Novel 8: "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens (91.5)

The only novel by Charles Dickens that I had read before reading Great Expectations, was A Christmas Carol, which I have always loved.  It was time to dig deeper into Dickens.

I found an old copy of Great Expectations (pictured below) and started reading.  I had seen the 1998 film adaptation of the book (starring Gywenth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke), so I was somewhat familiar the characters and plot; but, as is often the case, the book was so much more than the movie.  That said, the tenor and sensuality of the 1998 movie version was on point and grounded in the themes of the book, if not the particular facts of the novel.

As I read, I found myself being drawn to the main character, Pip.  He reflected many human characteristics that are so familiar, yet often not portrayed in typical pop culture heroes: the hidden shame for close friends and family (Joe), and the accompanying shame from feeling the shame, desire for someone that doesn't desire you and even mistreats you (Estella), and the lack of desire for what you know you should want (Biddy), and unhappiness upon receiving what you wanted.

I also enjoyed the rich, complex characters in the novel, and the slow unfolding of the mystery surrounding Pip's unexpected expectations.  I also enjoyed, and laughed out loud, while reading, which is always a good sign!  These points of laughter covered the spectrum of scenes from the trials and joys of caring for an aging parent (Wemmick) to scenes that demonstrated human experience between young men venturing into the world together, going into debt along the way (Pip and Herbert).  Other humorous scenes included the marital stress and bumbling success of the Pocket family (complete with father pulling at his hair as an act of OCD, though Dickens wouldn't have known that label yet!).  The interactions and enigmatic, quirky life of Miss Havisham and Estella were also interesting, and darkly humorous.  I also related to Herbert and Pip when they join the Finches of the Grove men's club, and busy themselves with tabulating their debts and trying to make a plan to get out of debt, all the while doing nothing tangible to change anything.  Their play-acting as businessmen and serious adults is as relevant now as then.

Another aspect that I enjoyed were the scenes of dialogue between characters, and Pip's inner monologues.  This is where Dickens offers poignant insights into life.  Many quotable lines in this regard, and Dickens himself can be heard shouting across the centuries.

I found the ending satisfying, not exactly Hollywood, but offering signs of hope.  I was grateful that Joe had his day, and Pip found his peace.  The novel gave me a sense that we should expect to experience joy in our life, and accepting this within the conditions in which we find ourselves is part of the path to experiencing our own great expectations.

Epicness: 23.5: This is Dickens, after all, and I felt like I was in the hands of a master.

Enjoyability: 22.5: The novel read a bit like a mystery, a romance, and a piece of serious literature, and it worked.

Eloquence: 22.5: In particular, the dialogue and the quotes of some of the characters.  I enjoyed 'listening' to the British accents in my head as Pip visited people from the different classes.

Exploration of the Human Condition: 23: I related easily to Pip, and found in Miss Havisham, Estella, Joe, and in so many other characters people that I have met in life, all represented and given expression in this 100-year-old novel.

Epic Quest Total Score: 91.5

Novel 7: "Middlemarch" by George Elliot (94)

First of all, George Elliot is not a man.  She is a woman.  This may be obvious to others, but it took me some time to figure this out, and I felt a bit silly for not knowing this when I chose to read the novel.  I think this is somewhat remarkable considering the time and place in which she wrote, 19th century Britain.  I doubt the deck was stacked in her favour, but she rose to be one of the greatest writers English literature has ever produced.

That said, Elliot is hardly a household name.  Not like Dickens, or Shakespeare by far.  I had never read Middlemarch, and I had barely even heard of it, if at all.  I have an English minor in my Education degree, so it surprised me that this book had never caught my attention or had never been on any of my reading lists considering its importance in the English cannon.

But, to the novel.  In short, Middlemarch is remarkable.  It is not an easy read, and is quite dense, and not particularly exciting (which may account for it not being overly popular).  Each page is worth the work, however, as each passage, or paragraph, or line reveals something of the human condition that is rarely explored (in Elliot's way) in other literature.  The book is at first glance a trite, boring account of life in a English county where the characters gossip about one another and live relatively unremarkable lives, and do very little of grand importance.  But, Elliot's insights into the feelings of the characters, and their motives, unseen, unknown, and un-lived by the others (or sometimes themselves) is a poignant journey into the interior life, a space where many of us live our lives.  At times I felt like Elliot was peering into my soul.  She writes of petty jealousy, frustration, and, yes, love.  She writes of obligation, dreams, defeats, feelings of being trapped, of wanting to do what's right by your community.  She writes of debt, sibling rivalry, and marriage.  The story for the most part ends on a happy note, and has some twists and turns along the way, but the most compelling parts of the novel are Elliot's comments on life through the perspectives of her characters.  It is astonishing the breadth of psychological insight she had.  I wonder what she would have been like to visit with in the flesh.

