Thursday, June 9, 2011

Book 90: Silas Marner and Book Stats.

Title: Silas Marner
Author: George Eliot (1819-1880)

First Published: 1861
My Edition: Signet Classic (pictured at left)
Pages: 208

Other Works Include: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Romola (1863), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), How Lisa Loved the King (1869), Middlemarch (1871-72), and Daniel Deronda (1876)

I am a HUGE fan of George Eliot and have read all of her novels except Daniel Deronda. I think she is simply marvelous.

This will be my third time reading Silas Marner. I had to read it for a class in college, and I read it on my own a couple years after that (fairly recently I think). It was the first novel I read by Eliot and it wasn't until I finished that I realized Eliot was a female. :) While not my favorite of her books, I still love this story. It is so hopeful and uplifting-just what I need as I wind down the semester.

I have already read one Eliot for my challenge. The Mill on the Floss was book 22 (my favorite number, btw), and it was one of my favorites reads last year-I would probably say it booted Middlemarch as my favorite! Here are the links to TMOTF posts if you are curious (I recommend the "Passages" post if you are unfamiliar with her writing style-it'll give you a glimpse....gosh I love her writing!):
I've heard that a lot of schools have this one as required reading, but my high school didn't. Did yours? Anyone else read this one? Love Eliot? Just want to say hello?

7 comments:

  1. This was my first and only Eliot. The first half was very difficult to get through, but I loved the second half. I've wanted to read more from her, especially Daniel Deronda, but I've been scared to...

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  2. I'm about halfway through Daniel Deronda right now and I do like it, though I'm taking a break to finish up other books that are due at the library. I just loved Middlemarch though I found the first 100 pages slow. It was so worth it since the rest was just wonderful.

    I listened to Silas Marner on audio a couple of summers ago, and I think I might have given up on it if it hadn't been my walking-the-dog listen. I liked it ultimately but it seemed like it took forever to go anywhere, and it's so short!

    And I somehow managed to graduate high school having read hardly any classic lit -- freshman year I only read To Kill a Mockingbird, Heart of Darkness and the textbook anthology short stories (which were actually pretty good). We did not read Romeo and Juliet -- we watched the movie! Same with The Great Gatsby! In retrospect I'm shocked -- my daughter is required to read The Count of Monte Cristo this summer for her freshman English class. Unabridged!

    Needless to say, my lack of classics knowledge inspired me to start reading them about five or six years ago, and now I'm kind of obsessed.

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  3. This was my first too and made me a confirmed Elliot fan! I've spaced out reading her novels, though, so they'll last longer. lol I'm actually starting Mill on the Floss very soon. :D

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  4. I would like to just say hello! I just found your blog and love what I've seen so far. I'm now a follower and plan to come back often.

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  5. This one was much easier than Middlemarch but I'm not sure I liked it as much. Wasn't required in high school (though I wasn't in the advanced courses), but I had to read it in college.

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  6. Okay, I am going to say this then run behind something sturdy. I had no idea George Eliot was a woman. No idea! Fail times a million.

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  7. I loved this in high school but reread it recently and was disappointed. It's just NOTHING compared to the majesty of MIDDLEMARCH. I am about to read my third Eliot -- THE MILL ON THE FLOSS. I hope it's more like MIDDLEMARCH.

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