A political novel being read in the year of politics. The timing of reading Felix Holt, the Radical couldn't be more perfect than now. I knew the title a few months ago and honestly, didn't give any consideration at that time. I was eyeing Romola because it is set in Italy and in the Renaissance era, the two have fascinated my attention since my teenage.
Given the low expectations, Felix surprises me in a lot of ways. First and foremost, it quenches my longingness upon reading books by George Eliot or Mary Ann Evans. I really adore her writing, story, and voice that carry diverse aspirations across fields. Her writing style is pretty much what Victorian authors execute; beautiful, deep, and flowing.
However, I personally love her works because of her wide-ranging issues brought at the same time in one book. Unlike Charles Dickens' theatre of the characters, Eliot presents a much smaller number of characters. As a reader, I find this very helpful to memorize the characters, at least the major ones, in more detail.
Secondly, I have "bad relationships" with political novels or that sort of theme. For example, I once read In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck many years ago. Despite his being one of my favorite authors, I dislike the novel. I didn't enjoy reading it although it actually conveys a message about the power of the labour people.
I consider 1984 as a political novel with the Big Brother idea alongside Newspeak and the doublethink as ways to control the people. This book is brilliant. What I mean by "having a bad relationship" with this novel lies in the emotional torture that I was experiencing as turning its page per page.
When first opening Felix, I thought it would be slow-moving with political things inside, such as back-biting, clash of ideologies, and legal issues. But as reading it closer and deeper, the book is so rich. It is set against the backdrop of the Great Reform Bill of 1832. Â The revolutionary act gave many people the right to vote but had little impact on the lives of the working classes, cited from https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107685.html.
From the start, Eliot mentions political parties popular at that time the Whigs, Tories, and Radicals. And the friction between the three is hugely felt throughout the book. The Radical is the most heated topic and is despised by the vast majority of the people in this book.
Interestingly, the two major characters of the book: Felix Holt and Harold Transome are the rising stars of the faction. Harold is the one who is running for the election.
Behind the major theme, I am so, so absorbed by the other themes running deep in this book. There's a family secret between Harold and his mother that make the two distant despite living in the same house. Felix and his mother also experience a cold relationship because of different perspectives on Felix's father's medicine. The mother-and-son relationships are highlighted here.
The other theme that's worthy of attention is the equality between men and women. It's vivid here that the male characters as represented by Felix and Harold regard women as "accessories". Harold thinks his mother is bad at running the family's business while Felix often ridicules Esther with her love for Lord Byron and her elite fashion.
I can't yet say much about the novel because I am only at one-fourth of the novel. So far, I am enjoying this novel so much. The sharp writing style with dark jokes is everywhere. This book is intellectually stimulating and heart-melting at the same time.
