Rating: 
Summary: A book for all times, but not for all readers
Review: Question: How can you ensure that a person will hate a book? Answer: Make her read it for 7th grade English class, make sure that the language is old-fashioned, and above all, make sure that the ideas and concepts are over her head. If that's what happened to you, and that's why you have an aversion to Silas Marner, and you are now over 30, pick it up again. Read it twice. Silas Marner is one of the greatest novels in the English language. Yes, it starts out sad, as our pathetic hero looses both his trust in humanity and his faith in God. But the power of love replaces his lust for money, and wins out in the end. Meanwhile, morally poor but financially rich, high-living Godfrey Cass provides a counterpoint to simple Silas. At the end there's a surprise when the fate of Godfrey's evil brother is revealed. When you're all done, before you file Silas Marner on the shelf, go back and read the paragraph about Silas' thoughts when he discovers that his hordes of coins are missing. If you have ever felt sudden extreme loss, you will recognize the stages of despair from disbelief to acceptance "like a man falling into dark water." Which is why this book is not suitable for children, and is most appreciated by those who have undergone their own moral redemption. Silas has been the inspiration for many other characters, including Dicken's Scrooge. He has been portrayed in movies, including "A Simple Twist of Fate" starring Steve Martin. But none is as good as the original. If you haven't read it since junior high, try it again. Silas Marner is an excellent book. There's a gem of human understanding in every chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Story with Valuable Lessons and Morals
Review: Silas Marner became a bitter, lonely miser after he was accused of stealing church money. Declared guilty even though he wasn't, Marner lost his relationships with friends and loved ones. He moved away to a small town and secluded himself from any social activities or events. The people in this new town didn't bother him, but they thought he was strange and evil. Silas found his security in his gold which he stored up in his house. His treasure became his only companion. But when his gold was stolen one night, Silas thought he would die right then and there. He had no reason to live. Then one day, a little girl walked into his home and into his life. Her mother had died, leaving her as an orphan. So Silas adopted her and raised her in a poor hard-working sort of way. But, she loved him and he loved her. The treasure that Silas had lost had returned to him in a new form. He began to socialize with the people in his town, and no longer did they think he was weird or possessed. This girl brought about changes in Silas' life. He discovered that there are some things more precious than gold.
Rating:
Summary: Getting over obstacles
Review: "Silas Marner" by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) is a wonderful book about love, betrayal, responsibility and the authoritative role that religion can have on someone's life. You travel with Silas Marner (the main character) as he finds himself through the love of a child. You see him abandon his previous life and travel far away as he starts again in a place that is unknown to him. You encounter the Cass brothers who have everything to hide and nothing to give. You will see through this novel how lies can only seep you in farther and how chance can give you everything back. This novel will have you wondering what happens next and how people will get out of trouble. You'll see Silas go from a lonely man to a law abiding citizen of his little town and how friendship and neighbors (in any form) can be helpful. The best thing about this book is that you'll see how the love of a child can change everything about a person from what they believe in to how they live their day to day life. BEWARE...you will have to get over the obstacle of reading the first couple of chapters before you get to the "meat" of the book. Don't fall into despair and throw the book away!!! Keep on reading. Everything in the first couple of chapters is needed. DO NOT SKIP IT!! I promise you will find yourself loving this book just as I have come to love it.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Story of Loss and Redemption
Review: I have to begin by saying I took a Victorian Literature class in college about 11 years ago. I had to read this book... and I did not like it at all.
As another reviewer mentioned, I am now thirty and read it again. I now love this story! It is a story of loss, love and redemption.
A miserly Silas Marner loses the one thing that makes him feel complete, at least he thought it did. His stash of Gold gone Marner opens up to the people around him for the first time in years. He also meets the little girl who changes his life forever.
Silas Marner is a story about finding love and learning how to love someone else. It is also about the miniscule value of possesions as compared to the relationships we can build with those in our lives.
Read this book... If you read it before and hated it, or have never read it... It is well worth your time. This classic story written by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) will change your view of the world.
Rating:
Summary: Silas Marner
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. The morals and lessons it teaches you are very important. It is the story of a lonely man, who because he was falsely accused of stealing and because this cost him all his relationships with people, he secluded himself in his lonely house along with all his gold that he saved up. He never spent his money because he enjoyed its company. His gold was his only companion for several years of his life. Then one day, he was robbed, and he no longer had anything worth living for.
