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chluless's review against another edition
3.0
Upon finishing the novel I immediately rated it 3.5 stars, but my appreciation is growing with time and I find myself wanting to up this to 4
chelseavk's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
2.75
I really do enjoy Dickens writing. However, this one was pretty sad and dull. I just didn't enjoy the reading experience and the ending left me feeling unsatisfied. Yet upon a second read I think I may like it better.
nataalia_sanchez's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dwager's review against another edition
emotional
sad
This book deals with hard themes (gambling addiction, chronic illness, death) and I found it a difficult to relate to some of the characters. There were some very nice scenes and characters, but it's not always clear who they are when you meet them.
In one scene, deafness is used as a prop: a deaf character needs to have things repeated, but this doesn't seem to interfere with communication, though the other character dismisses his ideas because he's deaf.
Overall, this is not my favorite Dickens--closer to Oliver Twist than to many of his other works.
In one scene, deafness is used as a prop: a deaf character needs to have things repeated, but this doesn't seem to interfere with communication, though the other character dismisses his ideas because he's deaf.
Overall, this is not my favorite Dickens--closer to Oliver Twist than to many of his other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
mia_48419's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
charlie_knots's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
turrean's review against another edition
4.0
Too bad the reader must put up with Little Nell to enjoy Dick Swiveller.
kecb12's review against another edition
4.0
I wavered back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but in the end I went with 4 because it’s Dickens and his characters are worth the extra star. This will not go down as my favorite Dickens book. It’s alright, but it seems to be missing the usual cohesiveness of a Dickens story. Oh, sure, everything comes together in the end, but I didn’t feel a strong sense of “THIS is what this book is about”. In fact, I’m not sure what message we are supposed to take from this book. The good characters are SO good and the bad characters are SO bad and the characters who seem to fall in the middle end up taking a side in the end. This was an overly-simplified story and set of characters for Dickens. But that being said, I still can respect the characters Dickens creates. Quilp is the worst character I’ve ever read. He’s awful. Dick Swiveller shows an interesting growth arc. But so many other characters are sort of flat and uninteresting, which is not typical Dickens. Overall, I enjoy Dickens’ writing style and humor, so I still enjoyed the book, but I wouldn’t reread this one.
austenheroineinprogress's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0