A sweet, enjoyable read. Character-driven rather than plot-driven, so it was a bit slow at times. The characters were delightful, though, and the writing was good. Worth reading at least once.

4.5 stars! a delightful, funny novel. a little slow but so, so rewarding.

It feels almost sacrilege to give this 3 stars when I've rated worse books this year with that amount, I wish I could give it a more accurate rating. Basically, it's a different kind of 3-star book. It comes much more highly recommended than other books I rated with this amount. I think one of the problems was I watched the TV show first, and it's a favourite of mine. This meant I had high expectations, and although the TV show kept in most of the nice details, its expansion of the story meant the book fell flat. The book lacked the same level of depth that the show did. I think I may have rated this higher if I had read this first, and then the show would just seem like a nice development of the book and not better. I was also... a little bored. I read other books in between, which I don't often do. At one point I had 3 books on the go. It didn't suck me in the way I thought it would. If I wasn't reading it as part of my reading challenge I might've used it as a book to dip in and out of. The writing style felt rushed. We were told whole stories in mere paragraphs, and there was not enough dialogue, and when there was there were too many monologues. This is normal for a classic, so I can't complain too much about this as many books of the time were written like this. It also suits the idea that it's almost a compilation of small stories linked together. Still, I wasn't a fan of this. Long story short I'm disappointed, but I still enjoyed it partially. I just wish I had read the book first.

With reading both Wives and Daughters and North and South this year, it is clear that Cranford is Gaskell trying to find her footing as an author. Which is understandable. All the themes which appear in her later works are here, but they are underdeveloped and in need of polishing. With that being said, I don't think it's a great place to start reading Gaskell, it might put you off although it is hilarious at times. Save this until you've read her powerhouses. I still very much enjoyed Cranford and it's a delight to see the author she did in the end become.

To jedna z najurokliwszych książek jakie czytałam.

"we all love Miss Matty, and I somehow think we are all of us better when she is near us"

A charming story about a town dominated by women, mostly single or widowed. Not a lot happening but you do feel closer to the inhabitants of this town as the book goes on. It also has an episodic structure so it's like vignettes of the things that are happening. I liked it, but not as much as the author's North and South. Still, a good character study of independent women in Victorian Britain.

Female society driven novel

4'5/5, porque me parece genial el modo en que se presentan los personajes y las escenas, muy al estilo de las series de "vida cotidiana" a las que estamos acostumbrados hoy en día.