[subdue] Adam Bede, by George Eliot, 4 stars

[NancyJ]

Adam Bede was the first book written by George Eliot, whose real name was Mary Ann Evans. This is a slow paced, beautifully written book about life in a small village in England in 1799. The central tragic drama in the story involves Adam Bede, who secretly loves 17 year old Hetty, who is seduced by Arthur, the son of a rich landowner. That part of the book reminded me of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The wide cast of other characters reminded me of Jane Austen and Downton Abbey, with carpenters, dairy farmers and ministers instead of the landed gentry. Some chapters were absolutely transcendent, but others led me to take more breaks than usual. I think the audio narration contributed to the unevenness I experienced. A few of the characters were given unpleasant voices to go along with their critical or misogynistic comments. The audio book was 19 hours long, and I enjoyed it more when I spread it out over the week. I plan to read Middlemarch, and I’ll do the same thing.

The book was set in 1799, and written 60 years later in 1859. The author occasionally breaks the fourth wall (I don’t know the equivalent literary term), and speaks to the reader to defend a character or explain how things were different ‘so long ago.’ Some of these breaks in the action were absolutely delightful, though they did take me out of the story a bit. I began to think about what they revealed about the author’s values, cultural values in the two time periods, and the author’s relationships to the characters. I believe that two of the characters were based on people she knew and respected, and those two characters were idealized compared to the others. By the end of the book, I was picturing the character of Dinah with a sort of glow or halo around her head.

[Joy D]

Nice review, Nancy! I enjoyed this one too. I agree that Middlemarch is definitely one to be read in short bursts.

[NancyJ]

Joy D wrote: "Nice review, Nancy! I enjoyed this one too. I agree that Middlemarch is definitely one to be read in short bursts."

Yes I remembered that from your review. I thought about that while reading this one too.

[Joy D]

Very cool :-)