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.