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A review by nashwa017
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
5.0
After a few false starts, I'm so glad I powered through this book and took my time with it. First published in 1854, I'm only a few years late to the party but it is often marketed as "Pride and Prejudice during the Industrial Revolution" or "Pride and Prejudice for Socialists." I think comparing Gaskell to Austen does both authors a disservice, since they wrote during different eras for a completely different audience. I think the similarity is both authors discuss social issues, in Gaskell's case, the urban-rural divide, workers rights, losing faith and the value of working hard in really tough times.
I enjoyed every single aspect of this book, but especially how evenly the story unfolded. The protagonists, Margaret Hale and John Thornton, were given an equal amount of time on the page, are very nuanced characters. There is a deep exploration of their feelings, thoughts, and frustratingly enough, their lapse in communication. For a majority of the book, I was just thinking "can you please just talk to each other?!"
But I also loved how the book explored friends, and parental relationship. I loved Margaret's relationship with her guilt-ridden father, whose choices in life made his family's life difficult but it was so interesting to see their relationship develop into a loving one. On the other side, I loved how Mrs. Thornton was written, a bitter, jealous woman but one who had so much love for her son.
The book has a very serious tone, and we see quite a few character deaths, which is always emotionally taxing.
I enjoyed every single aspect of this book, but especially how evenly the story unfolded. The protagonists, Margaret Hale and John Thornton, were given an equal amount of time on the page, are very nuanced characters. There is a deep exploration of their feelings, thoughts, and frustratingly enough, their lapse in communication. For a majority of the book, I was just thinking "can you please just talk to each other?!"
But I also loved how the book explored friends, and parental relationship. I loved Margaret's relationship with her guilt-ridden father, whose choices in life made his family's life difficult but it was so interesting to see their relationship develop into a loving one. On the other side, I loved how Mrs. Thornton was written, a bitter, jealous woman but one who had so much love for her son.
The book has a very serious tone, and we see quite a few character deaths, which is always emotionally taxing.