote that Middlemarch is the only real "grownup" novel slides over certain aspects, but it is true that this book confronts certain situations that other novels shy away from (all the while retaining its Victorian decorum, of course). So many novels end with the grand wedding and stop there, but George Eliot daringly sheds full light on the humdrum and sometimes messy results when two people decide to join their lives together. The disillusionment is not glossed over. And I think perhaps I learned some good lessons that might serve me well if I am ever in the position to be married. Middlemarch is not just about marriage. It is also very much about the tangled details of a community. By portraying characters from different places in the social sphere, you get to see how they all interact and bounce off each other.
It is really impossible to summarize Middlemarch in just a few sentences, it encompasses SO much! Their are so many clever quotes, characters, and details of all different kinds that I think almost anyone could fall in love with it. I certainly did and hope to return to it again someday to sift through its riches and find more gems.
The real appeal of this book for me was its utter humanity. It is daunting in size because it portrays so many different characters and different stories, but they all contain evocative grains of truth. The overused quote that Middlemarch is the only real "grownup" novel slides over certain aspects, but it is true that this book confronts certain situations that other novels shy away from (all the while retaining its Victorian decorum, of course). So many novels end with the grand wedding and stop there, but George Eliot daringly sheds full light on the humdrum and sometimes messy results when two people decide to join their lives together. The disillusionment is not glossed over. And I think perhaps I learned some good lessons that might serve me well if I am ever in the position to be married. Middlemarch is not just about marriage. It is also very much about the tangled details of a community. By portraying characters from different places in the social sphere, you get to see how they all interact and bounce off each other.
It is really impossible to summarize Middlemarch in just a few sentences, it encompasses SO much! Their are so many clever quotes, characters, and details of all different kinds that I think almost anyone could fall in love with it. I certainly did and hope to return to it again someday to sift through its riches and find more gems.