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.

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