The Mill on the Floss
242 Installments—Entirely free
(Preview)
Members' Rating:
from 3 Ratings and 1 Review
ISBN-13:9780486426808
Description
George Eliot’s thrilling novel focuses on the loving yet turbulent relationship between siblings Maggie and Tom Tulliver. Maggie is impetuous and fervent while Tom is collected and pragmatic, yet their different natures are united by a strong bond. That bond is tested by many upheavals, including their family’s bankruptcy, the loss of their family’s mill, and their father’s eventual death. Maggie, meanwhile, experiences her own personal turmoil: though the sensitive, hunchbacked Philip is in love with her, she is drawn to Stephen Guest, a prominent town resident who happens to be her cousin Lucy’s suitor. Despite the fact that both of them are involved with other people, Maggie and Stephen cannot hide their feelings—from each other and from other characters. But when their relationship becomes public, Stephen flees the country, Maggie is cast out of society, and the bond between the siblings undergoes its toughest trial. In The Mill on the Floss, Eliot weaves a mesmerizing, devastating tale about various types of love, the deepest of which may be the love between families.
Back to top
Opening Lines (Experimental)
A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide, rushing to meet it, checks its passage with an impetuous embrace. On this mighty tide the black ships--laden with the fresh-scented fir-planks, with rounded sacks of oil-bearing seed, or ...
Back to topMember review
5/5
Reviewed by lizkies on Feb 22, 2010
my new favorite book ever.
Five thousand stars.
This was one of the most emotionally vibrant things I've ever read. Maggie was such a vivid character that every page she's on feels true. And yet, it's such a novel, with themes so richly built. The symbolism is effortless and perfect and needed. (And is it really possible people don't like the ending?)
It was a really visceral read: lots of face-clasping and jaw-dropping. Maggie says some of the truest things I've ever seen in fiction, and it's wonderful. Eliot's omniscience says the rest of them. I was stunned how sharp the commentary was, painful and real. She seems to have known everything.
One of the things I like most about reading through DailyLit emails is that though most pages can be deleted after they're read, emails with passages I really like I save instead. Just in case. I eventually saved110 pages of The Mill on the Floss. For a little perspective. It is needed.
Login to review this book
Not yet registered?
Ratings for 'The Mill on the Floss' by Eliot, George
| CarolMaria |  | 2010-12-15 | |
| lizkies | | Read review | 2009-04-12 |
| psycheinaboat | | 2009-03-24 |
The Mill on the Floss
Send 242 installments for free as a gift.
The Mill on the Floss
Receive installments for free
