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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am glad I chose to read this as my first full-fledged Dickens novel. It was hard to plow through sometimes, but worth it. The story was wonderful, his descriptions effortless and uncanny - definitely my favorite thing about Dickens as a writer. He has a knack for portraying people that is real and raw and deep. I am looking forward to reading my next Dickens novel.
Like most Dickens, this felt a little scatterbrained, but the over-the-top characters are what keep me reading
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to the unabridged audio read by Simon Vance. It took me three months of walking on the treadmill to get through, but on the whole, I enjoyed it very much. Dickens used a broad canvas to tell this story of the class system in Victorian England. From the drudgery of the Marshalsea debtors prison to the high corridors of power in Westminster, he weaves a tale that touches the heart and skewers the powerful and rich.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dry and long winded this was tortuous to read. I have enjoyed other Dickens books but this one had me dreading going to bed as I did not want to continue reading it. the story is interesting enough but too many twists and turns in my view. also the book could easily be edited to remove a good third of superfluous text!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love the slow burn romance and the ending was perfectly satisfying for me🩵
I also find the characters such as Harriet and Ms Wade very interesting and adding nuance to social issues of the time but I was disappointed in how this plot concluded - perhaps the truth and pain in Ms Wade's views could have been acknowledged more.
A lot of interesting female characters representing different parts of society that were marginalized are highlighted in the story too, which on the whole I appreciated; the way that their back stories and motives are slowly revealed throughout the book was very compelling.
The performance on this audiobook is excellent too!
I also find the characters such as Harriet and Ms Wade very interesting and adding nuance to social issues of the time but I was disappointed in how this plot concluded - perhaps the truth and pain in Ms Wade's views could have been acknowledged more.
A lot of interesting female characters representing different parts of society that were marginalized are highlighted in the story too, which on the whole I appreciated; the way that their back stories and motives are slowly revealed throughout the book was very compelling.
The performance on this audiobook is excellent too!
Dickens is so prescient. Substitute the name Tite Barnacle with Jeff Bezos and a a spot-on commentary about 19th century London becomes a spot-on commentary about 21st century America. But don’t let that deter you: the usual bizarre characters, romance, and intrigue are all delightful distractions from the present moment.
one of my least favorite dickens books, loaded with wooden, unmemorable characters, ridiculous mustache-twirling melodrama, the lilywhitest of all lily-white virginal dickens women, and all of the annoying characteristics of late period dickens (leaden pace, unremitting dry gloominess, and the repetition, the repetition, the repetition). seems oddly unfocused - plot lines laboriously built up over the novel's first half receive scant mention in the novel's second half, characters seemingly intended as heavies switch over midway through to sympathetic status. paupers become spectacularly wealthy right on cue, bad guys spontaneously explode, right on cue. one of dickens' worst books, for my money down there with "a tale of two cities" and "barnaby rudge."