Fridays with the Foundling: Wrapping Things Up

Well, This is Awkward…

After watching the movie last week, I’d planned on watching the BBC Series to post tonight and then wrapping things up next week, but apparently that’s not available in the US. So, here we are, a mere 48 posts since the beginning to look back on this series.

What Did I think About Reading the Book This Way?

Back in December, Lashaan asked, “What’s it like so far to go through this at this pace/in little bits and pieces? Are you able to appreciate it as much as you’d like?” That was a good question then, still is.

I don’t know, really. It would have been better had my life not got strange, inserting a two-month break, for sure. Since I had tried this a few times before and had got distracted or ran out of steam partway through, this definitely helped me avoid that.

On the other hand, there are a few events and people I had to spend time looking up toward the end of the book when they were brought up again to make sure I remembered them correctly (or at all), and that wouldn’t have been necessary had I read all of this back in Jan. 2020.

I can make the argument to myself either way looking back on it, good idea or bad. I don’t see myself re-reading it this way, though.

How Would I Summarize The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling?

This is the story of a boy abandoned by his mother at the home of a wealthy benefactor who raised him as his own. He great into a generous, fun-loving, and not-incredibly disciplined young man. Tom was led by his heart (or other parts of his anatomy), not common sense or logic—for audiences in the 18th Century, I imagine that struck different chords than it does for us in the 21st. He does many rash, reckless, and foolhardy things, but rarely for personal gain. After losing his father figure and home, he’s aimless until he sees the chance to win back the favor of his first love, and pursues that single-mindedly as long he can—ultimately prevailing there, while also helping friends old and new along the way.

Sophia, that love of Tom’s life, is a fascinating character00headstrong and determined. She’s at once a submissive daughter and a defiant one. She’ll placate her father and aunt as often as she can, but she will not roll over and acquiesce on the important issues (for example, who to marry). Again, something that probably strikes contemporary audiences differently than Fielding’s. I don’t know if I’ll ever find an author so obviously in love with one of his characters as Fielding is with her.

There are other characters, other story arcs of note in the novel. But at the core, this novel is about those two, the rest is just window dressing.

Would I Read This Again?

Oh, absolutely. I plan on re-visiting this in a few years. Although I’ll probably get an ebook or paperback. As much as I like this hardcover, it’s heavy and inconvenient to hold.

So, In the End, Did I Like the Book?

I did. I don’t think it’s exactly what I anticipated (I blame Tony Richardson and John Osborne for that). I’m a big fan of Fielding’s narrative voice and love the way that he’d spend a chapter opining about whatever at the beginning of each Book.

I question his approach in the last book—and don’t know if I’ll ever accept it. But I do realize he trimmed at least 200 pages off of the book by taking that approach.

I honestly don’t know if I can sum up in a paragraph or two (now that I’m at the point where I need to) just what I think of the book—there was some great romance, some cringe-worthy dialogue, some fun dialogue, a lot of interesting characters that showed up for a page or two—and better ones we spent most of the book with.

I laughed, I chuckled, I rolled my eyes, I grew to appreciate some hard-to-like characters I got a little anxious, and sometimes annoyed—I even got a little bored—but I always wanted to come back to it, to see what Fielding had up his sleeve. And I was generally rewarded for that. It’s a good read and one I’m glad I finally persevered through.