In a strange way, this book is almost biblical in its sweep of human feeling and moralizing, which may bother, or bore, some readers.  Elliot doesn't sermonize, but sermonizes different perspectives through her characters.  I didn't feel judged as much as I felt exposed, as her characters thoughts about others revealed more about them than the person they were judging.  "Judge not, lest ye yourself be judged...,"  I felt her whisper in my ear.  I feel that Middlemarch could be read again and again, like other epics and the reader would be better for it.  I feel that I could learn new things each reading, or at least grow in knowledge about what it means to be human, and the type of human life I want, or don't want, to live.

That's got to be worth something.

I don't know how soon I will pick this book up again, and I did finish it by listening to much of it in audio form, but I am glad I read it and feel richer for it.  I am surprised by this, and I don't know why. I was kind of sad when it was done.

On a different note, I noticed that the pub in Middlemarch, The Green Dragon, has the same name as a local watering hole in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.  I can't help but think that this is a subtle nod from Tolkien to Elliot.  One emerging master to an older one.

Book Score: 94

Epic-ness: 24.5: This is an epic novel.  I noticed that it consistently ranks in the top ten lists of many 'greatest novels' lists.  After reading it I concur, but it hasn't hit the public consciousness like War and Peace, and other such novels, even though I felt it was just as 'epic'.

Eloquence: 23: Elliot's writing is eloquent, and her characters have that air as well.  The book is chock full of delicious quotes that would make any Instagram account glow, and has.  The book is a bit too dense for my tastes, however, which cramps its poetic style.

Enjoyability: 22: This is a tough one.  The story itself wasn't that intriguing, though the joy of the novel was in the insights, not the narrative arc.  The story wasn't that great, but I did enjoy it, and would recommend it to others.  The 'enjoyment' was there, but in a way that I don't normally experience in novels.

Exploration of the Human Condition: 24.5: Elliot's insight is epic.  The beauty and the darkness in it is of the gossipy, petty type, not the blood-thirsty type, which makes it more poignant and elegant and relatable, if not as sexy.  This is her true genius in my mind.  She didn't write a Hollywood book, she wrote a real one.  I guess that's why it's not that popular.

Novel 6: "1984" by George Orwell (91.5)

Does listening to an audiobook count as reading a book?  There certainly are differences, but I 'read' 1984 by listening to it on the Audible app on my iPhone.  This was my first full audiobook, and I was impressed with the quality of the narration, and the quality of the app itself.  I will still try to read my books in the old-fashioned sense, but this will not be my last audiobook.

I had been wanting to read this book for quite some time, and I was not disappointed.  I didn't know too much about it going in to it, but I knew the basics.  The book was an insightful commentary on life in a media saturated and controlled world, as well as the political potential of propaganda and thought control.  I was expecting this, and Orwell delivered.  The delightful surprise, however, was the plot, and how well-written and well-paced the book was.  The love story with Julia was superb and original, and the whole novel read like a mystery where you keep reading just to get to the end because you want to solve the riddle.  The end shocked me, but as the character O'Brien would suggest, I knew it was coming the entire time.

There were aspects of the novel that I found quite chilling, especially the parts where it parallels our world (much of it, in fact) or the parts where it points to the potential of thought control in our world. Particularly, the part where it appears that Big Brother is able to read Winston's mind, or is learning how to read Winston's mind, was troubling.  Our minds are our final refuge, and if that code is cracked what privacy or hope do we have?  I also hate rats, so the Room 101 scene really worked for me.  And, as I mentioned, the narration was excellent in my audiobook, which really added to the experience.

The book was more enjoyable due to a series of podcasts I listened to about the life of George Orwell (Orwell's real name was Eric Blair) produced by the CBC on their radio show Ideas.  I strongly recommend these podcasts to anyone interested.

1984 by George Orwell: Book Score: 91.5

Epic-ness: 22: This novel is experiencing a new boom in popularity due in part, I think, to the election of Donald Trump and White House phrases such as 'alternative facts' that have their equivalents in the novel.  As well, Facebook and Google algorithms seem to know more about us than we know about ourselves, and our laptops have the built-in technology to watch us as much as we watch them.  Recently popularity aside, this book has stood the test of time so far, but it just isn't old enough yet to achieve top marks in this category.  It will be interesting to to see how popular or relevant this book is 100 years from now.

Eloquence: 23: Orwell's creation and use of Newspeak, and doublethink, and other literary-political wordplay was remarkable and well constructed, and reflects the depth of Orwell's insights into how state propaganda can control its citizens.  As well, the flow of the book was darkly beautiful right until its bitter end.

Enjoyability: 23.5 I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in politics or media.  The last third dig drag at points for me, but I think I was wanting to see how it ended more than anything.

Exploration of the Human Condition: 23 The novel nailed this, at least in terms of exploring humanity's quest for freedom, meaning of reality, and consciousness, especially in regards to the state and media.  That coupled with the surprisingly original and honest love affair with Julia make this book a classic in these regards, however, its scope being limited to political mind-control and related themes kept the novel from exploring other themes.