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Summary: The problematics of marriage ...
Review: It would be interesting to plot a trajectory of women's novels from Austen to Wharton. Austen looks at marriage as the goal, the consummation; Eliot follows it through its problematic stages; and in The House of Mirth its absence fills the novel. The view of marriage darkens with each step. Every marriage in Middlemarch is blighted, except for those that take place at the very end of the book, which seem almost like dreams compared to the unpleasantly realistic situations that have preceded them. Eliot's even, slightly sardonic tone is rarely bitter or bleak; when she steps back and comments on her characters it's always a delight to hear her sane interjections. Yet she is hardly unbiased. She has little sympathy with Rosamond or Casaubon, and a little too much patience with Dorothea, whose piety I found grating, and Will, whose ticklish pride and unwillingness to compromise seem a bit silly. The way she handles Lydgate's irritability, on the other hand, is perfect: "To the last [he] occasionally let slip a bitter speech which was more memorable than the signs he made of his repentance. He once called her his basil plant; and when she asked for a explanation, said the basil was a plant which had flourished wonderfully on a murdered man's brains."
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Summary: An amazing novel. Truly a classic.
Review: Middlemarch is such a wonderful book. I just finished reading it for a Victorian Fiction class in college, and it was amazing. It made me laugh, cry, and think about how beautiful life and love are. I now know why it is such a classic, and I feel re-affirmed in my decision to be an English major!
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Summary: Instant attraction; I fell in love with this book
Review: Two battling couples confused with their feelings for each other; George Eliot is a genuis. Middlemarch is a fabulous and wicked tale of love and hate but ADAM BEDE still holds my heart as the number one by George Eliot.
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Summary: wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Review: What a carnival-ride is this book! Couldn't put it down. Read through all 600 pages in one manic speed-strewn night. Yow! Dorothea and Casaubon sure were a bad couple, weren't they? And Will was such a good guy, wasn't he? That's pretty much all I can say without actually giving you any helpful insight about the book that might cause one of those wicked nine dollar an hour temp censors to strike my entire review from the record.
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Summary: liked it a lot!!!
Review: I liked this book a lot
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Summary: whee, what a neat book!
Review: Gee, this was a really good book. I wish my earlier review of it had been published, but I see that only the stupid ones get past those strict censors, so let my reform see the light, lord. Hereby follows an amended and culturally sensitive review of said book: It had a great plot. The characters were lifelike. Also, I liked it. Thanks, Amazon, for providing a forum in which I can finally let others know what this book has meant to me in as simplistic and mind-numbingly inane language as possible!
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Summary: Great Characterization & Setting; Victorian Realism
Review: I was enchanted with Dorotha who had to overcome those typical barriers on females in the Victorian age. Timeless story in all aspects, you begin to take in the ways of life in the past, the bust and the corsets, the quiet gossip behind others backs. George Eliot is a wonder of a writer, she needs more attention in high schools and colleges, her books entertain as well as challenge.
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Summary: a book meant to be read at least twice
Review: I have just started reading Middlemarch and have finished the first 200 pages. It is a wonderful book, and Eliot is a superb writer. Every sentence contains such depth of insight and imagery. I am reading the book for pleasure but with the insight of a lover of literature. I have found that Middlemarch has to be read at least twice: once to appreciate the story of Dorothea, Lydgate, Rosamond, etc and another to truly appreciate Eliot's poetic prose.
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Summary: Not one if you enjoy light reading...
Review: I began reading Middlemarch to hate it. Although I had enjoyed other period dramas such as Jane Eyre (despite the often ridiculous plot), I couldn't help but feel that any book that was dragged out to over 900 pages was long-winded at best. I am pleased to say that I proved myself wrong, after I had a startling revelation about chapter 10 that I had actually enjoyed the book thus far. The charcters, whilst not all particularly likeable, are no doubt believable &, in some cases, such that we can sympathise & even relate to them. I should think that any reader would judge Dorothea's fascination with Casaubon to be misguided, but George Eliot herself asks us to be sympathetic, as lots of people, even in this day & age, make the same mistakes. I have heard it said that Middlemarch is boring. Far from it. In fact, Middlemarch relates to modern society much in the same way that the Chrisitan principles of the Bible can still be practised. For example, the book says a lot about the nature of marriage & love, as well as politics & even such personal issues as integrity & honour. You simply have to read the book with an open mind. For me, the book was mainly about Dorothea Brooke & Dr Tertius Lydgate, as we follow both characters from courtship, into marriage, and from there, unhappiness. Both marry for the wrong reasons - Dorothea to be some sort of secretary to the father-figure she lacked in her upbringing, and Lydgate because he sees Rosamond as an ornament that looks good with him. In both cases, even if we do not agree with the descisions of the charcters, we can at least take an interest in their lives, as well as sympathise with them, identify with them, and such forth. Whilst I would not recommend Middlemarch to just anyone it is definately a good book, and well worth a read for more than the fact that it is one of the great recognised literary works.
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Summary: Don't apply modernist assumptions to great literature
Review: I would like to refer the reader from Boston to Isaiah 3:16 "Moreover the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet." Whether Eliot was racist I cannot say, although I suspect no more than any of her culture or time. I have no opinion on Isaiah's racism either... Middlemarch is a glorious book, a bit of a challenge for many modern readers but well worth it.
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