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Inder's review

Cranford (Penguin Classics)
by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, Patricia Ingham

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182381.Cranford?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Cranford (Penguin Classics)" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1172513915m/182381.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182381.Cranford?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Cranford</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1413437.Elizabeth_Cleghorn_Gaskell">Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21642240?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars Ah, so delightful! I loved this. It's really a series of vignettes, and, if there is a plot at all, it doesn't show up until halfway through. But it's so funny! And sad! And it's all about women! I laughed aloud a few times, and almost cried a few other times. 
 
 Sigh. I'm such a sucker for this stuff. But I loved it. Despite its disjunctive narrative, I read the whole book in less than three days. But I'm strange that way.
 
 For Happy (I would alert readers to spoilers, but there actually isn't much to spoil):
 
 Yeah, the makers of the Masterpiece adaptation took some serious liberties with the plot (or lack thereof). The series is fun and I'm really enjoying it, but it contains several plot lines that are not in the book. In fact, arguably the most important plot lines in the series are completely made up (as opposed to completely made up by Gaskell, I guess). For example, the young doctor and his girl, and all the associated story-lines, simply do not exist in the book. The carpenter with the broken bones - it's all made up. (That disappointed me, because, ever since Middlemarch, I've had a soft spot for young, ambitious doctors in 19th Century English villages. Alas, it was not to be found.) The cute kid who wants to rise above his station? Not only isn't he in the book, but I think the entire idea of him is alien to this novella, which (unlike Gaskell's other work) is centered entirely around the middle and aristocratic classes (and shifts therein), and barely touches on the working class at all.
 
 More mildly, all of the timing is wrong (understandable, since following the vignettes too closely would result in a almost cliff-hanger free show, not good TV). And they skip a couple of deaths. There are a surprising number of deaths in this short novella, and I can see that if the series were more faithful to the book, it might be just too depressing. The book is never depressing, although it has sad moments, because of the quality of the narration, but this is difficult to reproduce on film.
 
 Overall, there are probably more inconsistencies than similarities between the two. But it's hard to blame the screen-writer - the book doesn't offer much in the way of actual action to work with, and is noticeably missing any love affairs between attractive young people, which, let's face it, is the bread and butter of Masterpiece. The droll, sarcastic, disjunctive narration of commonplace events, makes for a particularly difficult adaptation.
 
 But I love it - a new favorite narrator for me.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/250817?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Inder's review
rating:
bookshelves: 1001-books, 19th-century, read-2008

Ah, so delightful! I loved this. It's really a series of vignettes, and, if there is a plot at all, it doesn't show up until halfway through. But it's so funny! And sad! And it's all about women! I laughed aloud a few times, and almost cried a few other times.

Sigh. I'm such a sucker for this stuff. But I loved it. Despite its disjunctive narrative, I read the whole book in less than three days. But I'm strange that way.

For Happy (I would alert readers to spoilers, but there actually isn't much to spoil):

Yeah, the makers of the Masterpiece adaptation took some serious liberties with the plot (or lack thereof). The series is fun and I'm really enjoying it, but it contains several plot lines that are not in the book. In fact, arguably the most important plot lines in the series are completely made up (as opposed to completely made up by Gaskell, I guess). For example, the young doctor and his girl, and all the associated story-lines, simply do not exist i...more Ah, so delightful! I loved this. It's really a series of vignettes, and, if there is a plot at all, it doesn't show up until halfway through. But it's so funny! And sad! And it's all about women! I laughed aloud a few times, and almost cried a few other times.

Sigh. I'm such a sucker for this stuff. But I loved it. Despite its disjunctive narrative, I read the whole book in less than three days. But I'm strange that way.

For Happy (I would alert readers to spoilers, but there actually isn't much to spoil):

Yeah, the makers of the Masterpiece adaptation took some serious liberties with the plot (or lack thereof). The series is fun and I'm really enjoying it, but it contains several plot lines that are not in the book. In fact, arguably the most important plot lines in the series are completely made up (as opposed to completely made up by Gaskell, I guess). For example, the young doctor and his girl, and all the associated story-lines, simply do not exist in the book. The carpenter with the broken bones - it's all made up. (That disappointed me, because, ever since Middlemarch, I've had a soft spot for young, ambitious doctors in 19th Century English villages. Alas, it was not to be found.) The cute kid who wants to rise above his station? Not only isn't he in the book, but I think the entire idea of him is alien to this novella, which (unlike Gaskell's other work) is centered entirely around the middle and aristocratic classes (and shifts therein), and barely touches on the working class at all.

More mildly, all of the timing is wrong (understandable, since following the vignettes too closely would result in a almost cliff-hanger free show, not good TV). And they skip a couple of deaths. There are a surprising number of deaths in this short novella, and I can see that if the series were more faithful to the book, it might be just too depressing. The book is never depressing, although it has sad moments, because of the quality of the narration, but this is difficult to reproduce on film.

Overall, there are probably more inconsistencies than similarities between the two. But it's hard to blame the screen-writer - the book doesn't offer much in the way of actual action to work with, and is noticeably missing any love affairs between attractive young people, which, let's face it, is the bread and butter of Masterpiece. The droll, sarcastic, disjunctive narration of commonplace events, makes for a particularly difficult adaptation.

But I love it - a new favorite narrator for me....less

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message 1: by Happyreader (last edited 05/05/2008 11:41AM)

05/05/2008 11:40AM

Did you know that the miniseries of Cranford with Judi Dench and Imelda Staunton started last night on Masterpiece Theater? I taped it but haven't watched it yet. I love the TV version of Wives and Daughters.

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message 2: by Inder

05/05/2008 11:43AM

I watched it last night and loved it! But I felt guilty, because I haven't read the book, and I'm a huge Gaskell fan. Since it's available "On Demand" on Cable, I thought I might just read it now, so that I can get back to the minseries without major angst!

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message 3: by Happyreader

05/05/2008 11:51AM

Good plan. Since I know I won't be reading it any time soon, my plan is to watch now, forget most of the plot, and then read the book later.

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message 4: by Happyreader

05/14/2008 04:19AM

Any major plot liberties? If so, can you do a spoilers version of your review? I'm loving the series. Judi Dench is fabulous. I can hardly wait for next Sunday's finale.

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message 5: by Happyreader

05/15/2008 08:07PM

You're not kidding with the plot liberties. Perhaps BBC felt the need to "sex" it up. I have to admit I'm enjoying Gaius Octavian Caesar from Rome as the doctor. Plus there's death a plenty as it is. I'm OK with some of that being cut. Last Sunday's ending was so sad.

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