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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
There were a lot of parts in this that I enjoyed and/or found hilarious, and obviously Dickens writing is beautiful. It did feel a bit long to me and towards the end I was ready for it to be over. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I read it over a longer period of time, (eg. reading only a chapter a day) since it was published as a series and doesn’t really have one overarching plot.
Entertaining and lighthearted tales without much connecting them until later in the novel. Memorable characters.
This book turns out to be the pinnacle of Victorian entertainment. There's a lot of steam, drinking, and travel, but not a lot of the simmering rage against social injustices that fuels Dickens' later works (although there is still some). I was halfway through when I googled the history and discovered that it was his very first work, at the age of 24. So the author wasn't the academic, beardless Charles Dickens we see in pictures, but rather a young lad called Charlie. I'd had the impression it was written by a younger person, so that made a lot of sense.
The novel is a very gentle comedy and Pickwick is involved in numerous escapades of hilarity and farce. And yet behind the humor, Dickens shows how these are just ordinary everyday events that happen to us all. At one stage Pickwick loses his hat in a gust of wind. Dickens describes vividly Pickwick's chase of it and describes all the pitfalls of a portly man doing so. He says to chase too hard will see the chaser accidentally step on the hat, and too slow is to lose it altogether. It has the feel of farce but we see this in our daily lives. Even though it's a fun story, the harsh realities of the Victorian era can't be denied. Back then, if you didn't find some way of looking out for yourself and planning for your future, you starved. People made such a big deal out of money because it was a big deal. There was no such thing as welfare payments or government support. Poorhouses and debtor's prisons were places of nightmares. It's easy enough for us to sit back and judge Jingle and Job as villains, but when you look at where they find themselves throughout the course of the story, you can see why they'd do the deeds they did. I'm sure it was the same need that drove lots of boys to become bushrangers in colonial Australia. It's easy to choose to be honest when you don't face a slow, agonizing death.
Overall I enjoyed the first of Dickens' novels but I have two issues with it. I found it a touch too long. Sure it was initially published as a serial but as a combined work the 900 pages by about the 700-page mark were too much. I struggled with the last 200 pages as it all began to feel a bit the same. I put it down for a week and then finished it off but I still think it too long. Maybe some of the stories that Pickwick listens to could be edited out for brevity sakes. The second thing that really did annoy me after a while was Dickens use of the word 'ejaculated'. The characters were almost every page 'ejaculating their words. Using that word continuously really got to me. It is a long novel but I think with Dickens command of the English language he could have inter-posed ejaculated more often with something else. I just couldn't escape what else that word connotes!
The novel is a very gentle comedy and Pickwick is involved in numerous escapades of hilarity and farce. And yet behind the humor, Dickens shows how these are just ordinary everyday events that happen to us all. At one stage Pickwick loses his hat in a gust of wind. Dickens describes vividly Pickwick's chase of it and describes all the pitfalls of a portly man doing so. He says to chase too hard will see the chaser accidentally step on the hat, and too slow is to lose it altogether. It has the feel of farce but we see this in our daily lives. Even though it's a fun story, the harsh realities of the Victorian era can't be denied. Back then, if you didn't find some way of looking out for yourself and planning for your future, you starved. People made such a big deal out of money because it was a big deal. There was no such thing as welfare payments or government support. Poorhouses and debtor's prisons were places of nightmares. It's easy enough for us to sit back and judge Jingle and Job as villains, but when you look at where they find themselves throughout the course of the story, you can see why they'd do the deeds they did. I'm sure it was the same need that drove lots of boys to become bushrangers in colonial Australia. It's easy to choose to be honest when you don't face a slow, agonizing death.
Overall I enjoyed the first of Dickens' novels but I have two issues with it. I found it a touch too long. Sure it was initially published as a serial but as a combined work the 900 pages by about the 700-page mark were too much. I struggled with the last 200 pages as it all began to feel a bit the same. I put it down for a week and then finished it off but I still think it too long. Maybe some of the stories that Pickwick listens to could be edited out for brevity sakes. The second thing that really did annoy me after a while was Dickens use of the word 'ejaculated'. The characters were almost every page 'ejaculating their words. Using that word continuously really got to me. It is a long novel but I think with Dickens command of the English language he could have inter-posed ejaculated more often with something else. I just couldn't escape what else that word connotes!
lighthearted
slow-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
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
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:
Complicated
It is a mix of funny short stories with boring ones. If you never read Charles Dickens I wouldn't recommend start with this one. I liked the ending, it was very fitting. If this book was shorter I would give a higher rating since some parts were very well paced and good but unfortunately most of it was not. For me who already loves Charles Dickens, it was an interesting experience reading his first major work.
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
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:
No
There’s one major thing that’s lacking here and it’s editing. This book could have easily been half the length. So many chapters hold very little relevance to the actual trajectory of the plot.
The jail plot line at the end was also a super weird change in mood.
The jail plot line at the end was also a super weird change in mood.
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced