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A review by meldob
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
4.0
I read this book after watching the bbc adaption.
I really enjoyed the book. I like the person that Daniel Deronda is, I think there are few authors who have created such an epitome of a person. Every character in this book has their complexities and their reasons for being. I particularly liked Daniel’s mother and feel like her character really resonates with me. I love the description, that she has a man’s mind, but was born in a woman’s body, and her effort to continue to live the life that she wished to live despite the pressure on her to live a certain life because of her gender. I’m particularly happy that the author never described her actions as right or wrong, they just were as they were.
The one thing I did skip through, and that I have heard other critics’ negative comments about are Mordecai’s speeches. Even though I am very interested in the Jewish culture (my family being half Jewish), his speeches about his passion for restoring the faith and a home for the Jewish people were very heavy and the effect could have been achieved with far fewer passionate speeches.
It’s interesting to note the relevance of this story for the time it was published in. Jewish people in England were treated very poorly and looked down upon. This book’s release was one of the first time when a mainstream English audience would have been exposed to the Jewish culture. It was a very clever way to educate English people. They were drawn in by a romance between a quiet,thoughtful man and a hot headed, duchess-like creature, and were given a lesson in ethics and Judaism.
I really enjoyed the book. I like the person that Daniel Deronda is, I think there are few authors who have created such an epitome of a person. Every character in this book has their complexities and their reasons for being. I particularly liked Daniel’s mother and feel like her character really resonates with me. I love the description, that she has a man’s mind, but was born in a woman’s body, and her effort to continue to live the life that she wished to live despite the pressure on her to live a certain life because of her gender. I’m particularly happy that the author never described her actions as right or wrong, they just were as they were.
The one thing I did skip through, and that I have heard other critics’ negative comments about are Mordecai’s speeches. Even though I am very interested in the Jewish culture (my family being half Jewish), his speeches about his passion for restoring the faith and a home for the Jewish people were very heavy and the effect could have been achieved with far fewer passionate speeches.
It’s interesting to note the relevance of this story for the time it was published in. Jewish people in England were treated very poorly and looked down upon. This book’s release was one of the first time when a mainstream English audience would have been exposed to the Jewish culture. It was a very clever way to educate English people. They were drawn in by a romance between a quiet,thoughtful man and a hot headed, duchess-like creature, and were given a lesson in ethics and Judaism.