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shropgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I love John Mullan's style of writing as well as listening to him on the radio. This book is really informative as Mullan has carried out extensive research. This book has really encouraged me to read more of Charles Dicken's work. There are lots of insights - this is a book to return to again and again.
clairewilsonleeds's review
4.0
Finally finished as was reading a chapter every few days with some large gaps in between as it's essentially a series of essays. I think this is a must read for Dickens fans. It's made me want to pick up a few that I haven't read yet.
ainepalmtree's review
i tend to get a dickensian itch every year around christmas, and then end up feeling a bit ambivalent after trawling through a big triple decker in one go and vow i won't do it again. i probably wouldn't have picked this up for myself, but my parents gifted it to me, drawing the very reasonable conclusion that i am a big dickens fan seeing as i'm always reading him when i'm home for christmas. fortunately it was great - mullan has a nice eye for detail, framing dickens works and words so as to reveal their quirks, novelties, and joys. there's a nice mixture of great close reading and comparison/contextualisation with victorian and modern lit. mullan is a great guide through dickens, ensuring that i will continue to merrily stumble through more winding plots with too many characters that i can never keep track of every christmas for years to come.
mwgerard's review
4.0
The sheer lifetime word count of Dickens is impressive. But even more impressive is his staying power a century and a half later. His books and stories are steeped in Victorian-isms, and yet his tone sounds modern and relatable to a current reader. Literary critic John Mullan investigates and analyzes the writing tricks of Dickens through a series of essays in The Artful Dickens.
paging_snidget's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Very interesting. Managed to put into words the many things I love about Dickens’ writing. There was information that I knew and other things that I had never really noticed but became retrospectively obvious.
Mullan illustrated his points with copious notes from the different works and even from letters. Also including other authors’ opinions about his writing which was interesting.
A fascinating read for any Dickens fan. It will make you appreciate his mastery of the language more.
Mullan illustrated his points with copious notes from the different works and even from letters. Also including other authors’ opinions about his writing which was interesting.
A fascinating read for any Dickens fan. It will make you appreciate his mastery of the language more.
tpanik's review
5.0
Creative, insightful, and engaging, this analysis brings vibrancy to Dickens’ work.
annarella's review
4.0
I love Dickens and this well researched and well written book made me learned a lot about his novels, style of writing and novels.
It's entertaining and informative at the same time, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's entertaining and informative at the same time, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine