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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Honestly, I just wasn’t into it. I wanted to learn more about Australia during the period but it was too episodic for my tastes, and the last 100 pages didn’t seem worth it.
Boooorrrrring. This is a story of one of Charles Dickens sons. Everyone wants to talk to him about his father and his books- but little Dickens hasn’t read any of them. He goes to Australia and learns to castrate sheep- I almost stopped reading here. He meets all sorts of people who has their own agenda with him. He finally reads one of his fathers books when a lady tells him too. I guess it’s a coming of an age story. Maybe I would have liked it better if I read it and didn’t listen to it, because the reader was hard to understand at times. Unless you really like Dickens and are familiar with all his works, I recommend you skip this book.
A wrenching reimagination of the relationship between a little-known son and his extremely-known father. Meanwhile, the Dickens biography was entirely about his childhood and parents, his writing process, and his legacy; there was scant mention of his wife, children, or eventual mistress.
A terrific book, bounded along, loved the history, fictionalised account was interesting, really enjoyed being in this story.
"The Dickens Boy" by Thomas Keneally is a delightful novel that offers a fresh perspective on the life of Charles Dickens's son, Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (Plorn). Keneally paints a vibrant picture of this harsh yet magnificent landscape, teeming with rugged characters and unexpected encounters. Plorn's journey is self-discovery, grappling with his father's shadow while forging his own path. Humour and wit abound, reminiscent of Dickens, intertwined with poignant reflections on family, class, and the clash of cultures.
With rich historical detail and vibrant storytelling, Keneally transports readers to the rugged landscapes and vibrant communities of 19th-century Australia. The novel is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of self-discovery. A compelling yet inconsistent subplot within the Dickens narrative.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
With rich historical detail and vibrant storytelling, Keneally transports readers to the rugged landscapes and vibrant communities of 19th-century Australia. The novel is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of self-discovery. A compelling yet inconsistent subplot within the Dickens narrative.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
reflective
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
The fictionalised biography of Edward 'Plorn' Dickens, son of the famous novelist. Plorn, an academically challenged sixteen-year-old who has never read his father's books, is sent to Australia to become a sheep-rancher. We learn a great deal about the frontier Australia of the day, about sheep-farming and the newly-dispossessed aborigines, and the logistical and social contexts of farming a remote homestead. Plorn's experiences of love and loss, of kindness and hatred and danger, and his gradual understanding of sex and its relation to the scandalous divisions between his mother and father, help him to grow up.
This is a slow-paced book, gently told. The essential themes are 'coming of age' and the difficulties of being a normal son of a famous father. But the problem with 'true' stories is that some events happen and then other ones do, without the unification imposed by a nove's structure. For example, what promises to be a major character dies quite early in the narrative and another fades out. Then other characters have to arrive to carry the story. And some situations, as in real life, never get fully resolved. While this adds verisimilitude, it makes the book less of a page-turner. Certainly I was less motivated to read it than by Keneally's most famous book 'Schindler's Ark', the bionovel on which 'Schindler's List' was based (the book is better because it really explores the shadowy fringes of heroism).
This is a slow-paced book, gently told. The essential themes are 'coming of age' and the difficulties of being a normal son of a famous father. But the problem with 'true' stories is that some events happen and then other ones do, without the unification imposed by a nove's structure. For example, what promises to be a major character dies quite early in the narrative and another fades out. Then other characters have to arrive to carry the story. And some situations, as in real life, never get fully resolved. While this adds verisimilitude, it makes the book less of a page-turner. Certainly I was less motivated to read it than by Keneally's most famous book 'Schindler's Ark', the bionovel on which 'Schindler's List' was based (the book is better because it really explores the shadowy fringes of heroism).
One of Charles Dickens' eight sons opines to another that the gov'ner, as they called him, sends his own children to the same backwaters that he sends his least favorite characters. Two of his sons are in Australia, while the others are scattered across India and Canada. Whas the gov'ner disappointed in this children? It might seem so.
The Dickens boy is the gov'ner's youngest, Edward, known at Plorn, dragged from school at 16 and plopped on a ship for Australia, where he will learn the sheep business. Plorn "never applied himself" and is not very ambitious, and has never read any of his father's works. In Australia, Dickens is revered by people of all classes and education. They can recite whole chapters of this book or that, they act them out, they never get tired of discussing the characters, and laughing when they're not weeping. Dickens' work is something that brings people together, and Plorn has a big secret to keep.
In remote New South Wales the formerly feckless Plorn creates himself. With an open mind he meets aboriginal people, ex-convicts, new colonists, gets taken hostage (one of the most touching parts of the novel) and flirts with love. He has so much of his father's work quoted to him that he almost doesn't need to read them. He defends the gov'ner to his angry brother and tries to do well by all.
Thomas Keneally writes about Australia of the 1860's with a historian's eye and novelist's flair, making this novel a treat and a triumph.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for a digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
The Dickens boy is the gov'ner's youngest, Edward, known at Plorn, dragged from school at 16 and plopped on a ship for Australia, where he will learn the sheep business. Plorn "never applied himself" and is not very ambitious, and has never read any of his father's works. In Australia, Dickens is revered by people of all classes and education. They can recite whole chapters of this book or that, they act them out, they never get tired of discussing the characters, and laughing when they're not weeping. Dickens' work is something that brings people together, and Plorn has a big secret to keep.
In remote New South Wales the formerly feckless Plorn creates himself. With an open mind he meets aboriginal people, ex-convicts, new colonists, gets taken hostage (one of the most touching parts of the novel) and flirts with love. He has so much of his father's work quoted to him that he almost doesn't need to read them. He defends the gov'ner to his angry brother and tries to do well by all.
Thomas Keneally writes about Australia of the 1860's with a historian's eye and novelist's flair, making this novel a treat and a triumph.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for a digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.