malliebat's review
2.0
The book wasn't bad and I can see why readers would enjoy it, especially those who read it around the time it was first published. Unfortunately, I personally found it to be predictable from very early on and none of the characters were compelling enough for me to get attached to them or into the events of the plot. In all honesty, if it hadn't been a class assignment, I probably never would have bothered to actually read it, let alone finish it. That said, I do feel that this book has merit and I recognize that many people enjoy it for its descriptive imagery, working class elements, and depiction of Victorian era life.
muuske's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
alexsiddall's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't understand that Hetty was pregnant until it was absolutely spelled out. Adam and Seth are impossibly one-dimensional. Nevertheless it's a good tale, and the author's descriptions and inclusive style (drawing the reader in) are engaging. I enjoyed it very much but feel it has some major flaws for today's reader. I imagine it was quite shocking and taboo-breaking when first published.
catrionalennon's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tabbrower's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
After what felt like five weeks and was closer to three, during which time I told every friend I have that I was very bored and having a good time, I finally finished Adam Bede! I both think it was really good and actually just kind of fine. I don't think much space is wasted, actually, but the story and its cudgel of consequences didn't always feel...worthy of 500 pages? There are so many moments of insight and beauty, redemption and consequence are both discussed with nuance even though the plot emphasizes them with less nuance, the characters and setting are lovingly and well painted, and once it gets going, there are twists the likes of which I've never had such pleasure in describing to my friends, but I think Adam Bede, overall, didn't leave much of an impression on me. I have a lot of thoughts about it! But not a lot of feelings, and that's a bummer. I'm a little bummed! At its core a sympathetic story of some kind of interesting gossip that happens in the next town over, you know? To both its detriment and praise.
quinzel_14's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kristinana's review against another edition
4.0
I read this novel because someone told me it had opium use in it (for my dissertation), but I didn't find any. Oh, well -- it's still one more George Eliot read! This was very good, though it still doesn't touch Middlemarch or The Mill on the Floss. Starts very slowly, but becomes quite gripping. The relationship between the vain Hetty and the saintlike Dinah seems like a kind of blueprint for the less extreme Rosamond and Dorothea. And the idea of a female preacher is really interesting. But what is especially impressive about this novel is that, like Eliot's other novels, she really makes you see a perspective and motive you otherwise don't get and helps you understand characters who would normally just be "bad" and thus given no inner life. You don't necessarily identify with such characters, but you can see their point of view, something that is rare in Victorian novelists (and even in contemporary ones, for that matter). To see such an extended representation of a seduced woman and especially of her seducer is highly unusual in the Victorian novels I've read. (For the seduced/fallen woman, there's Tess and Ruth, but not much else I can think of -- other fallen women are sometimes sympathetically portrayed but almost always othered -- we can pity them but must see them as very different from ourselves). The ending was disappointing (though very Victorian, so I wasn't really surprised, other than hoping for something different from Eliot). However, I'm more and more convinced (especially due to my dissertation work) that the ending is not at all the point. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.