North and South

Over the past few years, I've been drifting away from National Public Radio towards books on tape. At first, I only listened to what I might call "fluffy" books; stuff I wouldn't take the time to read but would help me pass the time at my job, like the Amelia Peabody mysteries. Then I discovered that listening to audio books was the most efficient way to become more familiar with what my students are reading. But I've always shied away from books that I felt should be read, books that might require a bit more thought than I can afford to give while negotiating Utah's freeways.

Recently, I've begun to realize though that there are some books, that despite my best intentions, I'm never going to get around to reading. Lucky for me, our new library doesn't compare to Salt Lake but it's got a great audio books collection and has several books that would appeal to the more academic taste, like Villette by Charlotte Bronte (a book that I wouldn't dare listen to until I've read it once). When I saw North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, I figured I'd give it a try. I've heard good things about the movie and I've seen the movie adaptation of Wives and Daughters also by Elizabeth Gaskell, so I figured it was worth the listen.

Today I finished listening to it and I have to say that I'm disappointed. Fairly early on, I was able to pick out the man of choice for Margaret, the protagonist, and the plot seemed fairly straight forward: another Pride and Prejudice sort of tale where the misunderstood man has to convince the leading lady that he's not as poor a choice as he first seemed. Of course, this book brings in the complexities of life in the factory towns of the north and has quite a bit to say about the rights of working people. And that was interesting, but to be perfectly honest, I was in it for the romance. Even though I had the story all worked out, I wanted badly to know how everything would arrive at that end, so I decided to stick it out and finish the book. Besides, how hard is it to finish an audio book? It's not like I really had to exert myself, although Juliet Stevens, the reader, does such a great job with the Northern accents, I did struggle to get the gist of what those characters were saying.

Finally, after fourteen hours of CD, and a lot of moping about and dealing with annoyingly selfish relatives, Margaret is reconciled and reunited with her admirer, but my was that reunion disappointing. After agonizing with the poor, lonely Margaret, I felt like I deserved a fairly rapturous profession of love, but instead the book ended rather abruptly and without an eloquent declaration of devotion. I'm confident that the movie will do a much better job of fulfilling my expectations.

So if you're not interested in a critique of Victorian Era social classes, don't bother with the book. That's not to say that the book isn't well-written and perhaps if I had read it, I'd have a much better opinion of the book. But if like me, you're mostly in it for the romance, and tight on time, I'd just get a copy of the movie. Lucky for me, my sister owns a copy, so hopefully, my need for a romantic resolution will be shortly satisfied.