Phineas Finn: The Irish Member isn't about an Irish penis.Rather, it is about a young Irish gentleman who who gets himself elected to the British House of Commons and the manner that he navigates through the very exciting legislative time period surrouding the Second Reform Bill! I bet I had you clicking the 'to-read' button there, but please don't be in such a rush and tear off to your amazon, your neighborhood bookstore, get on your reading device or head over to ProjectGutenberg.org to get your copy just yet and ignore the rest of this sure to be thrilling review of mine (or go off and do those things, but please come back, or at least click like, that way I'll think you read this even if you didn't). Did I keep you reading for a few moments? Because I should warn you while it does take place during the Second Fucking Reform Bill!!! and that is pretty exciting stuff, this is the second book in the Palliser series of novels. And while you don't need to read, Can you Forgive Her? (which I reviewed here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..., and which is actually probably a tedious read and has background in some 'ancient goodreads history' (ie., things that happened about four months ago), although interestingly enough that might be the last review I've written that I cared at all about while I was writing it, I mean and this one, and any other one you've read by me in the past three and a half months, none of these were just phoned in or anything like that), to understand or follow what is going on here, there are a couple of spoilers in the basic plot of this book to events that happen in the first book. But if you don't mind having the plot of the first novel spoiled and you just can't wait to get into a novel about the Second Reform Bill era, then read this first!Even though I only gave this book three stars it was quite good. I just didn't enjoy it as much as Can you Forgive Her?, so I rated it lower to show preference. It was probably like a 4 star to a 4.4 star of the other book though. I started reading the book as a book, and over Christmas I think I left the book somewhere in my parents house. This was sad, since the book had all the juicy footnotes giving historical information about the Second Reform Bill and it's major players (like you or I really need this sort of crib sheet, pshaw!). When I got back to the city I was despondent over leaving my Trollope at my parents house (c'mon Karen break your New Years Resolution), but then I realized I could download the book for free on the internets (legally, too!), so I did, but I no longer had the exciting notes. And a couple of chapters and transitions seemed rather abrupt, but that's probably just how they were written, although in each case I worried that I was missing something. Like maybe a little bit of dialogue about Tenant Rights and true participatory democracy. So I read more than half of this book on my nook, making it the longest novel I've read on my silly device, and twice(twice!) had the annoyance to trying to read only to find out that there wasn't enough power in the thing to turn on. But it was mostly an enjoyable experience, and the epub version of the book at ProjectGutenberg.org was formatted fairly well, except for the names at the end of any of the epistolary sections of the book. I have some gripes about the book. But I think they are more about the accepted behaviors of the time than with the novel itself, although a few of my gripes might have come from the serial format the novel was initially written in. I think if the novel had been conceived and executed as a whole a few of my gripes would have been cleared up, these were sort of things like, hey we need a character here that can do this to move the plot along, so blam, new major character!I'm not positive, and I'm sure I'm wrong, but the character Violet Effingham might be one of the earliest examples I can think of for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (I'm sure there are earlier examples though). The book itself can be summed up as the story of a young man who is trying to not sell out. He's trying to do the right thing, stay true to his convictions and uphold his duty, two things that aren't always in harmony with each other. He is also trying to circumnavigate that thing called love, and in that quirky 19th century English manner, try to marry correctly while also being true to himself. Like in the first Palliser novel, the women generally steal the show, they get the best parts of the novel and are generally more interesting and dynamic than many of the male characters who are more fairly stock characters. Even if the story line doesn't sound that interesting (if it doesn't it is because you are some sort of cretin who doesn't realize that the Second Reform Bill era in the House of Commons was truly epic!), Trollope's writing is once again a joy to read. He's fun. And maybe it is more escapist reading for snobbish nerd types than seriously good literature, I don't know, but I have once again enjoyed my Trollope, even if the novel didn't turn out to be a seven hundred page tome about an Irish cock.
