Tom Jones
by Henry Fielding

   This excellent novel follows the misadventures of Tom Jones until the real goodness of Tom directs a happy conclusion.
   What impressed me most was Fielding's ability to dissect and construct the motives and the feelings of his characters, so that they were more than simple. He was able to project in dialogue and in narration the conflicting desires of a single person and how they resolve into just one action. Consider each desire a vector. If a person has two desires, a less powerful writer will be unable to compose these into a resultant action that properly addresses both desires, but Fielding has been successful at that.
   Fielding also made extended forays into the battlefield of ethics. His introductory essays (one preceding each of the twelve books that comprise the novel) added greatly to the depth of exposition he was able to achieve.
   The plot was simple - Tom Jones had to overcome his own foolishness and the enmity of others to win the hand of

 

Sophia. Fielding strings out the facts to allow a plausibility to the facts and to the actions of Tom and the other main characters.