Rating: 
Summary: Classic Tale of Redemption
Review: This is an odd little book, but it's a good one. It's odd because the famous story of the old miser who is redeemed by taking in an angelic little girl to raise doesn't really even begin until half-way through the novel. This was definitely a surprise to me, but it wasn't a bad one. It ends up that there is a lot more to this novel than I thought there would be. In that first half of the novel, George Eliot brilliantly elucidates the fallen nature of both Silas Marner and the community. They're are revealed to be such selfish and sinful people. They are all in the throws of despair, lamenting their plight as humans and questioning a God who placed them in their lives. Eliot is really wonderful at capturing the need of each individual for redemption and also that need in the community as a whole. The individuals are criticized as is the unfair societal structure. Into this fallen world comes the angelic Eppie, and that's when the story really picks up. Eppie is the catalyst of grace offering redemption to Silas and the rest of the community.Silas Marner is really an extraordinary little novel. It's a thoroughly enjoyable book (especially after you get through the first half) with a lot of valid criticism and some hope. It's a really beautiful little classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple and fairly ineffective.
Review: This is the first book I read by George Eliot and it may well be the last. I thought it would serve as a good intro into her work but the novel was far too simple in prose and spirit. While there is nothing wrong with the story of spiritual rebirth that's all it adds up to - a story. For me the definition of great literature is not just a good story but something which takes advantage of the art of writing by plumbing into the heart of humanity and translating it so the reader can feel what has been written. To put it simply, great literature can not be translated into a movie without losing what made it so great. This book can be easily translated into a movie as there is not much going on outside of the story. No deep character analysis, no discourse on anything really outside physical perception. From the plot the book should have been a very emotional read but it wasn't. Eliot's prose wouldn't allow it. She really serves as an outsider looking on these characters and situations rather then someone intimately familiar with the emotions and thoughts which make up the themes of the book. So, in turn, I felt like an outsider reading it. This would make a good movie where the story and physical emotion are the most important aspects, but as a novel it doesn't do the craft justice. In terms of English Victorian era literature Silas Marner just can't compare to novels by the likes of Thomas Hardy and Emily Bronte.
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