Gavin Turner Turner itibaren Vaela, Harju County, Igaunija
I've read O'Hanlon's other three travel adventure books and thought they were among the best and most interesting of the genre that I had read. This book, which could have been very interesting, was a big disappointment, mainly due to a very weird narrative style.
Odd to be able to read what is credited as the first book in a genre. Something that inspired Orwell to write 1984, that perhaps inspired Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and a good many others since. I'd never heard of this until doing a search on dystopian lit. (my latest drug of choice, haha). As for the book, it's not particularly great, but that so many other books have elements of it in them, only more refined, it's like reading a rough draft of something. Almost like the author couldn't believe what the world would become and couldn't fully imagine it himself, and left it to later authors to fill it out. All the classic elements of the lone rebel led astray from the one all powerful state, and feelings of guilt over not being able to resist, the opening of the eyes that blind obedience may not be the best thing, and finally the remorse of having lost all the comforts of the only thing you've ever known, are here. The inhuman aspect of the characters, that they sometimes appear as people, and sometimes as mere machines, in conflict with their animal past, but striving toward, yet not quite in control of their perfect machine selves. If you're into the genre, go for it, if you're just passing through, go on to 1984 or Brave New World, the ideas are a little better formed there.
Once you become accustomed to the rhythm and tempo of George Eliot's writing style and the turn of the century language, you fall into the story and find yourself very much involved with the characters. She has a knack for inventing people who are very human with foibles and faults and shining moments - very real. Her story involves Maggie and her internal moral struggles, her personality and nature are at war with the external world she lives in. Maggie never quite fits in, yet her sensitive nature makes every effort to become what she should be and many times she's within sight of her goal, then her natural self breaks through, cannot be contained and results in tragedy for herself and those she loves. Maggie's story is one of star-crossed love, sterling character, forgiveness, redemption, and tragedy. You watch helplessly as her life continues its march towards it's tragic conclusion. You feel for her and the other characters in the book, but are helpless to stop them from their choices and the actions they take that set them unerringly on a collision course. It hurts to watch because you desperately care about her and also desperately want things to work out. The story is written so well that you can't look away. George Eliot, along with Dickens and Austen, is one of England's finest writers and her stories are deep, demanding, challenging, and plumb the depths of human nature.