So part of my Brit Lit course involved reading the classic (1890s) English novel Silas Marner. It was… fine. I would describe it as “highly crushable”, in the sense that it’s relatively short and easy read. Not a lot happens… you might argue nothing happens, really… but it was okay.
I wouldn’t compare it favourably to the other novels of that time (Dumas and his Three Muskateers and The Count of Monte Cristo), but those were much harder reads but with more plot propelling them forwards, whereas everything in Marner just kind of happens.
Still, glad I read it. An interesting break from my usual laser-swords-and-explosions style reading and writing. Not one I would recommend unless you want a glimpse into historic English writing or you like a slower pace, meandering story.
Oh, I should mention that the “George Eliot” quotation marks are because the author was actually Mary Anne Evans, who wrote under a pseudonym because women weren’t allowed to write, of course. Pity, too. Mary Shelley, founder of science fiction, was writing around the same time, and I have very fond memories of Frankenstein, but it has been a long time since I read it. Maybe it wouldn’t hold up either? Who knows.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!