February/Eliot Book: 'The Mill on the Floss'

[Scheherazade]

Please post your thoughts and questions regarding The Mill on the Floss here.

Synopsis (from amazon.com):

Brought up at Dorlcote Mill, Maggie Tulliver worships her brother Tom and is desperate to win the approval of her parents, but her passionate, wayward nature and her fierce intelligence bring her into constant conflict with her family. As she reaches adulthood, the clash between their expectations and her desires is painfully played out as she finds herself torn between her relationships with three very different men: her proud and stubborn brother, a close friend who is also the son of her family's worst enemy, and a charismatic but dangerous suitor. With its poignant portrayal of sibling relationships, The Mill on the Floss is considered George Eliot's most autobiographical novel; it is also one of her most powerful and moving.

Online copy


Book Club Procedures

[papayahed]

I was duped, my copy has 600 pages.

[smilingtearz]

Read the book last year as a part of my course... It's just "okay" ...

[emily655321]

Bought it this evening on the way home from work. Only had a paperback at the store, but lucky they had it at all. They didn't have Middlemarch, so I guess I should thank Papaya for her choice.

And, yeah, my copy is 545 pages. What gives?

[Virgil]

I guess it's time I go down to the basement and find my copy.

[Pensive]

Ah, I have voted without re-reading the novel but I am quite sure that even after re-reading it, I will like it a lot.

I am going to start it today. Yahoo!

[Weeping Willow]

YAY!! i'm pleased to say i managed after some trouble to find a copy .. but it is in hebrew because i am not capabale of reading such a book in a month... unless it is translated to hebrew.. so.... i'll just tell you how the translation is..
yay.. so
*opening page 1*

[Virgil]

Oh no. I can't find Mill on the Floss. I found Middlemarch, and it is 800 pages, and big pages with samll type, so doin't feel cheated Papya. But I've looked everywhere for Floss and I may have to go to the library for it or just buy another copy.

[papayahed]

I just started - I know it's done for effect but I really hate when authors write in the dialect (if you will) that their characters speak. It takes me way longer to figure out what they're saying and a lot of the time I have to read it out loud.

(Does that sound whiny???)

[emily655321]

No, I know what you mean, Papaya. It bothers me most when Falkner does it; Eliot seems to be a more mild offender. Still— slang and misuses of words are one thing (well, actually, two things), but spelling out an accent can get annoying.

[Virgil]

I just started - I know it's done for effect but I really hate when authors write in the dialect (if you will) that their characters speak. It takes me way longer to figure out what they're saying and a lot of the time I have to read it out loud.

(Does that sound whiny???)

Yes, it sounds whiny. You have to allow the writer to write in the language he feels appropriate. I know this doesn't quite follow, but what was someone like Chaucer supposed to do, imagine what english would be like 600 years later?

I couldn't find my copy, so I went to the library and picked one up. It is 600 pages. I'm sorry Papaya, but it's still shorter that Middlemarch.

[papayahed]

Yes, it sounds whiny. You have to allow the writer to write in the language he feels appropriate. I know this doesn't quite follow, but what was someone like Chaucer supposed to do, imagine what english would be like 600 years later?

You're right that doesn't follow what I was saying at all.

[emily655321]

Gerr... I thought I'd be able to read two books at once, especially since my two are so distinctly different; I thought I could read either one depending on my mood, and especially with the lots of sitting time I have at work. But I gave up today, because I'm just too engrossed in my current book (Naked in Baghdad by Anne Garrels, NPR correspondent). I should be done in a couple of days (it's surprisingly slow-going, probably because it's all narration, no dialogue). Then I shall probably welcome the drastic change in atmosphere MOTF has to offer.

[crveniormaric]

Sorry, I tried for a week but I can't read it. I'm really bored. Maybe when I'll be in some slow and calm period of my life - but just maybe...

[Virgil]

Anyone want to discuss the characters? Let's start with the parents. What do people think of Mr and Mrs Tulliver?