Book 146: Starting Middlemarch by George Eliot.

I've been avoiding getting back into Nicholas Nickleby, so I started a new chunkster for the Victorian Celebration instead. I've been craving some Eliot since finishing The Lifted Veil last week, and Middlemarch was calling to me off the shelf. After staring at it, Nicholas Nickleby, and Far From the Madding Crowd, the pink cover won out and I started it Sunday morning.

Needless to say, I am flying steadily through Eliot's chunkster. It has been years since I've read it, so bits of the story are "new" to me on this read. I forgot how Eliot begins the narrative in one place, introducing the reader to a character or two...then meanders to someone we met briefly, then to another, and another. It works in some odd way. And while the characters we met in chapter one disappear for 100 pages, I still remembered exactly what they were up to when the disappeared from view for a bit.

I also love the comfort of Eliot's writing as she discusses the "Miss Brookes" and their problems. She has such a warm tone to the way she describes their interactions that it brings a smile to my face as I read. I love Celia's snarky comments, and Dorothea's determination that she knows what is best. I also love the meddling neighbors, the concern over who will wed who, and the silly politics of a sleepy country town. It makes me smile and keeps me turning the pages.

And while I know I've read this before, I am still anxious for the characters and wondering what will happen to them by the end of 880 page edition of the book I have. That is the mark of a great writer-that I can still wonder at their intent. That I can still question what a character will say or do when I turn the page.

The whole thing just feels comforting and warm-just what I need right now.