took forever; very funny, the plot is a 100-year clock of precision & interlocking, yet seldom contrived, coincidence

It was scandalous in its time due to the bawdy content, the romantic forays of the main characters, and the topic of incest. It would be outrageous today for someone to take so long to convey that plot. The plot is good, and full of nuance and interesting tangents. Still, 875 pages is about 400 too many. Great characters with great names: Thwackup, Square, Allworthy, Sophia, Squire Western, Bilfil, Honour, and Black George. "Jones" seems out of place. Perhaps the most amusing is Squire Western. I was consistently entertained Thwackum and Square represent the idealogical differences between honor and virtue. The work is full of references to then modern writers, like Locke, and of scraps of Latin from Horace, Cicero, et al. There is a lot of truth here about love, beauty, relationships and human nature. It's a fun exposition, but a long trip. ( )

Poor Tom, he’s a pleasant tempered and handsome fellow, but he’s just not able to say no, especially not to the young women who fancy him, or to the not so young women who fancy him. This gets him into some terrible scrapes and even disowned and thrown out of his home. Will he be able to reconcile himself to his benefactor, Squire Allworthy, or to Sophia Western, the beautiful girl next door, for whom he would readily drain his veins to preserve one drop of her dear blood? And will he be able to save her from a forced marriage to the deceitful, scheming Master Blifil? ( )

funny! ( )