Middlemarch

I started this blog to keep myself up to speed on what happens in the novels I am reading. To make it easier come exam time to jog my memory of what has happened through the novels and how the novels made me feel.  I had been doing well, but found my reviews becoming dry, simply a summary and lacking and real connection emotionally to the book. I  thought perhaps I was simply not connecting the way I needed to.

I recently finished reading Middlemarch by George Eliot, I’ll be honest, I was not looking forward to this book. My tutor had compared it to Vanity Fair… If you read my review on that novel you will understand my hesitation. However I needed to read this novel, and it was a long one, I decided in order for me to simply start I needed to keep an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised! Middlemarch was well written, there was intrigue and it had me eager to get back to it when I had to set it down . That is not to say it was an easy read. This was a very long book, so long in fact that at one point I got another book and figured out how many words it had per page compared to Middlemarch, I believe it was around 350-650…Middlemarch of course being the latter, if nothing else this gave my eyes a rest and my poor bruised ego a bit of redemption. Despite this novels length, and the fact it took me twice as long to read as I had allotted myself, I found it very enjoyable. Living through the trials of Dorothea as she finds herself in an unhappy marriage and falling into a forbidden love. I found myself wishing Dorothea would forget everything and follow her heart, yet knowing she was taking the path she needed in order to get there with some dignity. This brilliantly written novel truly has it all, mystery, forbidden romance, and of course length! I found myself getting to know each character personally, had I not been setting myself a strict deadline the length would have been relished rather than daunting. The length allows each character to develop and for the reader to gain a personal connection with each one, rooting for them to take a certain path, and sitting on the edge or your seat wondering if Fred will really get his act together this time of if he has finally lost hope for his love.

 

Although Middlemarch was a long novel, I found it very enjoyable and I look forward to revisiting this novel when I have a bit more time to spend with it.

 

North and South

North and South

 

                North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell was a welcomed change from the previous novels I had read. This novel is from the nineteenth century, when I began this novel I was expecting the same basic story lines as I have come to expect from these novels; I was pleasantly surprised. This novel was captivating. Following the life Margaret as she is uprooted from her small town life as the Pastors daughter to the dirty city of Milton where she is thrust into life changing situations.

                Margaret is forced to be the backbone of her family, putting their lives and feelings ahead of her own. She deals with the death of her mother and the smuggling in and out of her brother from England, as well as the political upheaval around her. Margaret depicts the strength of women as she is given no choice but to move forward. I found this novel a great depiction of feminine strength, where her father and brother fail Margaret stands strong and opinionated. For its time I think this novel stands as feminist literature, time after time Margaret shows she is stronger, and has more common sense, than many of the men around her. She is not afraid to stand her ground and voice her opinion.

                This novel is very eloquently written and does not seem to have the same long drawn on sentences as other nineteenth century literature. I found as I was nearing the end of the novel, despite how badly I wanted to know what happened, I would put the book down…if only to stretch it out a few more minutes, I did not want it to end. When I had three lonely pages to go, I was concerned as what I felt needed to happen yet could not possibly wrap itself up in three pages; I procrastinated through these three, fighting with the desire to finish and the desire for it not to be over. When I finally completed the pages I had a definite ‘Book Hangover’ I reread the last pages again and again and annoyed many people with my chatter about the book no one else had read, I did not want to spoil it for them, but told them this book HAD to be read.