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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m on a years-long quest to read all of Dickens’s works, and this year decided to go back to the beginning. This was such a joy to read (for the most part) and it still astounds me to think Dickens wrote this when he was only 24. Although it doesn’t have nearly the same emotional weight and complexity as my two favorites (David Copperfield and Our Mutual Friend), it still offers all the trademarks of Dickens’s brilliance, along with a lot more lightness than most of his other work. I so enjoyed reading a chapter a day for the past few months, and am a bit sad to now be saying goodbye to the members of the Pickwick Club.
As Dickens' earliest attempt at a novel, we see a lot of what he would go on to perfect. The goofy characters are there, the social satire is there, the atmosphere of the locations is there. The book itself is a little too episodic and full of digressions to operate well as a novel you read in large chunks. Read as episodes, however, I challenge other readers not to laugh out load or feel the pathos of the few darker tales within. And even though this is Dickens' first novel, the man seems to already have a mastery over the English language.
"Let us leave our old friend in one of those moments of unmixed happiness, of which, if we seek them, there are ever some, to cheer our transitory existence here. There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. Some men, like bats or owls, have better eyes for the darkness than for the light. We, who have no such optical powers, are better pleased to take our last parting look at the visionary companions of many solitary hours, when the brief sunshine of the world is blazing full upon them.
"Let us leave our old friend in one of those moments of unmixed happiness, of which, if we seek them, there are ever some, to cheer our transitory existence here. There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. Some men, like bats or owls, have better eyes for the darkness than for the light. We, who have no such optical powers, are better pleased to take our last parting look at the visionary companions of many solitary hours, when the brief sunshine of the world is blazing full upon them.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
A very slow beginning, but it did grow on me by the end. If you love Dickens, you will enjoy this book.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Yes
Read as part of the “read Dickens in order” book club.
challenging
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A comedy drama that pokes fun at the bumbling foolishness of gentlemen who believe themselves to be rather more important than they are. There is plenty of humour, gossip, flirting and scandal but there is a serious undercurrent. This may be Dickens' first novel but it's not without his signature - a commentary on social class. I much prefer Dickens' whole life sagas but I really did enjoy this one for it's sarcasm that's still relevant today.