Way We Live Now Tv Tie In Edition [Paperback]

In detailing the rise and fall of the swindler-turned-tycoon Melmotte and the pathetic tendency of the bankrupt gentry to simultaneously woo and despise him, Trollope gives us a satire for the ages. Moreover, the repeated dogma that it's OK to do the wrong thing and have the wrong friends as long as everybody else is doing it, is also right on the money. While Theodore Dreiser took the psychological analysis of the swindler to a whole other level in his "The Financier", Melmotte is still a wonderfully well rounded crook.

The second memorable character is lady Carbury. Trollope shaped her and her literary aspirations after his own mother. While I was not too impressed with the exposure of the "literary world" that her character allowed, the lady is a nice archetype of the survivor, who yet is willing to sacrifice everything for her loser son.

Apart from these main characters, archetypes, there is a large supporting cast adding themes of love, betrayal, abuse and manipulation. While many of the players provide the context of a society sucking up to Melmotte, the great number of themes and intrigues leads to too much diffusion of the central theme. While characters like Roger Carbury and Ms. Hurtle are well rounded, the resolution of their "issues" is rather lackluster.

In his portrayal of the demise of the British gentry after passage of the two reform bills Trollope has drawn parallels with the decline of the roman Empire and includes many a reference to good old Horatius. A lot of the book can be encompassed in the non-included quote: ad spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectantur ut ipse (=they come to the spectacle, (yet) come to be seen themselves). In addition, this book provides one of the best examples that I have encountered, that you can't be doing the wrong thing as long as everybody else is doing it.

A good, entertaining and fairly easy read.

But the main story gets lost under so much weight that the overall novel loses its focus and just stunbles to a number of unconvincing conclusions. My favorite book is He Knew He Was Right. The sub-plots there enhance the story, and the characters are more vivid and less simplistic.

If you're here after the PBS series, note please...that series is adapted from this novel. There is a lot missing and a lot changed (all to the worse, I would argue). If you are new to Trollope, I would suggest The Palliser series or HKHWR. This is much less worth the time, though still a sparkling read with brilliant flashes.

Anti-Semitism? People are too touchy. The characters are certainly narrow-minded bigots, but Trollope himself is clear and potent. The "old, fat Jew" is among the most noble, most intelligent, and touching characters in Trollope. A gentleman, a sincere man, and one touched by the ugliness of his world but rising majestically above it.