Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Eliot Book
Review: I found Middlemarch just too long to plod through, but thoroughly enjoyed and actually had fun reading Adam Bede. What other style of romance is more romantic than a man and a woman who have feelings for each other but don't expose them, dawdling around pretending not to have feelings for each other? This is a superb work by my favorite author.
Rating:
Summary: A simply beautiful classic...
Review: I just finished "Adam Bede," turning to the novels of George Eliot after a long stint of reading only Thomas Hardy. A long-time fan of Hardy's work, I thought him to be my favorite English author -- George Eliot, however, has proven to be quite the challenger to Hardy for a place in my heart. "Adam Bede" is the tale of simple people making their way in the world, each of them encountering hardship and sorrow along the way. Eliot's style is immediately engaging: she addresses the reader directly, and it seems like she is behind the scenes everywhere, pulling up a curtain to reveal vignettes in the lives of her characters. She forces the readers, almost, to fall in love with Adam immediately -- the strong, righteous man whom the story will carry along its rocky path. Similarly, Dinah emerges immediately as the source of peace and goodness in the novel, and it is always refreshing when, in times of turmoil, she appears. I was bothered by only one element of the story, but I think it is rather easily overlooked: Adam's unrelenting love for Hetty. Eliot gives little background as to why his feelings for her are so strong, and all we really know of her personality is that she is incredibly vain because she is incredibly beautiful. Adam never struck me as a character who would fall for such a "surface" woman. His final choice for a wife (which I will not reveal in case amazon.com surfers haven't read the book yet) seems much more appropriate. All in all, the journey through this book is a most rewarding one. I look forward to my next Eliot read!
Rating:
Summary: A simply beautiful classic...
Review: I just finished "Adam Bede," turning to the novels of George Eliot after a long stint of reading only Thomas Hardy. A long-time fan of Hardy's work, I thought him to be my favorite English author -- George Eliot, however, has proven to be quite the challenger to Hardy for a place in my heart. "Adam Bede" is the tale of simple people making their way in the world, each of them encountering hardship and sorrow along the way. Eliot's style is immediately engaging: she addresses the reader directly, and it seems like she is behind the scenes everywhere, pulling up a curtain to reveal vignettes in the lives of her characters. She forces the readers, almost, to fall in love with Adam immediately -- the strong, righteous man whom the story will carry along its rocky path. Similarly, Dinah emerges immediately as the source of peace and goodness in the novel, and it is always refreshing when, in times of turmoil, she appears. I was bothered by only one element of the story, but I think it is rather easily overlooked: Adam's unrelenting love for Hetty. Eliot gives little background as to why his feelings for her are so strong, and all we really know of her personality is that she is incredibly vain because she is incredibly beautiful. Adam never struck me as a character who would fall for such a "surface" woman. His final choice for a wife (which I will not reveal in case amazon.com surfers haven't read the book yet) seems much more appropriate. All in all, the journey through this book is a most rewarding one. I look forward to my next Eliot read!
Rating: 
Summary: Adam Bede is a Victorian classic - timeless in all aspects.
Review: I just finished reading this book for my Victorian Lit class,
and I am incredibly inpressed with it. In the book, George
Eliot tells about the lives of the residence of Hayslope, a farming community around 1800. The book has a riveting plot that includes romance, betrayal, and murder. More importantly, however, the book has a strong moral; it is sure
to leave an impression in the mind of even the most cynical reader. Eliot, herself, summed the book up best in asking, "Shall I ever write another book as true as 'Adam Bede'?"
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book
Review: I loved this book and could not put it down. Eliot does a wonderful job describing her characters. Their strong points become their downfalls in the end and only when they overcome their weaknesses do they succeed. For example, Hetty is the beautiful dairy maid. Her mannerisms are charming and complement her great beauty. Her beauty becomes her downfall because of the attention she receives from the local squire. The consequences of her behavior are not retractable and affect her and her family deeply. Hetty is just one of the many interesting women that Eliot portrays. Even though the title is "Adam Bede", Eliot manages to interlace important female characters throughtout the book.
Rating:
Summary: "Masterpiece Theatre"
Review: If you love "Masterpiece Theatre" and all the English period novels they have produced, then this is the book for you. Why they have never done this one is a puzzle. Eliot's description of English pastoral life in 1799 leaves no stone unturned. The characters are as sharply drawn as if you had met them a few moments ago. You can literally smell the fresh country air. Yes, the character of Dinah is overdone, reminding one of Dicken's saccharine women, but a small price to pay in so rewarding a book. You will be truly sorry when you finish to leave the world Eliot has drawn so well. The morals of these people are no longer ours, and that must be kept in mind always. But Eliot has stated that the idea for this book came from a story of her aunt's, who did indeed go to such a woman as Hetty in prison. And there is a wealth of criticism on "Adam Bede", including Virginia Woolf's "Second Common Reader". A rave!
Rating: 
Summary: Eliot's most beguiling incarnation of rural life.
Review: Pretty, vain and self-centered Hetty Sorrel is beloved of Adam Bede, the dignified and admirable village carpenter. Drawn into a love affair with a future squire, Hetty dreams of a more glamorous destiny; but her actions cast a shadow over her family. This is the most comprehensive paperback edition available of Adam Bede, Eliot's most beguiling incarnation of rural life.
Rating:
Summary: Dear ol' Adam of this book
Review: Such strength in characters, a variety served on a platter. George Eliot was truely a gifted writer, a writer with style and flair.
Rating:
Summary: What about Hetty?
Review: This book is a good read although it can be slow at times. Adam Bede is, of course, the title character. But it is Hetty Sorrel that Eliot uses to raise questions about a very judgmental society. Hetty's "fall" asks the question of who is to blame. Throughout the novel she is never given much guidance, although she is expected to act in the proper manner. In fact, Eliot may not have even known how to deal with society's reaction to Hetty, therefore, making a dull ending that does not make much sense. Eliot seems afraid to address the issues of Hetty being integrated back into society and the consequences of her actions. In failing to end the book with Hetty coming back home, Eliot fails to make her point. That being, the influence of a society in the actions of their people. Who is to blame? Eliot herself, in the weak ending, backs down to the very own society she is questioning. Hetty is not allowed to return, therefore, the society is never forced to deal with the issue. In the end, Eliot raises many questions regarding the structure of society. However, she does not follow through and falls short in the ending. All in all, I would highly recommend this read. If you can get through the slow spots, you will raise many of your own questions about who is responsible when someone falls short in our own society? Good Luck and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: George Eliot's greatest creation: ADAM BEDE
Review: This book was a dirty task to complete, but I was so enchanted with the romances that I couldn't put this book down. Not only of romance (Eliot's forte), but with tragic twists. Superb, and also difficult read. Readers of all ages will find this story beautiful and hard to forget.
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