I fell in love with Can You Forgive Her, my first Trollope and my first Palliser novel, and when I had to leave that book behind I knew that if wouldn’t be too long before I stepped back into Trollope’s world with the next novel in this particular sequence. The fact that this was the novel where politics came to the fore worried me a little, but it wasn’t a problem; I was pulled right into the human story by the same storyteller I had come to love as I read that first book.Phineas Finn himself was a charming, handsome, and eminently personable young Irishman. His parents had supported him when he moved to London to study to become a barrister. When he qualified his father, a country doctor, hoped that he would come home, that he would practice his profession, establish his own home, marry his childhood sweetheart, raise a family …. but Phineas had other ideas. He had an interest in politics, and a friends had suggested that he could become a member of parliament. Because in the days before parliamentary reform all that you needed were the needs of friends in high places who could offer a pocket borough.There was one major drawback: he would be paid nothing as a member of parliament. But Phineas persuaded his father to support him for just a little longer, until he established himself and could either begin to practice the law or secure a lucrative government post. Doctor Finn gave way, because his wife and daughters were so thrilled at the prospect of what Phineas might achieve, and so, secretly, was he.Success came easily to Phineas, thanks to his good locks his charm, and his straightforward, open and honest character. But he often ran into trouble, because it took him a long time to learn that the motivations of others were not so simple.Lady Laura Standish was Phineas’ first mentor, and he fancied himself in love with her; she though chose to marry for the things that she thought she needed; money, influence, and social standing in the shape of Mr Robert Kennedy. But she was to learn that those were the wrong reasons, that she had married man who could had to rule everything and would brook no arguments. It was heart-breaking to watch the marriage fail, and to understand the terrible consequences that had for an intelligent and compassionate woman.Violet Effingham; a lovely young heiress rich enough to remain single and independent if she wishes it, though that would come at quite a social cost. She was Laura’s closest friend and there was an understanding between her Laura’s brother, Lord Chiltern, but Violet was having doubts. Because he was short-tempered, thoughtless, and not inclined to see her point of view.She was drawn to Phineas and he was drawn to her; but that upset her friend, her friend’s brother and her friend’s brother; and that was unfortunate, because it was his pocket borough that gave Phineas his seat in parliament ….Trollope clearly understood with Violets reluctance to marry, and Laura’s regret that she did marry, and he draws both of them, and the friendship between them quite beautifully. I drew parallels with the two friends, one linked romantically with the other’s brother scenario in this book and the one in ‘Can You Forgive Her’. There were some similarities but there were far more differences, and I thought that the characters and relationships in this book were rather more subtly drawn.I found the continuing friendship between Laura and Violet especially engaging.While all of this was going on Phineas was finding that his conscience and his party’s politics or his sponsor’s interests were often at odds, and that the political world was very tricky indeed.Trollope deploys all of his characters well, and there are plenty of events and incidents along the way to keep things interesting. I’ve pulled out a few strands, but in the book they are interwoven, and everything works together beautifully.And then – when the story was simmering nicely, but I was wondering how it was going to fill such a big book – another intriguing woman character made her entrance. Madame Max Goesler was young widow, with a rather dubious past, but with more that enough money to assure her a place in society. In the hands of some authors she would have been a stereotype, but Trollope made her a wonderfully real woman; the was independent, was bright and she understood people very well indeed.Drawing parallel’s with ‘Can You Forgive Her’ again, I could compare Madame Max’s role in this book with the role of the widow in that first book. And again the second book wins, with a story arc that is gentler and sits more naturally in the book as a whole.I must come back to Phineas Finn though, because his story is the thread that holds the story together. Trollope does a wonderful job of having Phineas learn and grow as the story progresses, without losing any of the things that made him such an appealing character when the story began.The story plays out beautifully.I’ve already moved on to ‘The Eustace Diamonds’ and I’ m looking forward to picking up Phineas’s story again in ‘Phineas Redux’ ….
Do You like book Phineas Finn (1975)?
