Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Way We Live Now - Anthony Trollope


Ta-da!  I finally finished my Trollope!  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoyed it immensely.  But in this edition, it was 825 pages long.  That's a long book.  I've read Orley Farm, which is also long, and several other Trollopes that I have in multi-volume older editions.  It says something for the book that it held my attention for so long.

As with most Trollopes I've read, Trollope weaves several stories around and together.  It starts with Lady Carbury, an authoress of dubious quality.  She supports her daughter, Hetta, and her son, Sir Felix Carbury.  Although both are grown, they live at home.  That's to be expected of unmarried Hetta, but Felix is a gambler, a womanizer, and a drunk.  He spends his money and almost impoverishes his mother, who dotes on him because he's her beautiful son.

Roger Carbury, Lady Carbury's cousin, loves Hetta, but she won't have him.  She loves and respects him but doesn't love him that way.  She loves Paul Montague, although he's been engaged to an American woman, older than he and far too passionate.  He breaks off the engagement and then meets Hetta and falls in love.  There are repercussions and lost letters and misunderstanding.

Then there's Mr. Melmotte, a rich, rich man, and his wife and daughter, Marie.  Is he rich?  Or is it smoke and mirrors?  Opinion is divided.  But as people bow to his possible wealth, they accept him into their ranks and he becomes more arrogant.  He's rude, they all admit that, and doesn't know how to act in polite society.  Lady Carbury wants Felix to marry Marie for her money, but he's not eager.  Marie, however, falls madly in love with him and plans their elopement.  But country girl Ruby Ruggles, whom Felix courts for giggles and fun, loves him, too, and hopes he'll marry her.

I don't think there's any recapping a book like this.  I could tell you about Ruby and John Crumb, about Mrs. Pipkin, about Paul Montague and Mrs. Hurtle, about the gambling debts, and how the club goes belly up and the young men have no place to go, about Lady Carbury and Mr. Broune.  There's a lot about love, love lost, love mistaken, and there's a lot about business and who's skimming what from whom and who actually has any money.

The Way We Live Now is a lush book, one to get lost in, one with wonderful characters and stories.

6 comments:

  1. One of my favourite Trollopes &, as you say, impossible to encapsulate. I've decided that long books are are my favourites (well, this year anyway) as I've already read several very long books & all of them are going to be in my Top 10 for the year. What will you read next - another long book or something short & sweet like a sorbet?

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    1. I'm already reading a couple of books that I'd like to finish before I dive into another big book. But I usually can't resist some of the other books floating around my house or the library or the used book store. My cousin gave me All the Light We Cannot See for my birthday, so I think I'll read that next. I'm not a fan of most contemporary fiction, so it's not what I would normally read.

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    2. I just skim read that post as I'm definitely going to be reading it soon. I only signed up to read 75 books on Goodreads this year as 100 is really pushing it if you love reading long Trollopes as I do. Late on last year I was only reading slim volumes, just to reach that 100 goal.

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    3. There weren't any spoilers in my review. I try to be careful to avoid them. I think you'll like the book. I just get restless with long books, even if they're great. There are still so many books I want to read and if I spend too much time on one book, I start thinking about the books I'm not yet reading.

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  2. 825 pages! I don't know about reading one that long. I have a couple short Trollope's on the shelf and will start with one of them first. Have yet to read any of his books but loved the BBC series The Pallisers so I want to dip into them soon. You've definitely sparked my interest in this one!

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    1. It is dauntingly long, but it's a good story. I love Trollope's characters and all the detail he provides. I haven't read The Pallisers. I understand it has a lot to do with politics, a subject that makes my eyes glaze over. But, like you, I did love the BBC series.

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