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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Dickens, if not inventing the bildungsroman concept, certainly refined it (although, like most Dickensian stories, you can certainly tell he got paid by the word...phew!). What Dickens always seems to hit perfectly for me are his characters. There is no such thing as a small character, and in an epic such as this, you can't afford to miss them, because hardly anyone is a throwaway.
I'm not completely positive, despite my enjoyment of the story, whether I like Copperfield. He certainly has heroic moments, and devastatingly flawed ones, but there were also instances in his narrative where I simply didn't find him likeable (his entire relationship to Dora, for example, felt almost uncomfortably infantilizing and childish, from his side as well as hers). However, in this type of narrative it is hard to tell, and not necessary to do so whatsoever, whether that is part of the point. You don't need to love David to find his story engrossing, or challenging, or emotionally evocative. He is just so real. His episodes with his friends, family, colleagues, and enemies are so mundane, even in their drama, and yet so exceptionally interesting.
But I just love the depth of the characters...(spoilers)
In (almost) a word (each):
Mr. Micawber is the best
Mr. Dick is hilarious
Peggotty is amazing
Uriah is eeeevil
Murdstone is pathetic
Betsey is a fuckin rock (I love her)
Steerforth is a snake
Ms. Murdstone is the worst
Dora reminds me of Karen from Mean Girls
Traddles is the best
I'm not completely positive, despite my enjoyment of the story, whether I like Copperfield. He certainly has heroic moments, and devastatingly flawed ones, but there were also instances in his narrative where I simply didn't find him likeable (his entire relationship to Dora, for example, felt almost uncomfortably infantilizing and childish, from his side as well as hers). However, in this type of narrative it is hard to tell, and not necessary to do so whatsoever, whether that is part of the point. You don't need to love David to find his story engrossing, or challenging, or emotionally evocative. He is just so real. His episodes with his friends, family, colleagues, and enemies are so mundane, even in their drama, and yet so exceptionally interesting.
But I just love the depth of the characters...(spoilers)
In (almost) a word (each):
Mr. Micawber is the best
Mr. Dick is hilarious
Peggotty is amazing
Uriah is eeeevil
Murdstone is pathetic
Betsey is a fuckin rock (I love her)
Steerforth is a snake
Ms. Murdstone is the worst
Dora reminds me of Karen from Mean Girls
Traddles is the best
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
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
Got halfway through and got bored. May go back to it.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Wow, what a journey to read a book from the 1800s. Very much like Little Women, this book was so charming.
Sooooo looooong and borrrrring! I was 98% done - and still had 2 chapters left - when I read Copperfield’s aunt say to him “I never thought, when I used to read books, what work it was to write them.” And Copperfield answered, “It’s work enough to read them, sometimes.” You got that right Charlie!