Middlemarch

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite in Contect and Style
Review: Eliot in all her work from epic masterpieces like Middlemarch to small novellas like The Lifted Veil has the ability to make intelligent readers stop and re-read lines. However, while occassionally we may stop to marvel at the complexity, spohistication, or elegance of her language it is more often than not the philosophical depths with she is able to illuminate in her most simple phrases and candid characters. The characters in Middlemarch, specifically, are indeed well developed but they are not complex-- rather they play off each other to illustrate to the reader a human composite. Each one seems to have a dominant theme about them that when combined with each other draws a picture of true humanity-- complete with its contradictions and dichotomies. This is the beauty of the novel and why we reread certain sections-- Eliot makes us care about everyone in the piece and all their stories as all are essential in determining our own instrinsic emotional reaction.

Middlemarch is not a page turner-- it does require an emotional committment. . .however, it is worth all a reader's energy.

Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic
Review: I have enjoyed this book. I'll save everyone the time and not comment on the characters, (although intriguing and realistic) or the themes and situations (all of which impact the reader). I would only add that the language and rhetoric George Eliot uses is consummate. Truly I didn't know anyone could write THIS WELL until I read THIS BOOK. Others come close in style - Dickens perhaps, but only George Eliot offers clever descriptions and beautiful language which add to the flow of this book. Coming from an 18 year old male, I wasn't sure I would like this book. However, George Eliot offered me a new love for Victorian Literature, and presented characters who are timeless.

"Our deeds still travel with us from afar, And what we have been makes us what we are."

"Even if a man has been acquitted by a jury, they'll talk, and nod and wink - and as far as the world goes, a man might often as well be guilty as not."

"Scenes which make vittal changes in our neighbours' lot are but the background of our own, yet, like a particular aspect of the fields and trees, they become associated for us with the epochs of our own history, and make a part of that unity which lies in the selection of our keenest consciousness."

Rating:
Summary: Complex, lush, sometimes slow but ultimately a masterpiece
Review: I have often wanted to read Middlemarch but was intimidated by the length. The first few chapters are tedious and overwritten; I nearly gave up at some points but I always thought, "I got this far, I might as well go further." By the end of the book, I was sorry I had finished it and sad that I would no longer read about these characters who had become so intimate to me. That's my measure of a masterpiece. I felt as if I'd lost some friends in the main characters when I closed the book.

The main reason I was bored in the first few chapters was because I found Dorothea Brooke so unbelieavably "good" and "pious." I could not relate at all to the character who seemed one-dimensional. And I was not surprised or sorry that she had deluded herself into marriage with Mr. Causabon, the epitome of "ivy tower" arrogance. But I believe now that George Eliot's early depiction of Dorothea sets us up to realize that we all often are youthful and idealistic when we are young and believe passionately in "saving the world" -- and to parents we probably seemed irritatingly naive. Even with the best of intentions, as Eliot shows, we often fall short because of societal restrictions and mistakes we make in life; and then we "grow up." In the final analysis, George Eliot makes her point well: we can inspire people and change their lives with one act of kindness and by doing good in our community in our quiet ways. I started out rolling my eyes at Dorothea and ended up wanting to emulate her in my own life.

I am surprised that so many people think the story centers around Dorothea. What makes this novel so compelling and fascinating is George Eliot's accomplishment in creating an entire village with complex characters so different and yet so similar to each other. I would say this story is as much about Lydate, Rosamond, the Vincys, Fred and Mary, the Garths, Mr. Causabon, the Chettams, Will Ladislaw et al as it was about Dorothea.

In my copy of the book, there is a quote by Virginia Woolfe that says, to paraphrase, that this book is a great English novel written for adults. This is so true! I am a die-hard Jane Austen fan, but the one major flaw I see with Austen is that she writes about courtship and ends at marriage so it can be easy to write (though in my wildest dreams I could never write as brilliantly as Jane Austen). Courtship is often exciting, romantic, and idealistic. But marriage, and any long-term relationship, involves compromise, trials and tribulations, tests of a couple's strength or the events that reveal the weakness of their bond. This novel examines the full range from courtship to marriage and the difficulties within all relationships. Through all the events, you find yourself sympathizing with each character, even while you realize you loathe what he/she is doing, his/her point of view. What's amazing is that within this complex set of characters lies complexity within each person.

