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A review by elianageorgiana
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
4.0
I might just have stockholm syndrome, but I didn't expect to be anywhere near as attached to these characters as I am now. This was a delightful read, written in a way that's so clever and so playful. At first, I thought Sophia was crafted in the tired, idealised mold of the prototypical Georgian female—a tame and passive character archetype that typically bores me to death, but I quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. Her scintillating vivacity, impulse towards generosity and kindness, and fierce determination to marry for love captured my heart. The romance between her and Tom is quiet, tender and patient; it’s disorderly, yet still strong, and I fell absolutely in love with the both of them. There’s so much to add, but I will say that Tom Jones and Sophia Western might just be one of my favourite fictional couples ever.
It all becomes more impressive yet when you consider just how early on this was written. I mean, 1749, people. I love history, and this was like being a fly on the wall from centuries past—it's replete with historical detail of a depth and atmosphere too rarely found in fiction. Austen alludes to the debauched lives of Wickham and Willoughby, but Fielding dives right into this Georgian underworld; in which a slice of eighteenth-century England has been perfectly preserved, in all its chaotic splendour.
The story is superb, and I could never do it justice here. It’s full of endearing wit and quirky, memorable characters I just couldn't get enough of. Somebody get me a man written by Henry Fielding! However, this is a strong contender for the most difficult book I've ever read. The sheer page count is exhausting, and the prose, though well-crafted, can be very dense and inaccessible at times. The modern novel is just too early in its progression for this to flow nicely. Tom Jones clocks in at nearly 900 pages, but frankly, it would’ve worked so much better as a novel of five or six-hundred-pages. It's immersive, entertaining, and in many ways quite sly, but at the same time it can be rambly, overwritten, and terribly bloated. The historical context is fascinating, sure, but sometimes I just wanted Fielding to shut up and tell the story.
It all becomes more impressive yet when you consider just how early on this was written. I mean, 1749, people. I love history, and this was like being a fly on the wall from centuries past—it's replete with historical detail of a depth and atmosphere too rarely found in fiction. Austen alludes to the debauched lives of Wickham and Willoughby, but Fielding dives right into this Georgian underworld; in which a slice of eighteenth-century England has been perfectly preserved, in all its chaotic splendour.
The story is superb, and I could never do it justice here. It’s full of endearing wit and quirky, memorable characters I just couldn't get enough of. Somebody get me a man written by Henry Fielding! However, this is a strong contender for the most difficult book I've ever read. The sheer page count is exhausting, and the prose, though well-crafted, can be very dense and inaccessible at times. The modern novel is just too early in its progression for this to flow nicely. Tom Jones clocks in at nearly 900 pages, but frankly, it would’ve worked so much better as a novel of five or six-hundred-pages. It's immersive, entertaining, and in many ways quite sly, but at the same time it can be rambly, overwritten, and terribly bloated. The historical context is fascinating, sure, but sometimes I just wanted Fielding to shut up and tell the story.