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annadixon76's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
savaging's review against another edition
3.0
Oh Chuck, you ur-father of Content Creation, you. Giving us over 800 pages of a fun-but-prudish telenovela and then wrapping up the plot like it's the 8th season of Game of Thrones (why are people acting this way? oh, because the plot outline says they have to).
Like prestige tv, Dickens abides by all the conventions of a beloved genre, but does everything a little bit better than he has to. I'm pulled in to this world, even though I always see the author's thumb on the scales. I know all 'wickedness' will be punished and all 'virtue' rewarded, and you can tell who's wicked because they sneer.
Dickens's true love is the grotesque and bizarre. That's where he really shines. That's when this book becomes truly laugh-out-loud funny. When he writes about good-pure-innocent-beautiful characters, it's like Milton writing God. So dull.
Dull like Amy Dorrit, who wants her fatherly lover to refer to her only as Little(?). Dear sweet Little Dorrit has an immense martyrdom complex. She has no boundaries and is unable to ever stick up for herself. As I look at the family dynamic, I see her persistent self-sacrifice as complicity in the continuing cruelty and bad behavior of her family, to the point that everyone who gets close to her winds up likewise exploited by her family. I don't blame Little Dorrit for these patterns, because this is all she's known. But I do blame Dickens for holding her up to us as the paragon of right-living.
On the other side, there's the Wicked Woman. Miss Wade is pissed that people mistreat her because of her lack of class status. She doesn't want to coddle people, she wants justice. She meets Harriet, an orphan who has been taken in as free child labor by some jolly good capitalists, forced to be a servant for their beloved shiny daughter. They've changed her name to Tattycorum, a name she hates, and repeat again and again that she must 'count to five-and-twenty Tattycorum' if she ever gets angry about her situation.
Miss Wade and Harriet see each other as kindred spirits and take off together. What if they could have been forever free adventurers, learning together who they really are outside of the roles set out for them, creating a home for other deviants? (Has anyone written this fan-fiction?)
But Dickens makes them pay severely. They hate each other because they are hate-filled women, until Harriet runs back 'home' and promises she'll be the most obedient and grateful Tattycorum forever after.
This example clarifies that even though Dickens can show that the world is unfair and oppression is so sad, he ultimately wants mercy, not justice. Good comes from a benevolent philanthropist or an act of God. Any time someone wants real equality, you can tell they're going to be punished as a villain. Dickens wants people to instead abase themselves until someone mercifully lifts them up.
This works well with the central bourgeois politics that permeates the book. The ruling class is full of idiots and frauds. The poor are wacky and befuddled. But the middle class is industrious and helpful and we must get out of their enterprising way. Dickens can see that capitalism and industrialization are creating problems, but he ultimately believes the solution is capitalism and industrialization -- though it should also be lubricated by the milk of human kindness.
(Though also has anyone noticed that Dickens doesn't have any idea what engineers and inventors and businessmen actually do? He just makes vague hand-waves toward their work: there's some sort of invention-or-other that could really be good for us all if only those bureaucrats would get out of the way. Dickens can describe a kidney pie or style of bonnet in great detail, but when it comes to an invention that is central to the plot, we only get abstractions -- not even a hint about whether it's a weapon or a machine for producing something or what.)
In conclusion: I had fun, but if anybody wants to jump on the Dickens train I would recommend trying elsewhere.
Like prestige tv, Dickens abides by all the conventions of a beloved genre, but does everything a little bit better than he has to. I'm pulled in to this world, even though I always see the author's thumb on the scales. I know all 'wickedness' will be punished and all 'virtue' rewarded, and you can tell who's wicked because they sneer.
Dickens's true love is the grotesque and bizarre. That's where he really shines. That's when this book becomes truly laugh-out-loud funny. When he writes about good-pure-innocent-beautiful characters, it's like Milton writing God. So dull.
