I read these before and after reading the novel. It was very helpful in appreciating the way the story is structured. I doubt that it would have occurred to me that the river was a continuing motif and its description in any one case mirrored the story. Perhaps if I read these often enough I will pick up that method of reading a book.

The one thing that would have been a little more helpful is more of an explanation of the background. I gather that most of the Dodson sisters wore wigs or hairpieces for example, but it seemed weird without some context. Were their heads shaved? If Maggie's hair was such a big problem, why didn't they get her a wig? Just not suitable for young girls, or something. The word "hardly" is apparently used in its older meaning of "with great force", not the modern sarcastic "with little effort".

Still, I think that this, and the few other Cliff Notes that I have read are quite helpful for getting a more "literary" view of a novel. I am thinking of trying to find some other critical views just to see if anyone else reacted to the book like I did.

There is a great controversy about using books like this. I can understand the attitudes of teachers who want people to actually read the book. But there are people like me who are reading the book on their own for whom this is quite helpful, and far more available and readable then the academic works that some might prefer. I don't agree with Holland on every point, but just having the point of view from someone who comes at the book from a different angle broadens the experience.

In addition, even reading just the Cliff Notes enhances one's "cultural literacy" even if one never reads the book. I knew what the basic story and themes of Moby Dick were before I ever read the book, and that helped me understand things that people were saying. If one read a book a day for 100 years, one would still have read less than 1.5% of the Library of Congress's collection. Realistically speaking, no-one will ever read every book ever written, and these short synopses fill in the gaps. And who knows, it might persuade the reader to actually pick up the book. I was reading the Cliff notes to Anna Karenina during an idle moment at the library, and I was so intrigued, I decided to read the whole thing. ( )