North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

By field-chance8064

Just wrapped up my first Elizabeth Gaskell book and I’m honestly obsessed. Thank you to whoever posted that random recommendation, because I never would’ve picked her up otherwise. I don’t really have anyone in my real life who wants to talk about stuff like this, so here are my scattered thoughts: - I stayed up way too late trying to reach the ending, and when it finally happened it felt like the book just sprinted off a cliff. I was sitting there like… wait, THAT’S it? Why did we get these whole chunks going back to Helston and dealing with side characters and then the finale is basically a blur? I kept internally yelling “where’s the rest?” - I really liked the whole strike/union/social justice discussion. It’s wild that people are still arguing about the same stuff now, like 150 years later. I went in expecting something kind of Austen-y and light, but I ended up enjoying how serious and pointed it got. - Okay, the “who’s it gonna hurt next” vibe felt… suspicious. I feel like Gaskell could’ve made Mrs. Hale, Mr. Hale, Bessy (and maybe Boucher) make sense, but Mr. Bell felt way too convenient to me, and I kinda rolled my eyes. - Mr. Hale leaving the church was a big deal in the story, but I wanted more talk about it—like what was going on in his head and why that choice mattered so much. - Every time the Irish stuff came up I just kept thinking, “sorry, any Irish readers…” - Also I just read Wuthering Heights, so my brain is already battered, and then this book throws those heavy-accent sections at you and it’s like trying to read in a second language again. Not gonna lie, it wasn’t as bad as Charlotte Brontë showing off with her French though. - I gave up on the poems early on (like by chapter 20). I cannot make my brain work with poetry at the start of chapters. It just won’t cooperate. Overall I loved it a ton, but I can’t bring myself to give it full 5 stars just because the ending felt so rushed/abrupt. I want to start another Gaskell book so badly, but I’m scared it’ll pull the same “and then suddenly it’s over” thing. Please don’t spoil it for me, but… am I doomed? Next on my list is Edith Wharton or E.M. Forster based on what I’ve got lined up.