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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I really limped through the last 25% of this one there at the end! I think Dickens is a brilliant writer, but this book definitely had that early works feel to it, it was very unstructured and meandering and mostly just a sequence of tableau and scenes rather than a story with a lot of momentum and motion to it. The colorful cast of characters was fun, I certainly enjoyed the comedic turns of phrase... but I think the one thing about this book that will stick in my mind forever is the really touching relationship between Pickwick and Sam Weller. Sam is probably the character that deserves the most attention and memory as a literary figure, I found him so charming and interesting. He has this quiet ruthlessness to him, his devotion to his boss knows no bounds and when he refused to leave Pickwick to get married at the end I was genuinely touched! I kind of think perhaps Tolkien read this book; I noticed some parallels between these Sams!
slow-paced
Along with Bleak House, my favorite Dickens. As light and airy and funny as he ever was.
Enjoyable but I probably missed a lot of the jokes. This clearly was a product of its times and there are many scenes meant to poke fun at certain society types and customs of 1820s England. But it was still a fun read and I enjoyed the story overall.
Funnier in some parts than others and took a little bit to get going :)
Amazing to think this was his first book - what incredible talent.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
and everyone cheered!!!!! i finally finished it 😠i think this is the longest it’s ever taken me to read a book and i’m honestly kinda proud for persevering through it. i’m not gonna lie it was very much a struggle at the beginning. the writing style and the vocabulary, and even the structure of the plot was so completely different to anything i’d ever read before that i found it quite difficult to get into. but once i’d gotten used to everything i found myself really enjoying it!! i still struggled to read more than a couple chapters a day but that’s okay!!! the characters i think were really the shining stars of this novel. genuinely, they’re so endearing and funny and there’s so many moments that stand out. especially with sam weller and his father, it was hilarious. the plot was slightly too wandering and winding for me, it just seemed all over the place and didn’t really seem to have much of a plan (which i do understand was kind of the point, but that doesn’t mean it was any easier for me to follow). however, i did enjoy how all the characters returned and came together at the end, and everything made sense then - i really did enjoy the ending immensely. although i do have to admit i’d forgotten who some of the characters were, there’s just too many of them!!!! but everyone getting their happy ending was wonderful. and mr pickwick going for a ‘family reunion’ to dingley dell every christmas!!!! everything to me quite frankly. one of my favourite parts was seeing the pickwickians going all over england, and especially to places where i love and work!!! seeing those places where i spend so much time through the eyes of Dickens was so much fun - i loved his reimagining of the story of prince bladud too! the little short stories sprinkled throughout were brilliant too. overall, despite the slightly rocky start, and the somewhat meandering plot, this was a very enjoyable read. and something i’m very glad i took on, as i think it was a great challenge for me and it gave so much back to me also. i very much enjoyed chatting to harry about it as well!! a great time overall :D
(sam and mr pickwick are everything to me. the last chapter got me good)
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
really enjoyed this. sam weller is one of the best dickens characters ever.