millsjeff 's review for:

Middlemarch by George Eliot

3.5

emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

It’s hard to hold my interest for 800 pages when the stakes are so incredibly low. The last 100 pages are lovely (coincidentally when the characters’ personal stakes are briefly heightened), and the writing is incredible throughout. The plot is just a slog. Were I to revisit in the future, I think I would break things up to evoke the original serial publication. I found myself yearning for a break from these characters, or, if I weren’t to get a break, at least that something truly life or death would happen to them.