I've been at this one for a month and only gotten 225 pages into it, out of 712. Enough. There are too many books in the world for this.This isn't a horrendous book, but I see little to explain why it's survived from the mid-19th century. The characters are not particularly engaging, nor the prose impressive, nor is there any particular insight into human psychology or behavior. It might be ideal for someone studying 19th century British politics, but this meandering trek through the life of an Irish politician is far from gripping, as it seemingly chronicles everything its hero does. A tough modern editor would probably cut half of it, and the book would be better for it.Also, those publishers who make money off repackaging classics in the public domain? Wow - I am not impressed. The first edition I tried, the Everyman, had a bucketload of typos all within the first few chapters - really? You get the text for free, don't have to pay royalties, don't even have to edit it, and yet you can't be bothered to do a strong copyedit before rushing off to make money on it? That's not to mention the spoiler-laden endnotes that plague most of the editions, including the Everyman. Who in the hell would add an endnote, when a political issue is referenced in the first chapter, saying "at the end of this novel, this issue causes Phineas to [major decision redacted in case some of you still want to read this]"? Do you think just because this is an old book, we all somehow know the ending through cultural osmosis? Because people just talk about Phineas Finn all the time, amirite? Sometimes I think classics publishers actually hate reading.Also, most of the editions restart the page numbering halfway through, because it was apparently first published in two volumes. Morons.
—Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship
As I re-read many of Anthony Trollope's novels, I find myself revising my rating of them upward. It seems that there are few authors I positively enjoy reading as much as Trollope. There are some, very few, of his works that I do not care for that much; but, for the most part, I find his oeuvre to be remarkably consistent in its appeal and its innate excellence.In Phineas Finn, we have the story of the eponymous hero, a handsome young Irishman of twenty-three, who comes to make his fortune in England as a member of Parliament. When he obtains the seat at Loughshane due to the influence of his father, he finds himself moving in an illustrious crowd of famous politicians, nobility, and beautiful young women. Although his political luck has been phenomenal, he finds himself relatively poor (M.P.s were not paid for their service unless they managed to hold some position in one of the ministries) and lovelorn.This book is about handsome Phineas and four women. First, there is Mary Flood Jones of Floodborough in Ireland, a beautiful but humble young woman. Then there is the proud Lady Laura Standish, who turns down Phineas to marry a Scottish millionaire -- though that quickly grows sour. Thereupon, he turns to Lady laura's friend, Violet Effingham, but runs into competition with Violet's childhood friend Lord Chiltern, who also happens to be Lady Laura's beloved brother. Lord Chiltern is so offended by what he sees as Phineas's treachery toward a friend, that they fight a duel at Blankenberg in Belgium -- dueling having been forbidden in Britain -- where Phineas gets a shoulder wound. Finally there is the wealthy, exotic, beautiful, and smart Madame Max Goesler.Eventually, Phineas makes his choice, though it coincides with having to surrender his Parliamentary seat and his cushy Treasury post because of his belief in Irish reform:He, like Icarus, had flown up towards the sun, hoping that his wings of wax would bear him steadily aloft among the gods. Seeing that his wings were wings of wax, we must acknowledge that they were very good. But the celestial lights had been too strong for them, and now, having lived for five years with lords and countesses, with Ministers and orators, with beautiful women and men of fashion, he must start again in a little lodging in Dublin, and hope that the attorneys of that litigious city might be good to him. On his journey home he made but one resolution. He would make the change, or attempt to make it, with manly strength.Phineas Finn is the second of Trollope's six Palliser novels and easily stands among his best work.
—Jim
This book took a little while to grow on me, but I found it interesting and enjoyable. It wasn't as compelling as the first book in the series, but I did like it a lot. I'm not terribly familiar with the British parliamentary system, that is, how "governments" are formed and changed when another party gains control. This book was very much concerned with Parliament since the main character, Phineas Finn, becomes a member. I found the main character likeable and the other characters well done. Mary, the Irish girl who loves him, was probably the weakest character in the book as her personality was hardly developed.
—Bonnie
