A review by samdalefox
The Lifted Veil by George Eliot

reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is the first book of George Eliot's that I've read. I enjoyed it, I laughed a few bits in fact, but I'm certainly glad I listened by audiobook, I think I would have found it more of a slog reading a physical copy despite it being so short. I wouldn't say this story reads as a horror in 2022, more 'literary magical realism'. I suspect for the time it was written in that the writing (first person, middle class man with 'feminine' characteristics') may have been novel or interesting. Reading it today, it was a bit boring to be honest. Additionally the protagonist didn't actually do anything with his gift of forsight and understanding others, he merely meanders on. I actually quite felt for Bertha his wife, she was vastly more interesting to me. 
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