Classics Without All the Class discussion

Middlemarch is a novel of epic proportions, but it transforms the notion of an epic. Epics usually narrate the tale of one important hero who experiences grand adventure, and they usually interpret events according to a grand design of fate. Every event has immediate, grand consequences. Kings and dynasties are made and unmade in epic tales.

You discussion leader for this book is Eremi! We are very happy to have her lead :)

I guess it's about time I get around to reading this, everyone else I think has read it but me! I'm looking forward to the discussion :)

It was a struggle for me when I read it before, but I was just reading it to have read it, with no goal in sight. Having a reason and people to talk over it with will probably make it much easier.

I'm coming to this book from the perspective of a TV binge-watcher, hoping it won't be a fatal clash of imaginative civilizations.

I haven’t read it since college. I remember finding it a bit of a grind till the last 150 pages or so, when the author burrows so deeply into Dorothea’s consciousness that you’re inside her the whole time as she transforms. The TV/movie equivalent of that would be keeping the camera on one character for the last quarter of the show, so that everything that happens is filtered through that person’s mind and personal development.

Hey, the introduction you made to this book is really interesting. Could somebody please add a link? It would be nice to see if I can find it in my town

Middlemarch

I'm up to about chapter 13 and was following it all ok and finding it interesting until the last couple of chapters, when we've moved off to a whole new group of characters and I'm having trouble keeping them all straight. I'm assuming it will all combine more with the original storyline at some point, though.

I just got Middlemarch in the mail today, so will start soon! Looking forward to this.

Hi everyone! This is one of my all-time favorite novels. I'm super excited to re-read it and discuss with the group!

Eremi wrote: "Hi everyone! This is one of my all-time favorite novels. I'm super excited to re-read it and discuss with the group!"

It's really great to have you leading discussion knowing that you have read and admire the book!

Alana wrote: "I'm up to about chapter 13 and was following it all ok and finding it interesting until the last couple of chapters, when we've moved off to a whole new group of characters and I'm having trouble k..."

Alana, I am at the same place and feeling the same way. I was just getting a real grasp on the three female characters and the suitors. Book Two kind of threw me but I am getting acclimated.

I can tell this novel will be slow-going for me, but Eliot's prose is just gorgeous. I feel like I'm highlighting the entire book on my Kindle.

Cop wrote: "Hey, the introduction you made to this book is really interesting. Could somebody please add a link? It would be nice to see if I can find it in my town"

Hey Cop, the book is available for free at Project Gutenberg.

Holly wrote: "I can tell this novel will be slow-going for me, but Eliot's prose is just gorgeous. I feel like I'm highlighting the entire book on my Kindle."

Right?! I love all her little authorial asides. So insightful and wise!

Alana wrote: "I'm up to about chapter 13 and was following it all ok and finding it interesting until the last couple of chapters, when we've moved off to a whole new group of characters and I'm having trouble k..."

alana, it absolutely will all link up and make sense. Every character has a reason for being there. The key metaphor for the book is the spider web, symbol of how there is so much interconnectedness between individuals, among the various levels of society (town and ''county'' landed people, and the ''new'' intellectuals like the doctor).
Oh, such a rich book!

It's not that I don't think it will all be linked, it's more like I feel like I need a family tree or diagram to keep track of who they all are! :)

Hello, This is my first time reading with this group. I have to say I was intimidated by the length of the book. I'm on Chapter 8 and so far it's very enjoyable, funny, and considerate. Hopefully I can keep up when the semester starts back and textbooks take over my life again.

If you find the going starts getting too slow, maybe switch to the audiobook for a while? There's an unabridged version read by one of my favorite narrators, Nadia May. She's wonderful with all the different British accents and has a really lovely voice that's perfect for this sort novel.

Hi all Iam Benita Toppo and Iam glad to be joining this group. Guess what, i already have this book in my little library ... Let me get started ..

I'm through Chapter 19 - I really like Lydgate and Rosamond so far, or maybe it's that I just really loved Eliot's writing in Chapter 16 (which mostly concerned them). Two passages that stuck out to me:

Many men have been praised as vividly imaginative on the strength of their profuseness in indifferent drawing or cheap narration:—reports of very poor talk going on in distant orbs; or portraits of Lucifer coming down on his bad errands as a large ugly man with bat's wings and spurts of phosphorescence; or exaggerations of wantonness that seem to reflect life in a diseased dream. But these kinds of inspirations Lydgate regarded as rather vulgar and vinous compared with the imagination that reveals subtle actions inaccessible by any sort of lens, but tracked in that outer darkness through long pathways of necessary sequence by the inward light which is the last refinement of Energy, capable of bathing even the ethereal atoms in its ideally illuminated space.

