akajahhssnznbzbz's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rebeccaasavage's review
4.0
George Eliot at her purest. The themes that shape her work are here in their rawest form. I’m so glad I ended with her first published work.
jazose's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
sarahepierce's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
booksbythewindow's review
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2022/04/20/scenes-of-clerical-life/
Summary and Overall Thoughts: Scenes of Clerical Life is made up of three shorter works of Eliot's, all revolving around clergy members. The first work included in Scenes of Clerical Life is ‘The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton’, Eliot’s first fiction work and probably the one that most closely resembles some of her later works. In fact, early on in the story Eliot’s unnamed narrator introduces the reader to one of the writing philosophies that would come to define Eliot’s work throughout her life, in defending the decision to focus on an ‘insignificant’ character: ‘is there not a pathos in their very insignificance – in our comparison of their dim and narrow existence with the glorious possibilities of that human nature which they share’ (p.37).
Probably the most creative of the three works is ‘Mr Gilfil’s Love Story’, although this was probably the one I found least engaging of the three. Eliot tells the story in an interesting way, flashing back to share information with the reader that the congregation who loved Mr Gilfil so much did not have access to.
The final work, ‘Janet’s Repentance’ was unexpectedly the one which I most enjoyed. Again, taking place in a small, country town, it is ostensibly about the tensions across the town after the arrival of a curate who is teaching the gospel rather than the easy moralism the town prefers.
I was not at all sure what to expect from Scenes of Clerical Life but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the stories included. These three works are an interesting picture of Eliot’s start in fiction, with many elements that will later be expanded on in her later works.
Summary and Overall Thoughts: Scenes of Clerical Life is made up of three shorter works of Eliot's, all revolving around clergy members. The first work included in Scenes of Clerical Life is ‘The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton’, Eliot’s first fiction work and probably the one that most closely resembles some of her later works. In fact, early on in the story Eliot’s unnamed narrator introduces the reader to one of the writing philosophies that would come to define Eliot’s work throughout her life, in defending the decision to focus on an ‘insignificant’ character: ‘is there not a pathos in their very insignificance – in our comparison of their dim and narrow existence with the glorious possibilities of that human nature which they share’ (p.37).
Probably the most creative of the three works is ‘Mr Gilfil’s Love Story’, although this was probably the one I found least engaging of the three. Eliot tells the story in an interesting way, flashing back to share information with the reader that the congregation who loved Mr Gilfil so much did not have access to.
The final work, ‘Janet’s Repentance’ was unexpectedly the one which I most enjoyed. Again, taking place in a small, country town, it is ostensibly about the tensions across the town after the arrival of a curate who is teaching the gospel rather than the easy moralism the town prefers.
I was not at all sure what to expect from Scenes of Clerical Life but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the stories included. These three works are an interesting picture of Eliot’s start in fiction, with many elements that will later be expanded on in her later works.
aliteraryprincess's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alex_ellermann's review
3.0
‘Scenes of Clerical Life’ is early Eliot: promising and incisive, but not yet matured into the towering figure she would become.
The scenes of the title represent three short stories, or perhaps novelas, all centered around a fictional town in the British countryside. In some respects, the stories seem more character sketches and trial runs than fully engaging tales populated by real people. Nevertheless, Eliot’s remarkable prose entrances the reader, making one relish her work for its turns of phrase as much as for its plotting and theme.
Recommended for: Eliot Completists, Anglophiles
The scenes of the title represent three short stories, or perhaps novelas, all centered around a fictional town in the British countryside. In some respects, the stories seem more character sketches and trial runs than fully engaging tales populated by real people. Nevertheless, Eliot’s remarkable prose entrances the reader, making one relish her work for its turns of phrase as much as for its plotting and theme.
Recommended for: Eliot Completists, Anglophiles
ladybookdragon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0