Silas Marner in Classics and the Western Canon

Jun 05, 2009 Everyman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-library, classics, british-classics

I hated this when I was forced to read it in school. For some reason, went back to it about ten years later and loved it. Have read it several times since then, and each time I find it richer and more satisfying. It's a beautiful little tale with some morals right out in the open and others hidden. ...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, audiobooks, classics

This short classic novel reads almost like a fairy tale. Silas Marner is a miser who weaves during the day and counts his gold every night. He is a bitter recluse and lives alone in the world. All this changes when his gold and stolen. What seems at first to be misfortune, changes Marner's life when he finds a young orphan child in his home, who he adopts and loves. Beautiful story about love, fate, and redemption. ...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Matt rated it liked it

I’ll try to do this without spoilers. Just when I thought the story was leading to a dramatic conflict, it didn’t. Then when the climactic point of the book finally arrived, it was built up to a confrontation consisting of a mildly impolite conversation. Those Victorians. However, I don’t mean to overly minimize the drama... one of the characters did get “heated” during the argument. He even left without saying good-bye.

Plot aside, Silas Marner is surprisingly enjoyable. The first half of the bo ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Roger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, multiple-reads, georgian-era, 1001-books-list, victorian-era

I dutifully read this book decades ago in Junior High School. The sum total of what I remember is a miser and there was something about a girl. It did not make any kind of impression, much less a profound impression. Now, many years later, I decided, for unknown reasons, to read this book again. And I am happy I did.

Yes, this is a story of a miser who lives for his gold and silver coins. Having closed himself off from a world that has betrayed him, he finds his only solace in working to obtain h I dutifully read this book decades ago in Junior High School. The sum total of what I remember is a miser and there was something about a girl. It did not make any kind of impression, much less a profound impression. Now, many years later, I decided, for unknown reasons, to read this book again. And I am happy I did.

Yes, this is a story of a miser who lives for his gold and silver coins. Having closed himself off from a world that has betrayed him, he finds his only solace in working to obtain his treasure and bringing his treasure out every night to look at it. But he is not a hard or cruel or even selfish man. He is naïve and gentle. If he could just get rid of his gold, his life would be much better.

Like its main character, the story itself is gentle. The villains hardly ever appear, mercy is prevalent and justice while an important element in the story is nevertheless mild. The story celebrates the quiet, unfashionable happiness of love at home.

One of the features of this story is the revealing glimpse it provides of small town life during the era. Those familiar with Eliot’s Middlemarch know that few portray small town life more accurately or sympathetically than she does. One has the sense that this is really what it must have been like to live in that time and place. From this accurate depiction, the story develops in such a natural way that new insight is given into why people become misers, and why rigid class distinctions exist even in rural country neighborhoods.

The digressive, descriptive writing style prevalent in the Victorian era, is certainly present here, but this is a short book. My copy was only 150 pages. One can enjoy the leisurely pace of the story without having to make a long term commitment to the book. But the book still delivers an arresting climax that stays with me now that the book is done, and I expect I will remember it years from now. I did not remember any of it after reading it for school, but that is the difference between reading against your will and reading for pleasure. Surprise. Silas Marner is a pleasure.
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Jan 28, 2009 Laurel Hicks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2009, audible, 2023-5, books-read-in-2023

Another beautiful story of redemption. If you had to read this story in high school, read it again when you can enjoy it.

Moral: "Be sure your sin will find you out." ...more

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