A Reader's Pleasure!

I haven't actually finished this book but I decided to write a review because I am enjoying it so much. I look often to see how many people have left reviews for books while I am reading them because I like to know if others have had the same experience.

In this case there don't seem to be many Audible readers so far, and I don't find the Amazon reviews very satisfying since the quality of the narrator is such an important part of the experience for me.

From the minute I read about this book's publication I have wanted to read it. I loved reading 'Middlemarch' many years ago and recently listened to the Juliet Stevenson audible version (highly recommended). For many years the book had intimidated me when I was young - I was afraid I would not be able to get through its density. I was quire surprised one day to pick it up and fall right in. Yet it took me thirty years to return to it. Having heard so recently the wonderful Juliet Stevenson narration It seemed perfect timing to experience someone else's experience of the book.

I find this sort of literary reflection both interesting and rewarding because I really like to know how others experience books I have loved. I would like so much to discuss these sorts of topics with serious readers and I hope that others will read this book and take the time to reflect on their impressions. As I am listening to Mead's book I feel like I am enclosed in a comfortable armchair, encompassed in my reading the way I was as a child, even though I am in reality sitting on an uncomfortable New Jersey Transit banquette. It's like being able to talk to a good friend about the things you really care about.

One criticism I have of the performance is that I am fond of Kate Reading's fiction narration, but I find it less satisfying for a non-fiction book. She has a storytelling musicality that lilts at the end of sentences but that just doesn't seem the appropriate rhythm for non-fiction. That said she is an excellent reader who makes the text easy to understand, just not perfect for this particular book.

25 people found this helpful

A must for English Lit Lovers

This is a very interesting dissection of an important English writer's life and works, with a good tie in to the modern reader. This is not just a review of Middlemarch, rather it is a good look at George Eliot and her life, plus the influences on the writer's life. If you love English lit, you won't want to miss this.

6 people found this helpful

Disappointing bibliomemoir

Would you try another book from Rebecca Mead and/or Kate Reading?

Redding is a capable narrator with an authoritative presence about her. I've enjoyed other books she's narrated.

Would you ever listen to anything by Rebecca Mead again?

I have my doubts, but perhaps. Mead seems like a good writer, so I might read some of her other stuff if it recommended itself independently. I certainly wound't seek out her other writings simply based on this book.

Any additional comments?

This book is not really the work it claims to be, that is part autobiography, part reflection on Middlemarch with an emphasis on how Middlemarch influenced the author's thinking or parallels her own life. The book is essentially an extended exposition on the life and writings of Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) by a writer who is infatuated by her. I found the work somewhat instructive about the life and times of Eliot, and it certainly gave me better insight into what a remarkable woman she was. However, the book is really just a work of predominantly effusive criticism about Middlemarch and sundry other works of Eliot's. Unlike other bibliomemoirs, though, the book lacks the sense of intimacy that it might be expected to have if it possessed an autibiographical aspect, which this book only ostensibly has. So little of Mead's life is revealed in the pages of the book that the possibility of connection with her own story arrives dead and opaque. The parallels and points of contact between Mead's life and the story and characters of Middlemarch are rare and are given only the most superficial treatment. Joyce Carol Oates wrote a (largely glowing) review of the book in the Jan 23, 2014 NY Times called "Deep Reader," which I recommend. It certainly gives a much better account of what to expect from the book, and it's written by someone who loved the book and is herself a great writer. Near the beginning of Oates' review she says "The most engaging bibliomemoirs establish the writer’s voice in counterpoint to the subject, with something more than adulation or explication at stake." To my mind, Mead has failed to disentangle herself from the subject she so adores. I imagine this book will best resonate with readers already enamored with Eliot who want to hear her praises sung some more.

18 people found this helpful

Great for fans of English Literature

I've been a George Eliot fan for decades, and this book helps her to take her place in the pantheon of great English novelists and influential Victorians. This was a very engaging read, not dry or boring at all. Eliot was a dynamic, impressive person and this interesting read brings that out quite well. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Eliot, and furthermore I think anyone interested in Jane Austen will find Eliot to be another author that they will grow to love if they give her novels (particularly Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda) a read.

3 people found this helpful

Wonderful find for lovers of good literature

Part biography of George Elliot, part literary critique of "Middlemarch", part autobiography of Rebecca Mead and how "Middlemarch" influenced her life. I listened to "Middlemarch" first (fabulous reading by Juliet Stevenson-accept no substitute!) and am glad I did it in that order. Enjoyed both immensely.

3 people found this helpful

Wonderful!

I already knew Rebecca Mead was a gifted writer but this book is exceptional. Mead interweaves a deeply intelligent examination of "Middlemarch" with a meticulously researched and engaging account of Eliot's life and the era in which she lived. As the title implies, this is all in the context of Mead's own very personal connection to both the novel and author.

2 people found this helpful

Good on its own or in preparation for Eliot's book

The reading was good; easy to imagine Mead is reading it, herself.

Bear in mind that this is a memoir, lacking the objectivity one would find in a true critical work, this is still very good preparation for a critical reading of Middlemarch. Enhanced my reading of it, to be sure.

2 people found this helpful

A worthy read to better understand Middlemarch

I read Middlemarch as an audible.com book. This modern-day corollary is a must to understanding it. Rebecca Mead's curiosity about George Eliot, her family relationships, the people in her circle of friends, and the events of her time, all make this an essential complement to that book. I now want to re-read Middlemarch with a new sense of understanding about its characters and their creator.

2 people found this helpful

a mix of things

I enjoyed getting to dip back into Middlemarch, and some insights into Eliot’s life that may have colored her characters. but there’s a bunch if random stuff in this book, including the author’s life experiences, contemporary visits to some places from Eliot’s world, ruminations on love and the nature of parenthood, etc. I took some enjoyable bits along the way and otherwise let the miscelania flow by…

Pleasant, but forgettable

I actually listened to this twice, a few years apart, without meaning to. And I was halfway through it the 2nd time before the sense of “déjà entendu” kicked in. (In fairness, a lot of it is an examination *of* Middlemarch, so if one is familiar with the novel, that discussion will naturally seem familiar, too.) But the fact that very little of this book stuck with me the first time enough to remember it the second time through, only 6 or 7 years later at the most — and it’s very slow going in many sections, not that I was wanting a Robert Ludlum thriller — leads me to give it a rating of “meh.” If I hadn’t enjoyed Eliot’s novel so much and been glad to be reminded of *that* at least, I’m not sure I would have bothered to finish this book both times.