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thehungrybookworm 's review for:

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
4.25
dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Whenever you read a Jane Austen book you can rely on happy endings for everyone, or at least everyone who deserves it. This book is the exact opposite. The ending is insanely depressing. 

The characters are brilliant though. They leap off the page and you can imagine them so clearly. And in case anyone ever wondered if our ancestors were capable of sarcasm and snarkiness, or yes indeed they were as this book illustrates. 

Probably my favorite part was relatively early on, when the protagonist Maggie, as a child, runs away to join the "gypsies." (I realize the term is derogatory, but that is the term in the book.) The way George Eliot managed to describe them is amazing. It's clear that they find the whole situation hilarious, but are smart enough not to directly laugh at Maggie because that would probably make her run off again and they want to get her safely home. The whole interaction is just so vivid.