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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
funny
Not my favorite Dickens book, but enjoyable nonetheless. It did take more than a week to get through the book, all 31 hours of it. But I enjoyed the quirks of the characters and their many adventures.
Done, finally! I've been on a mission to read more Dickens, and ended up reading Pickwick Papers with my book group this year. Parts are quite funny, and overall it's silly and endearing, but it lacks the deeper impact of some of his masterpieces.
I finally finished this monster book! It's long, but it's a good book. I found that it was very slow in the beginning and I wasn't sure if I really liked it or not. Plus, it's really hard to hold an 875 page book when you're just at the first couple hundred pages. But then the story starts rolling along and you really get to know the characters and things are happening and it's cool. There are some boring parts in the middle as well, but by the end I really love the characters and I'm invested in them. And the ending gives you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling.
So, I'd recommend it if you don't mind Dickens and a long read. I mean, I think this is one of my lengthiest reviews ever, so I did enjoy the book and thought about it. Am I going to be reading this again? It's still a monster of a book, but I really did love the characters and some situations, so I'm more likely to read myself a self made 'abridged' version of the book.
So, I'd recommend it if you don't mind Dickens and a long read. I mean, I think this is one of my lengthiest reviews ever, so I did enjoy the book and thought about it. Am I going to be reading this again? It's still a monster of a book, but I really did love the characters and some situations, so I'm more likely to read myself a self made 'abridged' version of the book.
Being the massive nerd that I am, I've decided that I should spend the next year or so reading all the novels of Charles Dickens in publication order. So, this is where he (and I) started...
I knew pretty much nothing about this book going in, no clue as to plot or characters at all. It was really quite interesting seeing Dickens develop his style and ideas even over such a relatively short time, after a slightly shaky start there was a clear improvement as it went along, the plot stopped being quite so episodic and our main character a little less farcical and a lot more lovable, and by about halfway I was thoroughly enjoying it. While not all of the major characters were particularly vivid, I found myself absolutely loving both Mr Pickwick and Sam Weller and the relationship between them, and of course a lot of the minor characters were great fun as can be expected from Dickens. I'm very much looking forward to the next one.
I knew pretty much nothing about this book going in, no clue as to plot or characters at all. It was really quite interesting seeing Dickens develop his style and ideas even over such a relatively short time, after a slightly shaky start there was a clear improvement as it went along, the plot stopped being quite so episodic and our main character a little less farcical and a lot more lovable, and by about halfway I was thoroughly enjoying it. While not all of the major characters were particularly vivid, I found myself absolutely loving both Mr Pickwick and Sam Weller and the relationship between them, and of course a lot of the minor characters were great fun as can be expected from Dickens. I'm very much looking forward to the next one.
Just a reminder why I dislike Dickens. Long winded and too many minor characters coming in and out. Just a long boring book. But I am not giving up on my goal find something in Dickens that I like. I am going to try Oliver Twist now, many people have told me it is their favorite book, so maybe I will like this one
This wasn't my favorite book by Dickens, mostly due to his tendency throughout the book to have characters tell random, chapter-long stories that would have been good short stories on their own, but I felt distracted from the narrative of the whole story. Also, the character Tupman more or less disappeared by the end of the book, with only a sentence in the last chapter to explain his fate. As Tupman was one of the main characters for much of the book, I felt he deserved better. However, I did enjoy the book, and I thought there were quite a few really funny moments.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced