The Book Thread

[Gortex]

27. Middlemarch ------- George Eliot

Strangely the actual name of the author was Mary Anne Evans but she chose to use the male pen name for the reason that she wished her work would be taken seriously, if the thought was that it was written by a man. Written and released 1874 and is made up of 8 different volumes over 90+ chapters. It is based on 1830’s England and fictional town of Middlemarch which is set in the midlands. It covers many different topics like the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, education, medicine, greed, punishment and arts. Along with this there are lots of different characters and it covers a generation of time scale.

The number of characters at first is a bit overwhelming and it took me a good while to work out who was whom and what relation they had to each other and then just to keep you on your toes along comes more as you progress through each book. This having been said many of them are enjoyable and each very different to the other. It is covered largely by a narrator and has dialogue through out the work and this reminds me a good deal of The Archers on the radio or possibly Eastenders but set 170 years ago.

It is pretty heavy going and took me a long while to complete and over several return visits to the book as I found myself losing interest in it and slogging away to the finish. It is no way near as bad as Pride and Prejudice as it covers far more topics other than just marriage and this brings the book over to a much wider audience, but it does have a similar style of writing and description to for mentioned novel. To say I enjoyed it would not really be correct but there are some good things in it and I can see why it is a hit and in particular I think with the female audience.


Should you read it?
No, It is not worth the slog.
Is it a classic and does it deserve to be on the list?
Yes, I can see why it is listed as a classic even though I did not enjoy it.

[Gortex]

33. The Pillars Of The Earth ------- Ken Follett

First published in 1989 and broken down into 6 parts covering and set in the medieval period in England during the 12centry (1123 â€" 1174). It focuses on medieval gothic architecture and in particular cathedrals during the time of The Anarchy following the death of King Henry 1st with out a clear heir for the thrown.

It is a fictional historical novel about the building of Kingsbridge (fictional town) cathedral after the original one gets destroyed in a fire and the onsite priory look to build a new one. There are several key characters mainly the monks of Kingsbridge and the stone masons who build it, along with leading figures of the time like Earls, Bishops and the King. It is written in a similar style to those books written by Bernard Cornwell and others, and their many fictional yet based on historic fact books. But in my opinion in a much greater depth of detail and the written description is truly brilliant.

I loved this book from start to finish and could not stop reading it. Being a big fan of this style and type of writing I knew form the start I would enjoy it but I think this author goes beyond others, simply with the immense depth of detail and description of the period it is written. So much so that I feel like I am really there with the Knights in amour charging to battle or how the political problems and changes of allegiance was going on effect the characters of the book.

I can not praise this enough and quite frankly I think the best book I have read in this great read I have come across so far and can see myself reading it again at some point in the future. (also apparently there is a sequel)

Should you read it?
Yes. This is a must read on the list.
Is it a classic and does it deserve to be on the list?
Yes, This is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read.

[Jake Terry]

There are a lot of good books on this list already. I will add Game of Thrones, Frankenstein, In Cold Blood. There are so many more, but I could be going all day here.