Silas was slowly dying of misery and depression. He had no reason to live. Then one day a little girl walked into his house and into his life. Her mother died, leaving the baby girl as an orphan. So, Silas adopted her and took her into his home. She grew up a poor, hard-working girl who loved her new father Silas and vice-versa. Because of this new daughter of his, Silas changed for the better. He became more caring and devoted to someone else besides himself. He started to go to church again and changed his views on what really was important in life. And one day when his treasure was found and returned to him, he didn't even care for it. He had something even more precious than gold: someone to love and receive love from.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Literature
Review: Reviews of this novel, seem to fall into three categories: those written by people who like to read great literature; those written by people who would prefer to read brain candy; and those written students forced to read the novel as a class assignment and,in some cases, would prefer not to read anything (if the third category is discarded, the average rating is much higher). One of the most remarkable things about this novel is the fact it was written by a woman, using a male pen name, in 19th century England when women were generally oppressed, i.e., they were not encouraged to have careers or to do anything outside the home. The story is well known. A man who blacks out during seizures, not remembering what happened, is falsely accused of theft of money from his church. He is shunned by his former friends and becomes a recluse. When he is later robbed of his savings, and an abandoned child appears on his doorstep in place of the gold, his life is changed as he takes responsibility for the child. This is classic literature from that time period, and is most certainly easier to read than many other novels from the same period (students should consider themselves fortunate that they were not assigned to read one of Thomas Hardy's novels). I first became acquainted with the novel when it was assigned reading in a high school English class. That was over 50 years ago, and the story is one that has stuck in my mind.
Rating: 
Summary: I hate this book
Review: This is one of the worst books I have ever read. The entire thing is practically one long sentence.
Rating:
Summary: Breathe World
Review: Long ago George Eliot breathed some life into these characters and their world of Raveloe, and if you look in on that place and time through the words on these pages, you'll find that things are still very vibrant there today. "Silas Marner" lives on because of the outstanding prose style and moral connundrums Eliot lays down as the foundation of her story. Her descriptions of people and places are so beautiful, her command of language so complete, and her style so refreshing, that it makes the world these people inhabit seem more alive and real than the worlds other authors attempt to spin. Her dialogue occasionly lets slip a touch of upper class pride, but overall her characters are expertly drawn, well filled out, and entertaining. The moral underpinnings of the story make it seem like a fable almost, but Eliot fortunately leaves final judgement of her characters up to the reader. Seeing Silas vindicated after so much going wrong for him made this worth the read for me. Despite some of the harsh realities of the class differences depicted, it is pleasant to watch the goings on in a small English town and to see Silas Marner at last catch some breaks and come into his own as a person. Even if it's a little unrealistic, heck, it's a novel so that's part of the fun. The choices we make for ourselves only determine part of our fate, Eliot seems to say with this story. Other things are not up to us, and those happen to us independent of any choices we make. I enjoyed pondering my own fate that way, through the lens of the little world of Raveloe. For such a short book, "Silas Marner" packs a lot of power in both language and meaning. This was my introduction to the work of George Eliot, and now I look forward to reading some of her other works.
Rating:
Summary: Getting over obstacles
Review: "Silas Marner" by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) is a wonderful book about love, betrayal, responsibility and the authoritative role that religion can have on someone's life. You travel with Silas Marner (the main character) as he finds himself through the love of a child. You see him abandon his previous life and travel far away as he starts again in a place that is unknown to him. You encounter the Cass brothers who have everything to hide and nothing to give. You will see through this novel how lies can only seep you in farther and how chance can give you everything back. This novel will have you wondering what happens next and how people will get out of trouble. You'll see Silas go from a lonely man to a law abiding citizen of his little town and how friendship and neighbors (in any form) can be helpful. The best thing about this book is that you'll see how the love of a child can change everything about a person from what they believe in to how they live their day to day life. BEWARE...you will have to get over the obstacle of reading the first couple of chapters before you get to the "meat" of the book. Don't fall into despair and throw the book away!!! Keep on reading. Everything in the first couple of chapters is needed. DO NOT SKIP IT!! I promise you will find yourself loving this book just as I have come to love it.
Rating:
Summary: from darkness to gold
Review: I've just spent the day reading this book. It's one of those stories that unexpectedly warms the soul and grips the heart. The plot is simple: Silas Marner, a naive young weaver, is betrayed by his best friend. Deeply hurt, he leaves his home for a village where he cares for no one and has no connections. He becomes increasingly reclusive, focusing only on the his weavings and the gold they'll bring. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, Silas covets his gold until it's the only thing he's living for. And then the gold is stolen. It takes a miracle for the gold to come back in the form of a fair-haired, trusting little girl whom Silas names Eppie. Once, the gold robbed Silas Marner of the outside world; now, it comes back to help him reclaim his joy. I'm fifteen years old and will remember this story for the hopeful message it builds up, but I know anyone be uplifted when they get to know Silas and Eppie.
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