George Eliot: The Lifted Veil

Hi everyone

This review is about my Little Black Classics book called The Lifted Veil. It contains ‘The Lifted Veil’ (a novella) and ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’ (a small essay) both by George Eliot.
My copy has 110 pages and I got it from Bol.

“Latimer, a sensitive and intellectual man, finds he has clairvoyant powers: he has a vision of a woman, "pale, fatal-eyed", who he later meets: she is Bertha Grant, his brother's fiancee. Entranced and bewildered, Latimer is unwilling to take heed of the warning visions which beset him.”

I wasn’t blown away by the story but I did enjoy reading it.
The writingstyle is elegant and easy to read.
I liked the supernatural elements and the gothic feeling throughout the novel and the buildup to the finale is great and it did surprise me.

But I would have preferred to read more about the relationship with Bertha instead of his schooldays.
And the narrator tends to complain a lot; something I don’t enjoy reading about.

2 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena

George Eliot: Silas Marner

Hi everyone

Silas Marner is my first George Eliot novel.
My copy has 207 pages of story and 11 pages with letters and reviews.

“Wrongly accused of theft and exiled from a religious community many years before, the embittered weaver Silas Marner lives alone in Raveloe, living only for work and his precious hoard of money. But when his money is stolen and an orphaned child finds her way into his house, Silas is given the chance to transform his life. His fate, and that of the little girl he adopts, is entwined with Godfrey Cass, son of the village Squire, who, like Silas, is trapped by his past. Silas Marner, George Eliot's favourite of her novels, combines humour, rich symbolism and pointed social criticism to create an unsentimental but affectionate portrait of rural life.”

Silas Marner is a classic fairy tale. It’s a feel-good story with a happy end that’s just a little too sentimental for my tastes.

The writing is vivid and elegant and I could really imagine myself living there and going through the motions in the little village. Silas Marner is really beautifully written. The only thing I didn't like was the written dialect some characters spoke. Because English isn't my native language I find it very hard to read imperfect English, especially when it's such a strong dialect.
I liked the characterization too. Eliot made me care for most characters in the book.

The transformation of the way Silas grows is perfectly written. I felt like I was there with him, observing him and watching everything.

All in all, I really enjoyed the story and it left me feeling warm and fuzzy.

3 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena