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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Enjoyable read. Lots of different characters from different backgrounds. Story centred around Mr Clenman and the Dorrit family. Little Dorrit born and grew up in a jail with her father. Rags to riches to rags again. Found it fascinating the understanding of attachment and difficult family dynamics. Iѓ??m not particularly a Dickenѓ??s reader, but I would read again!
Loved it all the more by reading it alongside the current BBC TV series with it's wonderful characterisation and acting. Marvelous dialogues transfer directly to the screen such as the moving scene where Dorrit's nefarious attempt to persuade Amy to marry John, slowly drys up as he realises the awfulness of his proposal.
It's a great story of love, mis-directed and unrealised, which keeps up the suspense to the end.
And a perfect read for anyone worried about financial matters today. It all comes right in the end.
It's a great story of love, mis-directed and unrealised, which keeps up the suspense to the end.
And a perfect read for anyone worried about financial matters today. It all comes right in the end.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good themes and morals and masterful use of language, of course. A couple of great chapters on government and bureaucracy. But this one really needed some serious editing. The plot is extremely convoluted with a couple too many twists and the characters are not as compelling as Bleak House.
Where did Little Dorrit learn of selflessness and compassion?
While I appreciated how much better Dickens got at the construction of his novels - compared to “Martin Chuzzlewit”, for example, this one has a much stronger beginning and the wrapping up of the narrative threads at the end is done much more neatly - the title characters’ self-sacrificing nature was a bit much for me to be able to enjoy it. Still four stars because there is so much good stuff in here that three feels like it wouldn’t be enough. It won’t end up as one of my favorite of Dickens’ books, however.
Probably my favourite Dickens so far. It has everything I love about Dickens - quirky characters, dense, sprawling plot, social satire (the Circumlocution Office is basically proto-Kafka) and heaps of atmosphere. And, while female characters are usually not Dickens’ strong suit, Amy Dorrit is actually quite well-rounded. Great read.
Second reading since college. I’m such a softie for a critique on the prison complex and a sweet marriage ending! Pairs well with imagining Matthew Macfadyen in the BBC version.