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qjbrown96's review against another edition
1.0
I now know that to be considered a “classic” it has to be the most god awful boring book. Most of the chapters felt like fillers and had no relevance to the story and the characters that are heavily accented are the ones that talk the most just to make it even worse. For example, “…for onny o’ th’ monny causes that carries grief to the poor man’s door, an’ there’ll be tender wi’ yo, gentle wi’ yo, comfortable wi’ yo, chrisen wi’ yo.”
dotreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Well written with many colorful characters in the Dickens way. I did not love the story but did find the lesson the story displayed. The lesson being: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.-Proverbs 22:6
amy_janssen's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
not gonna lie the plottwist did have my jaw on the floor just a little bit
anyajulchen's review against another edition
3.0
A ver, no es un mal libro en el sentido de estilo y ritmo, pero no es una historia llamativa ni entretenida.
smartinez9's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Filled with Dicken’s usual idiosyncratic characters and sharp wit, I found Hard Times well-crafted, engaging, and often amusing (the name M’Choakumchild alone), but didn’t love it as much as his other novels. Louisa’s self-sacrificial choice in marriage was a bit too unpalatable for me, her dynamic with her brother screaming Mill on the Floss, and not in a good way. Though I appreciated Gradgrind’s development, I felt Bounderby didn’t face enough consequences. For his part, Thomas can choke.
Filled with Dicken’s usual idiosyncratic characters and sharp wit, I found Hard Times well-crafted, engaging, and often amusing (the name M’Choakumchild alone), but didn’t love it as much as his other novels. Louisa’s self-sacrificial choice in marriage was a bit too unpalatable for me, her dynamic with her brother screaming Mill on the Floss, and not in a good way. Though I appreciated Gradgrind’s development, I felt Bounderby didn’t face enough consequences. For his part, Thomas can choke.
fyre_flies's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
samvanstokkom's review against another edition
3.0
had to read this for my course 'The Literature of Childhood'. the narrative in this novel is very interesting but it takes me so much effort to read a 19th century novel like this. the writing style is just so unlike the styles i am used to. it's not a bad style, i quite like it actually, but it just takes 10 times longer to get through because of the old English, and i'm hardly ever as invested as i am in contemporary novels.
anyway i really liked the message in this book. i love that Sissy is the one who ends up with a successful, loving family while she was the one that represented all the 'bad' qualities like sentimentalism, sympathy, emotionality, imagination, and that Tom and Louisa grew up to be quite dysfunctional adults while their upbringing represented reason, fact, knowledge, and so on. Dickens clearly wanted to show that an upbringing like Tom's and Louisa's is not beneficial for children and I love that. this was my first Dickens novel and I actually quite liked this style. other than the fact that it takes longer to get through, i thought it was pretty funny at times, I laughed out loud a few times, and generally I just found his writing really satisfying. so yeah pretty good read!
anyway i really liked the message in this book. i love that Sissy is the one who ends up with a successful, loving family while she was the one that represented all the 'bad' qualities like sentimentalism, sympathy, emotionality, imagination, and that Tom and Louisa grew up to be quite dysfunctional adults while their upbringing represented reason, fact, knowledge, and so on. Dickens clearly wanted to show that an upbringing like Tom's and Louisa's is not beneficial for children and I love that. this was my first Dickens novel and I actually quite liked this style. other than the fact that it takes longer to get through, i thought it was pretty funny at times, I laughed out loud a few times, and generally I just found his writing really satisfying. so yeah pretty good read!
greyc5's review against another edition
4.0
I'm torn on what rating to give this. This book gave me anguish because I had to read this for class in such a short amount of time but on the other hand the richness this book possesses is unmatched. The symbols, the humor, the awareness to call out social issues of their time with suave is utterly brilliant. Contemporary books are so shallow in the light of something so profound yet compelling. I'm giving it 4 stars because its has so many layers. More or less I'm giving Dickens himself 4/5 stars while the book itself is probably more of a 3. I recommend it if you have the patience and the brain power to get through it and really GET it.