Let's Bust a Recap : Middlemarch

Ah, Middlemarch. The book that wouldn't end. This is not, in actuality, the longest book I've ever read, but it sure felt like it. I started reading this tome at the very beginning of March and didn't turn the final page until the tale end of July. Five solid months. Though to be fair, I largely ignored it for all of April. I know there are a lot of fans of this classic out there, but I can't say I've joined your ranks. 

Middlemarch was written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name George Eliot and originally published in eight installments in 1871 and 1872. In it, we follow the lives of Dorothea and Celia Brooke, Reverend Edward Casaubon and Sir James Chettam, Tertius Lydgate and Rosamond Vincy, Fred Vincy and Mary Garth, and Camden Farebrother and Will Ladislaw among a host of others, but these were the ones I was most interested in so they're the ones I'll mention. They all live in the fictitious village of Middlemarch and the novel is mainly about who marries who and how that goes for them. While the portraits Eliot paints of each character are penetrating and real and the situations complex and compelling, none of the characters were likable (except Farebrother who ends up with the rawest deal of them all) and all the politics of early 19th century provincial life had me falling asleep every time I was trying to read (what a slog). I was expecting something in the vein of Jane Austen, but what I got was something akin to the wordiness of Dickens married to the obscure politics of Tolstoy. 

For all that, this is not a bad novel. My sister-in-law read this along with me (although she was smart enough to tackle it via audio) and when I finally finished (months after she did), I told her that the entire novel was almost worth it for the very last sentence of the book alone. I mean, Eliot writes the absolute glorification of and resulting disillusionment with marriage in the cases of Dorothea and Casaubon and Rosamond and Lydgate with heartbreaking accuracy. She portrays the ruinous effect a completely self-absorbed wife (*cough*Rosamond*cough*) or an indifferent, neglectful husband (lookin' at you, Casaubon) can have on a marital relationship with poignancy. And her depiction of the acute strain financial hardship puts on a couple was strikingly vivid. Eliot managed to evoke strong emotions in me with her writing; unfortunately, they were mainly the negative emotions of frustration and exasperation. I wanted to shake Dorothea and smack Rosamond around a bit. I think the biggest problem I had was that my expectations were out of line with what ended up being my actual experience. I went into books like Anna Karenina and The Count of Monte Cristo being intimidated by their length and the fact that they were classic works in translation, then ended up being pleasantly surprised; whereas I approached Middlemarch with enthusiasm and ended up being underwhelmed and a bit disappointed even. 

Overall, I don't regret reading Middlemarch. I maybe didn't choose the best time to read it or approach it with the right mindset, but after the deaths of Thackeray (in 1863) and Dickens (in 1870) George Eliot became recognized as the greatest living English novelist at that time and Middlemarch is largely considered her greatest work though I tend to agree with the critic who said it was "overwrought and would have benefited from hastier composition". Interestingly, I learned in writing this post that Middlemarch is included in the same list as Ballet Shoes (which I also read this year) of the BBC's 100 Most Inspiring Novels, and it shows up on most every list the BBC puts together of exceptional novels. 

Would I recommend it? I mean, probably not if we're being honest. It's not one I'll be revisiting in future; but for its place in the canon of Victorian literature it might be worth a go if you're willing to give it some time.

I have one other Eliot novel in my collection—Daniel Deronda—but after making it through Middlemarch, I may call it quits with Eliot and stick Daniel Deronda in a Little Free Library somewhere. 

What do you think? Do I need to give Eliot another chance, and if so, what book can I not miss?