It had not occurred to Lydgate that he had been a subject of eager meditation to Rosamond, who had neither any reason for throwing her marriage into distant perspective, nor any pathological studies to divert her mind from that ruminating habit, that inward repetition of looks, words, and phrases, which makes a large part in the lives of most girls.

Yes, the audio books method is a great way to do a novel and work on other things at the same time. I do it regularly.

Abigail wrote: "I haven’t read it since college. I remember finding it a bit of a grind till the last 150 pages or so, when the author burrows so deeply into Dorothea’s consciousness that you’re inside her the who..."

Dorothea was the main reason for me reading the book. Her character was, to me, intriguing because she is a person deeply committed to idealism, but at the same time sailing into circumstances where it would not be realised.

Amelia wrote: "Hello, This is my first time reading with this group. I have to say I was intimidated by the length of the book. I'm on Chapter 8 and so far it's very enjoyable, funny, and considerate. Hopefully I..."

Yes, the length is a bit intimidating. But I never find it over-wordy or dull. For me the whole thing is quite a meditation.

I haven't read a book of the month here for a long time. For some reason I was worried this one would be dull, and I wouldn't be able to get into it. I'm thrilled to discover it is funny and full of interesting characters. I'm listening to the audiobook read by Kate Reading. She's done a lovely job.

I have learned that my reading comprehension is not the best when it comes to classics of this era. I have had a hard time staying focused. Today I purchased the audio version and on my luxurious morning off of work, enjoyed reading and listening at the same time. I already feel like I am getting much more from Middlemarch because the narrator, Juliet Stevenson, so skillfully delivers the different characters and the inflections that Eliot intends. I think this is what I was missing while reading the book alone.

Middlemarch is one of those books I dread to see sitting on the shelf because of the epic size of it but then once I am entrenched in the book, it is so hard to put down. I love all of the intricate plot lines that weave around everything and pull the community together.

Up to Book IV now. I'm getting better at keeping all of these characters straight. Makes me think of the world of Faulkner and all of his interconnected characters. Eliot created some very interesting, flawed persons!

I'm halfway through and really trying to enjoy Middlemarch. I'm not loving it yet but not giving up either.

I just started reading this today. I have been wanting to read it for years and in fact, tried once, but the first chapter seemed incomprehensible at the time. I now understand, that at least for me, when it comes to reading the "classics," it takes several chapters for me to "fall" into the language patterns of the individual authors. Anyway, just happened to find this group tonight, which thrilled me. Not sure that I will finish by the end of January, but not too concerned about that. I'm much more interested in reading the comments of others, as they often make me consider things I would not have considered otherwise. Just 5 chapters in, but I am really enjoying it. Dorothea certainly has some high expectations for herself and others - mainly herself! As I was reading Mr. Casaubon's marriage proposal to Dorothea, I couldn't help but think that he is not at all in love with her; he just wants someone who will listen to him, assist him with his work, and basically "worship" him. Maybe I am reading it all wrong.

Finished Book 1 last night. I love Thomas Hardy so I'm happy for an excuse to read more of his contemporaries. So far I agree with some of the other comments. It's starting off a bit slow and it's not clear where it is going but there are lots of funny, quotable insights into human nature. To wit:

"The mistakes we male and female mortals make when we have our own way might fairly raise some wonder that we are so fond of it."

Lisa wrote: "Maybe I am reading it wrong."

Not for a minute! Casaubon is obviously using Dorothea as a support for his tedious obsessions and is in no way an affectionate man.

Just curious -- where is everybody? I'm in the middle of book 5.

Not exactly sure where I am, 9% along according to Kindle so still early days!
Enjoying it so far and very impatient to see where the story is leading. Was put off George Eliot by the prolonged dissection of Silas Marner for GCSE, but so glad this group encouraged me to read Middlemarch - thoroughly enjoyed her clever writing.

I and in Book 7 and not liking Rosamond very much. I understand she is frustrated with her husband but she is spoiled and sneaky.

I'm near the end of book 5. I really love the characters and the insights into what makes them tick. I've also found myself looking up information about the politics of the time to better understand the Brooke-Ladislaw story line.

Thomas wrote: "...I've also found myself looking up information about the politics of the time to better understand the Brooke-Ladislaw story line. ..."

Ooh that sounds interesting. Have you learned anything worth sharing? My understanding of the politics behind it all is pretty basic.

I know we have moved on; I was traveling and lost track of time, but did want to note that I read this book a few months ago. Despite its length I was able to get through it fairly quickly. I enjoyed its depicture of this small community and many residents. It was a slice of life type of book that wouldn't be published today. It was in the tradition of literary realism an almost non-fiction sociological look at the politics and communal relations of the residents. I did enjoy it. In scope it is the equal of Ulysses but easier to read.