From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

Middlemarch

George Eliot

Start date: July 1, 2012

Finish date: August 31, 2012

Why we're reading this: This is the group read for July. This also is one of the authors in the author's challenge.…more
[close] This is the group read for July. This also is one of the authors in the author's challenge.

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Oct 17, 2021 Nina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-aty, classics

Middlemarch has been on my TBR for many years, staring at me intimidatingly with one eyebrow raised. I’ve had a few false starts with it, mostly because of the opening line, “Who that cares much to know the history of man, and how the mysterious mixture behaves under the varying experiments of Time, has not dwelt, at least briefly, on the life of Saint Theresa, has not smiled with some gentleness at the thought of the little girl walking forth one morning hand in hand with her still smaller brot Middlemarch has been on my TBR for many years, staring at me intimidatingly with one eyebrow raised. I’ve had a few false starts with it, mostly because of the opening line, “Who that cares much to know the history of man, and how the mysterious mixture behaves under the varying experiments of Time, has not dwelt, at least briefly, on the life of Saint Theresa, has not smiled with some gentleness at the thought of the little girl walking forth one morning hand in hand with her still smaller brother to go and seek martyrdom in the country of the Moors?”

As when I resisted the request of the humble narrator of another great work of literature to call him Ishmael, thereby depriving myself for many years of the knowledge of cetacean physiognomy and the habits of cannibals that Herman Melville lovingly bestowed upon me, I had a difficult time assenting when asked about whether I’ve spent any time pondering the life of a saint about whom I know next to nothing. It’s not a very good excuse, but it’s the only one I really have, with the possible exception of the intimidating effect of the sheer size of the book. I would read those words, ponder them for a few moments, and then decide to defer further reflection on them to a later date.

In a way, though, I am glad that I delayed it as long as I did because I don’t think I would have gotten as much out of this book when I was younger. When Virginia Woolf said that this was a book written for grown up people, she had the right of it. It is a book that is greatly enhanced by having experienced enough of life to have some understanding of what each of the characters in the ensemble cast is going through, as I’m sure the author’s intention was to make us feel sympathy even for the characters whose behavior is abhorrent in many respects. Some of these characters behave abominably indeed, but, with a couple of notable exceptions, the way the characters behave is generally understandable in the context of the complex interactions between their personalities and the situations in which they find themselves. They make mistakes and have to live with the consequences of those mistakes. Just like all grown up people have to do.

It’s a book that is slow out the gate, but the journey on which it takes you is worth it. ...more

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