There is so much to comment on, but the novel is so rich I can't do it justice so I recommend everyone to read it just once.

Rating:
Summary: A Marvellous Classic!
Review: This is a beautiful and romantic novel not to be missed by any fan of classic literature. The thick volume (795 pages) may be an instant put-off for some readers and the story does take a little while to develop, but TRUST ME, once you get past the first 50 pages, you'll be HOOKED and finding it difficult to put down the book.

I love George Eliot's style of writing - beautifully and distinctively eloquent and expressive, and with such observance and skills in depicting the depths and complexities of human relations and the demands and passions of the heart. The book also explores the issues of "class" (e.g. in the courtship between gentleman Fred Vincy and working class Mary Garth), "money" (e.g. questions raised over Featherstone's will after the old miser's death), "politics" (on elections and the cause promoted by the 'liberal' Middlemarchers), "scandals" (especially concerning the dark secrets of the respected banker, Mr Bulstrode) and even "murder" - all portrayed brilliantly in high drama and with engrossing suspense.

My favourite character is the heroine, the virtuous Dorothea Brooke whose life is made miserable by her marriage to the old, dull, selfish academician, Casaubon. Her later acquaintance with young Will Ladislaw who is Casaubon's cousin ("cousin, not nephew", as the vain Casaubon always makes a point to clarify, due to the apparent age gap between them) provides Dorothea with the companionship of someone who listens to and respects her views and who brings a ray of sunshine and cheer into her otherwise lonely life. Love soon blossoms between Dorothea and Will but they're forbidden to court/marry even after Casaubon's death due to a nasty clause put in by Casaubon in his will. It was pure heartache to read of the feelings that these two have for each other but aren't able to express due to societal constraints. Will knows rather early on that he loves her; it takes Dorothea longer to realize her true feelings. I got all teary-eyed when I read the part where Dorothea, alone in her room and in a state of inescapable anguish, moans out "Oh, I did love him!" [And to quote]: "... But she lost energy at last even for her loud-whispered cries and moans: she subsided into helpless sobs, and on the cold floor she sobbed herself to sleep".

The other main characters are no less interesting and will easily capture the reader's heart and compassion. There's Dr Lydgate, an ambitious man whose marriage to the vain, beautiful but spoilt Rosamund Vincy turns out to be a most exasperating and expensive affair (you have to read the book to find out just how SO). There's also a love triangle involving Fred Vincy, Mary Garth and Farebrother (the vicar). The other smaller characters such as Bulstrode, his wife, Mr Garth (Mary's father), a blackmailer (Raffles) and others are all well-painted and believable, each with their own story to tell.

Unlike some classics, this one provides a most satisfying ending because it discloses in the 'Finale' what happens later to the main characters after the "main story" has ended - e.g. up to what age they live to, if the (new) marriages are successful, how many children each couple has, etc.

"Middlemarch" is a truly remarkable classic and a wonderful, wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: Technically flawless production values enhanced with music.
Review: George Eliot was one of England's finest 19th century authors, and Middlemarch one of Eliot's finest novels. It's the story of the blighted marriage of Dorothea, a young and idealistic woman, and Lyd Gate, who is betrayed by his wife's egoism. Middlemarch is a complex work concerning social interrelationships and the struggle to hold fast to personal integrity in a materialistic and mean spirited age. Eliot is unsurpassed in her vivid presentation of England during the 1830s. Superbly narrated by Carole Boyd, this unabridged, six cassette, five hour, Naxos AudioBooks edition is technically flawless and wonderfully enhanced with 19th Century symphonic music. Middlemarch is also available in a CD format.

Rating:
Summary: One of the few English novels written for grown-ups
Review: Virginia Woolf called Middlemarch "one of the few English novels written for grown-up peole", and I could not agree with her more. In contrast to her male contemporaries such as Dickens or Thackeray with their sentimentality and their clean stories, Eliot comes as close to facing the "boredom, the horror and the glory" as a C19 novelist can.

