I think I found a new favorite author.
Okay, of course, it's hard to say that when I've only read one book by George Eliot. But it's such an exquisite book. It felt like the book I've been waiting for, one of those positively delicious books that you can't help but drink right in.
This book has all the elements I love the most in books. Characters that are beautiful and complex and inherently flawed. A story that is meaningful and important without needing extravagant epic proportions. A message that comes through, but that will necessarily look and feel different for every single reader. And above all, gorgeous writing.
I honestly don't know how to praise this book enough. After reading it, I can't imagine not liking a book by George Eliot. It's just that wonderful.
That said, I don't know if I would recommend this book to everyone. It's a wonderful read, but it's not a quick read (over 500 pages, and just the language itself is un-skim-able). It's not a particularly happy book--actually, it kind of goes in a downward spiral (and--spoiler alert--nobody exactly lives happily ever after). But it's just.so.good. I wish I could recommend it to everyone--I wish everyone could and would take the time and the consideration to appreciate it. This book has such a simplicity about it that I think it could too easily be stripped down to its bare-bones events, but as a true classic of writing, it has so much more than that.
My experience with this book reminds me of the experience I had with A Room with a View. It's almost hard to say anything about it because it was so poignant, so surreal, so magical of a moment, and it was over too fast.
The reason I say George Eliot is practically my new favorite author already is that not just her story, but her writing itself transcends time like no 19th-century writing I have ever read. Yes, the stories of Austen and Dickens are timeless, but (*please don't throw stones*) their writing is undeniably dated, however good. Eliot's writing, on the other hand, lives on just as vibrantly in the 21st century as it must have in the 19th century.
Have you ever read George Eliot? What do you think of her?
The reason I say George Eliot is practically my new favorite author already is that not just her story, but her writing itself transcends time like no 19th-century writing I have ever read. Yes, the stories of Austen and Dickens are timeless, but (*please don't throw stones*) their writing is undeniably dated, however good. Eliot's writing, on the other hand, lives on just as vibrantly in the 21st century as it must have in the 19th century.
Have you ever read George Eliot? What do you think of her?
I've read 5 books by Eliot so far, among which Mill on the Floss. I love Eliot, but I don't really like MOTF. It was just too sad for me... I did read it some 5 years back, so maybe I should reread it in the future and see if my opinion has changed. My favourite is Middlemarch btw, highly recommended!!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! So the others aren't as sad, then? I didn't expect it to be so sad, but it also seemed oddly happy to me, in a way. It felt right, I guess. Middlemarch is definitely going on my list!
DeleteNone of them are 'Austen-happy', if you understand what I mean. But many of the characters in the other books (besides MOTF) do get their happy or meaningful endings. Maybe not always with true love and bows and ribbons, but happy none-the-less
DeleteI have read and enjoyed Middlemarch and Silas Marner. Mill on the Floss is GOING to get read this year. As soon as I find time....
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see what you think of it!
DeleteI haven't read anything by George Eliot (although I keep meaning to), but I have read some about her. She broke so many boundaries in her time--it makes sense to me that her writing would do the same. I'll have to read this!
ReplyDeleteIt's true! We talked a little bit about her in my class. She was pretty incredible--she took so many risks.
DeleteI read Silas Marner years ago and was not inspired to read more, but you're the second person lately to recommend Floss, so it's on my to-read list now.
ReplyDeleteWhat didn't you like about it? I haven't heard that one recommended very often, so it probably won't be the next Eliot I read.
DeleteBlogger seems to have eaten my first reply. Sorry if you get two suddenly!
DeleteI honestly can't remember a whole lot about Silas Marner. From what I do recall, it was one of those sad stories of a good but poor person getting ground under the bootheels of society. But then it got happier, I think, and I don't remember it ending sadly.
But it was short! :-)
I've read Middlemarch, Silas Marner and I'm right in the middle of Daniel Deronda. What can I say about Eliot? I like her …… and then I have problems with her.
ReplyDeleteI think her writing is wonderful, I love how well-read she was and how passionate she was about her ideas and how that is emphasized in her writing. Her little quirk of putting her own personal thoughts into the narrative, is delightful. I feel like we are having a conversation.
I've watched a DVD on "How To Read A Book" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren and what I dislike about her writing, they say best: "George Eliot …… it's curious …… she was so marvellously able to create a whole world and yet she couldn't tell a simple, straightforward story without the plot creaking as she went along." I found that somewhat with Middlemarch and I'm also beginning to find it in Deronda. Perhaps her scope is too wide and she stretches too far to be able to pull it all together well. That said, I really enjoy her as an author. I haven't read The Mill on the Floss but it's high up on my to-read list.
Great review, Emily! I really enjoyed it! I agree what you say about her writing transcending centuries. She had ideas that were certainly head of her time. She would have been an interesting person to get to know.
Hmmm, interesting thoughts. Maybe the reason I like her so much is that I dislike stories that are, in my opinion, too narrow. I don't really like coming away from the book feeling like there was just one idea that the book was focused on. I like books that reflect life as it is, and life never focuses on one idea or moral or opinion. Then again, what are stories for if not to transcend the impossibilities of life? I guess I'll need to think about that one...
DeleteThey were comparing novels that communicated believability and were well-structured novels. The two classics that they said had both were War & Peace and Tom Jones; Eliot and Gone With the Wind had either one or the other. So they were by no means saying her writing is bad …… it's just not …… close to perfect …… ;-) (Adler & van Doren are pretty tough critics).
DeleteI don't mind her plots bumping along sometimes. It's very human. Victor Hugo has the quirk of putting in long digressions, as I'm sure other writers do. I rather like them.
She certainly doesn't focus on just one theme or idea, she aims for the sky. Good for her! I think it's one of the things that make her quite original as an author.
Hmmm, well, I think I may take issue with those two, since I happen to like both Eliot and Gone With the Wind... ;) (Although I've never read Tom Jones or War and Peace.) But I've never read How to Read a Book, so I probably can't make any judgment! Interesting ideas, though.
DeleteI had the same experience! I couldn't say anything about it other than "wow". It's a wonderful book, truly wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I find it very hard not to talk about the end!
I agree! The end was so sad and yet, so perfect, I thought. It was what the whole book was leading up to, and it was hard not to talk about it in my review!
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