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tumblyhome_caroline 's review for:
Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady
by Samuel Richardson
Ohhh what to say about this book? The good bits were
1) I utterly loved the epistolary form .. it felt like finding hidden letters and being incredibly nosey as you secretly read them against all your better moral judgement. It made me want to write proper old fashioned letters, in fact I did write one and it was so happily received that I felt letter writing deserves a proper come back
2) in many ways I loved the very long winded nature of the book. We talk about how books ‘needed a good editor’, by which we mean, I suppose, we felt the story didn’t deserve to be told slowly…or it was boring…or we didn’t have time for it in the current, fast paced world. But a story told slowly and at length doesn’t have to be abridged, edited to death or rushed… I loved that this, quite brief story really, was mulled over and expanded.
3) I enjoyed the challenge I had to put away modern sensibilities and outrage at some aspects of the book.. arranged marriage, a lack of autonomy for women etc etc. Not saying those things were right, even at the time, but that was how it was and i had to keep reminding myself not to judge from todays world
4) I loved how different the voices were.. the characters were really distinct
5)I enjoyed thinking about how honest Clarissa was being, did I believe her totally…no! And I actually felt a bit sorry for Solmes. He is described as ugly, uneducated and boring.l which is extremely damning for a character Clarissa refuses to even contemplate talking to…at all…claims he intends to be a stern and aggressive husband don’t seem based in reality.
6) someone in my book club said that there is virtually no description of place, or how people look etc and I realised that, without me noticing, it had filled in all the gaps..I had a complete vision of the people and places.l it was really clever.
Ok and things I didn’t like
I never enjoy stories about upper class young women from the 1700 and 1800s. I try, I can see this book is important and was ground breaking etc etc… but the plot didn’t get under my skin. I felt bored..not by the length, but by the need to see more. I mean, all the peripheral characters were very flat, I craved to find a connection with the world… but found none.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, but not to everyone . I think it is a definite book to read for Austen fans, for anyone interested in the novel form. I do not regret reading it but will happily put it down and will probably not reread it. I gave it four stars because I can see how clever and brilliant it is… I don’t regret reading it and my reason for not loving it totally were purely personal because I don’t enjoy the rich young ladies aspect.
1) I utterly loved the epistolary form .. it felt like finding hidden letters and being incredibly nosey as you secretly read them against all your better moral judgement. It made me want to write proper old fashioned letters, in fact I did write one and it was so happily received that I felt letter writing deserves a proper come back
2) in many ways I loved the very long winded nature of the book. We talk about how books ‘needed a good editor’, by which we mean, I suppose, we felt the story didn’t deserve to be told slowly…or it was boring…or we didn’t have time for it in the current, fast paced world. But a story told slowly and at length doesn’t have to be abridged, edited to death or rushed… I loved that this, quite brief story really, was mulled over and expanded.
3) I enjoyed the challenge I had to put away modern sensibilities and outrage at some aspects of the book.. arranged marriage, a lack of autonomy for women etc etc. Not saying those things were right, even at the time, but that was how it was and i had to keep reminding myself not to judge from todays world
4) I loved how different the voices were.. the characters were really distinct
5)I enjoyed thinking about how honest Clarissa was being, did I believe her totally…no! And I actually felt a bit sorry for Solmes. He is described as ugly, uneducated and boring.l which is extremely damning for a character Clarissa refuses to even contemplate talking to…at all…claims he intends to be a stern and aggressive husband don’t seem based in reality.
6) someone in my book club said that there is virtually no description of place, or how people look etc and I realised that, without me noticing, it had filled in all the gaps..I had a complete vision of the people and places.l it was really clever.
Ok and things I didn’t like
I never enjoy stories about upper class young women from the 1700 and 1800s. I try, I can see this book is important and was ground breaking etc etc… but the plot didn’t get under my skin. I felt bored..not by the length, but by the need to see more. I mean, all the peripheral characters were very flat, I craved to find a connection with the world… but found none.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, but not to everyone . I think it is a definite book to read for Austen fans, for anyone interested in the novel form. I do not regret reading it but will happily put it down and will probably not reread it. I gave it four stars because I can see how clever and brilliant it is… I don’t regret reading it and my reason for not loving it totally were purely personal because I don’t enjoy the rich young ladies aspect.