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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
not an easy read and some parts drag out terribly but some very good moments
Dickens' best to this point, a sweeping story with probably the most generally sympathetic batch of characters in any of his novels so far (even the antagonists have appropriate backstories for their personalities). If it doesn't possess the biggest scope of any Dickens novel, it might stick the landing of that unwieldy craft better than any of the others.
Unusually, for Dickens I think, this book is not written in the omniscient mode, but is a first person account, and furthermore, is written in a present tense frame that rapidly--within the first paragraph--gives way to the more usual past tense. The present tense then only reappears from time to time, always brief in duration and always effective in adding weight and temporal dimension to the story.
In fact, this interplay between the young David Copperfield, who is preoccupied with living his life, and the older one who is writing this account and musing on certain motivations and outcomes of the life being described, is what gives the novel its great complexity and helps explain why it shows up in high school and college literature courses. There's so much for a class to dig into, not least the way Dickens has his eponymous narrator fade into the deep background so that we forget about him and read what appears to be the moment-by-moment record given us by young Copperfield. It's a shock when Copperfield the elder steps back into the story with commentary and opinion.
Copperfield is the most rounded character here, of course, but some of Dickens' most memorable creations share these pages with the variously-named protagonist, with Mr. Micawber and Uriah Heep foremost among them. Heep, with his revolting combination of servility, or "umbleness," in his words, and malice, seems like the literary ancestor of Tolkien's Gollum: crushed into abasement by the English caste system erected over him and his kind. He is allowed a brief touch of depth when he explains his upbringing to Copperfield, how he and all his family were educated in foundation schools and "public, sort of charitable, [establishments]":
"They taught us all a deal of umbleness--not much else that I know of, from morning to night. We was to be umble to this person, and umble to that; and to pull off our caps here, and to make bows there; and always to know our place, and abase ourselves before our betters. And we had such a lot of betters!"
The machinations of Heep, and his designs on Agnes Wickfield, are wonderfully woven throughout the text along with the other threads. When Copperfield marries Dora Spenlow, it seems inexplicable because she is such a--well, today we'd call her an airhead. Until, that is, Dickens fills her in a little bit more, giving her an awareness of how she must seem to others, to which she says she doesn't care-owning her flightiness, in a manner of speaking. She also recognizes, along with the reader and well before Copperfield--who is otherwise so sharp and resourceful--that he is the perfect match for Agnes. Even the woefully inept Mr. Micawber, with his comically pedantic letters and perpetual debt, recognizes this before Copperfield! When Dora dies, I thought Dickens spoiled it with the sentimental coincidence of having her dog, Jip, die at the same time, though perhaps this was looked upon with favor by readers of the time. Immediately prior to this, though, he gave her an amazing display of perception into the inner workings of her marriage to David.
However, coincidence (or maybe I should call it extreme coincidence, like extreme sports, because it is still possible to find subtle and/or timid coincidence in some fiction today) was fashionable in novels during the 19th century, and Dickens deployed it better than anyone, meaning it tends to yank the plot in radically new directions, or, as in the case where Ham dies trying to rescue Steerforth, wrapping up two sub-plots in a neat bow.
The present tense frame returns at the end, hopeful and melancholy at the same time, a lovely, autumnal retrospective by the now content David Copperfield.
In fact, this interplay between the young David Copperfield, who is preoccupied with living his life, and the older one who is writing this account and musing on certain motivations and outcomes of the life being described, is what gives the novel its great complexity and helps explain why it shows up in high school and college literature courses. There's so much for a class to dig into, not least the way Dickens has his eponymous narrator fade into the deep background so that we forget about him and read what appears to be the moment-by-moment record given us by young Copperfield. It's a shock when Copperfield the elder steps back into the story with commentary and opinion.
Copperfield is the most rounded character here, of course, but some of Dickens' most memorable creations share these pages with the variously-named protagonist, with Mr. Micawber and Uriah Heep foremost among them. Heep, with his revolting combination of servility, or "umbleness," in his words, and malice, seems like the literary ancestor of Tolkien's Gollum: crushed into abasement by the English caste system erected over him and his kind. He is allowed a brief touch of depth when he explains his upbringing to Copperfield, how he and all his family were educated in foundation schools and "public, sort of charitable, [establishments]":
"They taught us all a deal of umbleness--not much else that I know of, from morning to night. We was to be umble to this person, and umble to that; and to pull off our caps here, and to make bows there; and always to know our place, and abase ourselves before our betters. And we had such a lot of betters!"
The machinations of Heep, and his designs on Agnes Wickfield, are wonderfully woven throughout the text along with the other threads. When Copperfield marries Dora Spenlow, it seems inexplicable because she is such a--well, today we'd call her an airhead. Until, that is, Dickens fills her in a little bit more, giving her an awareness of how she must seem to others, to which she says she doesn't care-owning her flightiness, in a manner of speaking. She also recognizes, along with the reader and well before Copperfield--who is otherwise so sharp and resourceful--that he is the perfect match for Agnes. Even the woefully inept Mr. Micawber, with his comically pedantic letters and perpetual debt, recognizes this before Copperfield! When Dora dies, I thought Dickens spoiled it with the sentimental coincidence of having her dog, Jip, die at the same time, though perhaps this was looked upon with favor by readers of the time. Immediately prior to this, though, he gave her an amazing display of perception into the inner workings of her marriage to David.
However, coincidence (or maybe I should call it extreme coincidence, like extreme sports, because it is still possible to find subtle and/or timid coincidence in some fiction today) was fashionable in novels during the 19th century, and Dickens deployed it better than anyone, meaning it tends to yank the plot in radically new directions, or, as in the case where Ham dies trying to rescue Steerforth, wrapping up two sub-plots in a neat bow.
The present tense frame returns at the end, hopeful and melancholy at the same time, a lovely, autumnal retrospective by the now content David Copperfield.
c.f. [b:Amerika: The Missing Person|3218459|Amerika The Missing Person|Franz Kafka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446731964l/3218459._SY75_.jpg|935000], [b:The Miner|26134900|The Miner|Natsume Sōseki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440081795l/26134900._SY75_.jpg|541017]
There were great changes in my old home. The ragged nests, so long deserted by the rooks, were gone, and the trees were lopped and topped out of their remembered shapes. The garden had run wild, and half the windows of the house were shut up. It was occupied, but only by a poor lunatic gentleman, and the people who took care of him. He was always sitting at my little window, looking out into the churchyard, and I wondered whether his rambling thoughts ever went upon any of the fancies that used to occupy mine, on the rosy mornings when I peeped out of that same little window in my nightclothes, and saw the sheep quietly feeding in the light of the rising sun. [324–5]
Absolutely beautiful. Think I'm going to have to read it a few more times to truly appreciate the depth.
A most excellent book. Rather a shame that I didn't discover Dickens until the twilight (rather a long one, I expect) of my life. Although this book is not quite as good as Great Expectations, it's close.
Basically, it follows the life of David Copperfield from youth to adulthood. There are lots of misadventures along the way, lots of quirky characters, rather a number of scoundrels, and oodles of observations on the human condition. This should be on everyone's to-read list.
Basically, it follows the life of David Copperfield from youth to adulthood. There are lots of misadventures along the way, lots of quirky characters, rather a number of scoundrels, and oodles of observations on the human condition. This should be on everyone's to-read list.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes