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dunnadam's review against another edition
3.0
This was the first Dickens book I ever finished. I had started A Tale of Two Cities and had trouble, specifically the romance made me nauseous. I had tried Oliver Twist or something similar years ago and wasn’t ready, but I was determined to finish this.
This book has been called people’s favourite, the greatest book ever written, etc, and I can’t agree with these sentiments. It was good, but there were flaws.
The good was the scope of the story. The glances into Victorian life I loved. Jenny with her crooked back and her queer legs I loved. Sloppy was great, needed more of him.
Less good were the resolution between Bella and the Boffins, the motivation of the school teacher was never really explored, and some of the characters I had no idea who they were at all, such as Tremlow.
A little too heavy on the romance, a little implausible. Could have done with more villains. I thought they were setting the lawyer up to be a villain with his impertinence to the school teacher and the brother, then they switched that, not sure why.
Some notes I made while I was reading:
why did Jenny call the elderly Jewish man “godmother”. Was he gay and a screaming queen? I searched Google for other references to calling elderly men godmother, didn’t find any.
The female school teacher is pining for the male teacher. She’s watching his house and seems a former pupil go in, a male. Then we get:
'They must find it rather dull and dark, Miss Peecher, for the parlour blind's down, and neither of them pulls it up.'
'There is no accounting,' said good Miss Peecher with a little sad sigh which she repressed by laying her hand on her neat methodical boddice, 'there is no accounting for tastes, Mary Anne.'
Which I assume is a reference to homosexuality, which I thought interesting for a book from 1865.
Finally a quote from the book about someone tasting wine which shows Dickens wonderful way of expressing himself:
Making a stiff arm to the elbow, he poured the wine into his mouth, tilted it into his right cheek, as saying, 'What do you think of it?' tilted it into his left cheek, as saying, 'What do YOU think of it?' jerked it into his stomach, as saying, 'What do YOU think of it?' To conclude, smacked his lips, as if all three replied, 'We think well of it.'
So I liked the book. Was it a 3 out of 5? A 4? Something like that.
This book has been called people’s favourite, the greatest book ever written, etc, and I can’t agree with these sentiments. It was good, but there were flaws.
The good was the scope of the story. The glances into Victorian life I loved. Jenny with her crooked back and her queer legs I loved. Sloppy was great, needed more of him.
Less good were the resolution between Bella and the Boffins, the motivation of the school teacher was never really explored, and some of the characters I had no idea who they were at all, such as Tremlow.
A little too heavy on the romance, a little implausible. Could have done with more villains. I thought they were setting the lawyer up to be a villain with his impertinence to the school teacher and the brother, then they switched that, not sure why.
Some notes I made while I was reading:
why did Jenny call the elderly Jewish man “godmother”. Was he gay and a screaming queen? I searched Google for other references to calling elderly men godmother, didn’t find any.
The female school teacher is pining for the male teacher. She’s watching his house and seems a former pupil go in, a male. Then we get:
'They must find it rather dull and dark, Miss Peecher, for the parlour blind's down, and neither of them pulls it up.'
'There is no accounting,' said good Miss Peecher with a little sad sigh which she repressed by laying her hand on her neat methodical boddice, 'there is no accounting for tastes, Mary Anne.'
Which I assume is a reference to homosexuality, which I thought interesting for a book from 1865.
Finally a quote from the book about someone tasting wine which shows Dickens wonderful way of expressing himself:
Making a stiff arm to the elbow, he poured the wine into his mouth, tilted it into his right cheek, as saying, 'What do you think of it?' tilted it into his left cheek, as saying, 'What do YOU think of it?' jerked it into his stomach, as saying, 'What do YOU think of it?' To conclude, smacked his lips, as if all three replied, 'We think well of it.'
So I liked the book. Was it a 3 out of 5? A 4? Something like that.
debmo79's review against another edition
5.0
If I could give it six stars I would. Witty, tense, filled with memorable characters and mystery. It follows two very different love stories and I enjoyed them both immensely.
caaleros's review against another edition
4.0
Our Mutual Friend is a very long novel and, as such, there were many feelings felt throughout. I both loved this book and was annoyed by it on various occasions whilst reading it. Nevertheless, I feel the positives outweigh the negatives and I am ultimately glad I made it through.
As with any Dickens novel, there is a large cast of characters to get to know and their lives are interwoven in interesting ways. Some characters I loved, some I hated. Overall, I tend to be more partial towards Dickens' style of drama than satire, so I enjoyed the darker parts of the novel more than the comedic story lines. Having finished the novel I can say definitively that throughout this tale I was most delighted to make the aquaintence of Jenny Wren, the little dolls’ dressmaker, who now takes a place amongst my favorite Dickens characters.
As with any Dickens novel, there is a large cast of characters to get to know and their lives are interwoven in interesting ways. Some characters I loved, some I hated. Overall, I tend to be more partial towards Dickens' style of drama than satire, so I enjoyed the darker parts of the novel more than the comedic story lines. Having finished the novel I can say definitively that throughout this tale I was most delighted to make the aquaintence of Jenny Wren, the little dolls’ dressmaker, who now takes a place amongst my favorite Dickens characters.
qwelling4's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
5.0
mandyfish's review against another edition
2.0
I would pay Dicken's cash money to have a few less "friends" in this novel. I can't keep track of 50 major characters! I know, I know. You're not supposed to diss Dickens, but there, I did it.
mark_b's review against another edition
4.5
Our Mutual Friend is a long read, originally published in monthly installments over a year and a half in 1864-1865. Many themes are present, but the dominant ones are money and social status. Money lenders, lawyers, inherited wealth, mistaken identity, marriage, the status of women, wills, and social etiquette are also prominent.
Many, many characters populate Our Mutual Friend. I cheated and consulted Wikipedia’s list of characters to avoid confusion.
A Jew, Riah, plays a role in the story. In Our Mutual Friend, he’s a sympathetic character, unlike the evil Fagin in Oliver Twist. I’m no Dickens scholar, so I can’t really say that Riah’s role in the story means anything significant about the author’s attitudes toward 19th century England’s Jewish population.
In an afterward Dickens acknowledges the apparent improbability of much of the plot, but he also writes that many of the individual elements are commonplace. That’s partly what makes Our Mutual Friend so readable. Highly recommended.
Many, many characters populate Our Mutual Friend. I cheated and consulted Wikipedia’s list of characters to avoid confusion.
A Jew, Riah, plays a role in the story. In Our Mutual Friend, he’s a sympathetic character, unlike the evil Fagin in Oliver Twist. I’m no Dickens scholar, so I can’t really say that Riah’s role in the story means anything significant about the author’s attitudes toward 19th century England’s Jewish population.
In an afterward Dickens acknowledges the apparent improbability of much of the plot, but he also writes that many of the individual elements are commonplace. That’s partly what makes Our Mutual Friend so readable. Highly recommended.
caffee's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
laur31's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
midgereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
A bunch of things in this book are confusing, but Bella and John’s story make the whole thing worth it. It only took Charles Dickens’s whole life to write a book full of amazing, girlboss women, but at least he did it. Easily his best book IMO. Would have liked to see more of Lizzie and Bella together, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Antisemitism, Murder, Death of parent, and Stalking
Minor: Ableism
bethriley's review against another edition
3.0
So, so, so long. Maybe the superfluous, though artfully written, rambling would have worked better in its initial release in installments over 19 months, but as a single book, it feels kind of like a filibuster in book form most of the time. Would recommend to Dickens lovers only.