Middlemarch is essentially about how lives can go wrong. It starts out with idealistic Dorothea Brooke wanting to reform the world and young Tertius Lydgate being about to rock the medical world with striking new discoveries. Eliot shows what life does to those two. Or better say, she points out how it is essentially each person himself or herself who is responisble for what happens. "Time will say nothing but I told you so."

No reader can fail to be touched by the wake-up call of this book: We must face what we are about to to with our lives and not take important decisions lightly.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest English novel yet written.....
Review: I was extremely hesitant about reviewing George Eliot'sMiddlemarch, as it's been ten years or so since I've read it, but inthe end I couldn't resist adding my comments to those of others. Quite simply, it is the greatest novel yet written by an English author: Middlemarch is the fullest realisation of George Eliot's ideas on social philosophy combined with her utterly convincing characterisation and remarkable moral insight.

The novel's 'heroine' is Dorothea Brooke, a young woman of excellent virtue who is passionately idealistic about the good that can be achieved in life. The provincial setting of Middlemarch is the environment in which Dorothea's struggle to fulfil her ideals takes place, and the novel's central theme is how the petty politics of provincial 19th century England are largely accountable for her failure. In parallel with Dorothea's story is the story of Lydgate, an intelligent and ambitious doctor who also runs up against the obstructive forces of provincial life and finds them severely restrictive of his goals.

Eliot is supremely compassionate, yet never blind to the faults of her characters. Dorothea's ideas of social reform are naive, while her high opinion of Casaubon's work proves to be a major mistake. But Eliot is never cynical when the motives of her characters are pure, and does not censure them for failure. What she is critical of is the narrow minded self-seeking attitude which forces Dorothea and Lydgate to come to terms with the fact that often good does not win out over circumstance. The subtext to this is the fact that the high ideals and sense of responsibility intrinsic in both Dorothea and Lydgate means that there is no question of them ever finding love together. In essence, Middlemarch is simply about life and how things don't always work out, despite our best intentions, but are often the product of negative forces. In other novels Eliot's didacticism can sometimes jar, but it is impossible to ignore the depth of her wisdom in Middlemarch.

Middlemarch is the best novel of our greatest novelist - of the major Victorian writers only Tolstoy can really compare with her - and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: insufficient superlatives
Review: I'll add my own impressions that every prospective husband and wife, and every husband and wife should read this book. It's been noted that Middlemarch contains some of the finest scenes of married life written. Criticism serves to place this work with the greatest of classics. In that perspective I only felt Middlemarch short of Shakespearean omnicience and less sweeping and broad in power than some of the Russian stuff. Elliot's machine gun intellect, present in every word, sentence and page, requires intense concentration reducing a little my ability to reflect and enjoy as I read. But the code word here is "brilliant" or substitute any similar adjective for this most enjoyable and worthwhile book.

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous, complex, compassionate
Review: There are several wonderful, astute customer comments below so I will just add one thing. In addition to being an astonishingly well-crafted portrait of society, of marriage, of individual dreams and disappointments, I believe that Eliot wrote Middlemarch as a mirror for the reader to examine his or her own life--somewhere in this vast novel, if we are honest, we can all find someone like ourselves--and to realize that each choice we make, each of our relationships, provides us with the opportunity to affect the lives of those around us in either positive or negative ways. So often readers hold books at arms' length; it is easy to pass judgment on others, whether on characters in a book, or on our neighbors. Few books combine brilliant story-telling with profound moral value. Middlemarch is one such book. Do not hesitate to read it!

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing and Complex
Review: An astonishing accomplishment by George Eliot. I think what I really enjoy more than anything else in "Middlemarch" are Eliot's piercing insights into the nature of human beings, which she intertwines with the stories of Dorothea and Lydgate. Dorothea and Lydgate are both marvelously developed characters, whose idealism traps them each in marriages which hinder their ability to accomplish what each really wants in life. The metaphor of St. Theresa and Dorothea is carried throughout the book, adding a complex subtext. Finally, although some readers complain at Eliot's sometimes didactic narration, I think Eliot's strong sense of the responsibility of educating while entertaining sets her apart from her contemporaries. And it allows her to create one of the most beautful endings ever written in literature. Like Dorothea, we are all called to do good in our lifetime in the hope that it will influence other people down the road to do the same.