Dull like Amy Dorrit, who wants her fatherly lover to refer to her only as Little(?). Dear sweet Little Dorrit has an immense martyrdom complex. She has no boundaries and is unable to ever stick up for herself. As I look at the family dynamic, I see her persistent self-sacrifice as complicity in the continuing cruelty and bad behavior of her family, to the point that everyone who gets close to her winds up likewise exploited by her family. I don't blame Little Dorrit for these patterns, because this is all she's known. But I do blame Dickens for holding her up to us as the paragon of right-living.
On the other side, there's the Wicked Woman. Miss Wade is pissed that people mistreat her because of her lack of class status. She doesn't want to coddle people, she wants justice. She meets Harriet, an orphan who has been taken in as free child labor by some jolly good capitalists, forced to be a servant for their beloved shiny daughter. They've changed her name to Tattycorum, a name she hates, and repeat again and again that she must 'count to five-and-twenty Tattycorum' if she ever gets angry about her situation.
Miss Wade and Harriet see each other as kindred spirits and take off together. What if they could have been forever free adventurers, learning together who they really are outside of the roles set out for them, creating a home for other deviants? (Has anyone written this fan-fiction?)
But Dickens makes them pay severely. They hate each other because they are hate-filled women, until Harriet runs back 'home' and promises she'll be the most obedient and grateful Tattycorum forever after.
This example clarifies that even though Dickens can show that the world is unfair and oppression is so sad, he ultimately wants mercy, not justice. Good comes from a benevolent philanthropist or an act of God. Any time someone wants real equality, you can tell they're going to be punished as a villain. Dickens wants people to instead abase themselves until someone mercifully lifts them up.
This works well with the central bourgeois politics that permeates the book. The ruling class is full of idiots and frauds. The poor are wacky and befuddled. But the middle class is industrious and helpful and we must get out of their enterprising way. Dickens can see that capitalism and industrialization are creating problems, but he ultimately believes the solution is capitalism and industrialization -- though it should also be lubricated by the milk of human kindness.
(Though also has anyone noticed that Dickens doesn't have any idea what engineers and inventors and businessmen actually do? He just makes vague hand-waves toward their work: there's some sort of invention-or-other that could really be good for us all if only those bureaucrats would get out of the way. Dickens can describe a kidney pie or style of bonnet in great detail, but when it comes to an invention that is central to the plot, we only get abstractions -- not even a hint about whether it's a weapon or a machine for producing something or what.)
In conclusion: I had fun, but if anybody wants to jump on the Dickens train I would recommend trying elsewhere.
gypsynyx91's review against another edition
Will come back to someday just got sidetracked and now it’s been to long to pick it up again without starting from the beginning
chars_cats's review against another edition
2.0
A very fleshed out world, I believed every one of these characters had a life when we weren't watching them. Little Dorrit is a girl who I wish could throw up her hands and leave this place behind because very few treat her well, however, that is the time period she was in, she didn't have much choice. She is so lovely and kind that she is loyal to a fault in my eyes. Her bitter circumstances have not made her so. Fortunately, Little Dorrit finds a good ending.
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Color me surprised at the score of this one - take the mystery and darkness of Bleak House and ground it with a stronger central character dynamic (that is, a sympathetic love story), and it really succeeds. Dickens' most underappreciated collection of characters, perhaps.
helsbelles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
prusche's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.5
bookmarkhoarder's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
le_corbeau_romantique's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first post-school Dickens. I didn't and couldn't appreciate him in high school. I'm so glad I gave him another chance! This book is an ultimate "life" story---- being happy and making the best with your circumstances. It's about the pitfalls of money and the prisons (both literal and mental; both self-made and out of our control). I will think of Amy often. Her goodness, perseverance, faith, her love and trust in God is something to strive for. Arthur was a noble, kind character. I miss this. The side characters were of course Dickens perfection. They made you laugh and cry. The story of Amy's father-how he reacts was grounding. I read and listened to the audio book. The performance by Anton Lesser was magnificent! I will go to him for readings from now on; he voiced each character beautifully. I cannot wait to discover my next Dickens pick!