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Middlemarch

George Eliot

Start date: March 1, 2024

Finish date: March 31, 2024

Why we're reading this: 2024 March Old School Classics Group Read

2020 September Revisit the Shelf book

2016 1st Quarter Long Read
J…more
[close] 2024 March Old School Classics Group Read

2020 September Revisit the Shelf book

2016 1st Quarter Long Read
January -- March

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What Members Thought

Mar 18, 2014 Jaylia3 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2022, 2022-re-read

2022--I still love and am awed by this novel.

Review from 2014:
After the first of its eight sections I read this wonderful Victorian classic slowly, usually savoring just one chapter a day until I sped up at the very end. It’s a pace that imitates the serial way it was released, though Middlemarch was actually published in the eight “books” and now it’s divided into the individual chapters of each “book.”

I can highly recommend the leisurely approach. Reading just a little every day kept me inter 2022--I still love and am awed by this novel.

Review from 2014:
After the first of its eight sections I read this wonderful Victorian classic slowly, usually savoring just one chapter a day until I sped up at the very end. It’s a pace that imitates the serial way it was released, though Middlemarch was actually published in the eight “books” and now it’s divided into the individual chapters of each “book.”

I can highly recommend the leisurely approach. Reading just a little every day kept me interested, engaged, and appreciative of the especially rich text, full of insightful commentary, trenchant thoughts, and germane asides, while still allowing me to keep track of the large cast of characters and their interconnecting stories. Each chapter was a highlight of my day so I feel (temporarily, I hope) at a loss now that I’ve finished the book.

Of the novel's many threads the most prominent involve idealistic Dorothea Brooke, who against the advice of everyone marries a dried up religious pedant of a man thinking he will lead her to a life of meaning, and Tertius Lydgate, a doctor with great plans for doing good who traps himself in a marriage that foils all his dreams.

Before starting Middlemarch I mistakenly thought it was a depressing novel of thwarted love and ambition, but that’s far from the case though it does address serious issues that include marriage, religion, political reform, the expectations of society, and the status of women. The book ends with a realistic mix of poignancy, happiness, and hope, not unmitigated tragedy.

What I maybe treasure most about the novel is how sympathetically it is written. There are villains of a sort, vapid selfish Rosamund, mean spirited Mr. Casaubon and hypocritical Mr Bulstrode, and there are certainly characters that make very bad decisions, like Lydgate and Dorothea, but George Eliot writes with such level-headed sensibility and understanding that their troubles touched me and I couldn’t condemn or belittle any of them. ...more

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Aug 05, 2013 Ray rated it really liked it

Oh Lord, I know this is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time, and I will reflect on its themes time and again. And, for the most part, I did not enjoy reading the first 75% of the book. There were parts that captured my interest, but mostly I felt a bit like I was slogging through the book. However, I don't believe that any part could have been left out. The last 25% brought all the stories together. There is a lot of detail in the book about the people and the way they live ...more

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Nov 25, 2015 Kris rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-physical, classics, audible, own-audio

Rounding up to 3.5.

Due to real life, this took me much longer than it should have. Started in January then put it down until April. Read for a while and then put it down until late June. I think all the stopping and starting detracted from the reading experience.

It started slow but did pick up in the last 3rd. I enjoyed how she captured the feel of the life and characters. I especially enjoyed Fred and Mary's story, as well as Dorothea's.

I will definitely pick up more from George Eliot. ...more

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