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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I adore this book. I have been trying to make my way through certain classics and have decided to read all of Dickens's novels. This is my favorite so far. Full of humor and sadness and genuine human emotion. His ability to create memorable characters is unsurpassable.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is another winning book from Dickens, though not my favorite-even though it was his. I felt that this story was rich, both with characters and their development, in a way that only Dickens could achieve-but I felt the book could have been edited down, as the pace was a bit slow, and the content of the book was very dense. I found myself getting impatient with the book, a sense I've never had with any of his books, though many are longer than David Copperfield.
By his own admission, Dickens has said that this book was "his favorite child." David ultimately is a novelist, though he meets some bumps and challenges along the way-but I always felt him to be more mild and not quite real. I think he was so sanitized as to not really have much of a personality. In my opinion, he felt very similar to Oliver Twist, who I also felt was a boring dude-it was the characters around him that made the story, and this is no exception here.
Dickens is one of, if not my most, favorite author-and this book was in now way disappointing-it simply could have been...more. For lovers of Dickens, you won't be disappointed, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this to somebody who wants to get a taste of his writing-I would start with Great Expectations or Hard Times for that-both are much more concise but have the winning attributes of Dickens work that make him so beloved.
This book is a great for all lovers of English literature, it should definitely be on everyone's list.
By his own admission, Dickens has said that this book was "his favorite child." David ultimately is a novelist, though he meets some bumps and challenges along the way-but I always felt him to be more mild and not quite real. I think he was so sanitized as to not really have much of a personality. In my opinion, he felt very similar to Oliver Twist, who I also felt was a boring dude-it was the characters around him that made the story, and this is no exception here.
Dickens is one of, if not my most, favorite author-and this book was in now way disappointing-it simply could have been...more. For lovers of Dickens, you won't be disappointed, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this to somebody who wants to get a taste of his writing-I would start with Great Expectations or Hard Times for that-both are much more concise but have the winning attributes of Dickens work that make him so beloved.
This book is a great for all lovers of English literature, it should definitely be on everyone's list.
Book text was too small, maybe try again in the years to come
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I was pushed to finally read this when I heard it was the inspiration and blueprint for Demon Copperhead, which is winning awards left and right. I have enjoyed Dickens in the past, but I am afraid I've slept on him for years after each book I've read and thoroughly enjoyed.
This book, The Perks of Being a Wallflo....I mean, A Series of Unfortunate Even...I mean...David Copperfield, follows David from birth to middle age, where awful things keep happening to him and he seems unfazed and unaffected by all of it. He is horribly mistreated as a child, but he never has to wrestle with that mistreatment as his character is forged. This passiveness bothered me for a while, but now that I've finished it, I can appreciate it for what it is - retelling of events in his life, with no exposition. As plotless as this is, Dickens is such a fantastic writer that all characters become endeared to the reader and leaving them behind at the end is bittersweet. Here's my reminder to pick up another Dickens before a decade has gone by.
This book, The Perks of Being a Wallflo....I mean, A Series of Unfortunate Even...I mean...David Copperfield, follows David from birth to middle age, where awful things keep happening to him and he seems unfazed and unaffected by all of it. He is horribly mistreated as a child, but he never has to wrestle with that mistreatment as his character is forged. This passiveness bothered me for a while, but now that I've finished it, I can appreciate it for what it is - retelling of events in his life, with no exposition. As plotless as this is, Dickens is such a fantastic writer that all characters become endeared to the reader and leaving them behind at the end is bittersweet. Here's my reminder to pick up another Dickens before a decade has gone by.
I liked how much doodling there was in this. Especially Traddles with his skeletons. I liked Aunt Betsy and Mr. Dick.
Maybe reading it over such a long time contributed to this, but I found it disjointed. Something exciting would happen in one plotline (e.g. Steerforth and Em'ly running off) but then it would pivot to something totally different (usually Dora). The main arcs also ended rather suddenly — I was surprised that there was no final confrontation between Steerforth and David.
The most interesting aspects of this for me was class. We have huge inequality in 2023, but not as binary of a cultural distinction between common and gentlefolk. Some parts that didn't make sense to me revealed how Dickens and his readers had a shared understanding of this that I was missing.
But what does Dickens think about class mobility? I thought some pairs of characters spoke to that:
- Class strivers: Uriah and Em'ly both ultimately fail at changing their status. Em'ly is portrayed as a naive romantic who is taken advantage of, and is fine in the end. Uriah is calculating and therefore evil.
- Villians: the lower class Uriah is consistently demonized while David never stops saying how much he loves the upper class Steerforth.
- The humble: Uriah says he is 'umble but wants to be and acts like a gentleman; Mr. Peggoty is very clearly portrayed as lower class in his clothes and speech, behaves humbly (e.g. refuses to sit in front of Mrs. Steerforth), and never expresses anything negative about his status.
So, work hard but be happy with the station you're given in life? I'm curious to read some analyses now and see if I'm wildly off-base.
Maybe reading it over such a long time contributed to this, but I found it disjointed. Something exciting would happen in one plotline (e.g. Steerforth and Em'ly running off) but then it would pivot to something totally different (usually Dora). The main arcs also ended rather suddenly — I was surprised that there was no final confrontation between Steerforth and David.
The most interesting aspects of this for me was class. We have huge inequality in 2023, but not as binary of a cultural distinction between common and gentlefolk. Some parts that didn't make sense to me revealed how Dickens and his readers had a shared understanding of this that I was missing.
But what does Dickens think about class mobility? I thought some pairs of characters spoke to that:
- Class strivers: Uriah and Em'ly both ultimately fail at changing their status. Em'ly is portrayed as a naive romantic who is taken advantage of, and is fine in the end. Uriah is calculating and therefore evil.
- Villians: the lower class Uriah is consistently demonized while David never stops saying how much he loves the upper class Steerforth.
- The humble: Uriah says he is 'umble but wants to be and acts like a gentleman; Mr. Peggoty is very clearly portrayed as lower class in his clothes and speech, behaves humbly (e.g. refuses to sit in front of Mrs. Steerforth), and never expresses anything negative about his status.
So, work hard but be happy with the station you're given in life? I'm curious to read some analyses now and see if I'm wildly off-base.
This book took me a long time, but it was worth it! The edition I read was about 800 pages (Modern Library paperback). It is a great story with a few powerful themes that speak into the modern world. David Copperfield struggles with imposter syndrome, betrayal, a mismatched marriage, neglect, and many setbacks outside his control. Despite all his struggle he never gives into, or is even tempted by cynicism. Funny as it may seem, in many ways young Copperfield reminded me of Harry Potter (I know that is an anachronistic way to state it, but I read HP first).
So many great quotes, but one of my favorites came from chapter 59:
"That what such people miscall their religion, is a vent for their bad humours and arrogance. And do you know I must say... that I DON’T find authority for (them) in the New Testament?’
‘I never found it either!’ said I."
So many great quotes, but one of my favorites came from chapter 59:
"That what such people miscall their religion, is a vent for their bad humours and arrogance. And do you know I must say... that I DON’T find authority for (them) in the New Testament?’
‘I never found it either!’ said I."