Reviews

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

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kristenesantos's review against another edition

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challenging funny 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

3.75

nikshelby's review against another edition

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5.0

I found this brilliantly written. It's unusual for me to find a main character so fascinating and yet despise her. insightful comments on society, on human interaction, on motivations. i've been meaning to read it again, but can't find my hc anywhere - i must've lent it out, and forgotten.

sarahanne8382's review against another edition

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2.0

This is one of those times where Victorian literature totally failed me. Part of the problem could be that I took forever to read this book. I started it as an audiobook just as I left my job one hour from home for a job 10 minutes from home, so it took me several months to finish it. More disturbingly though, I, unlike most people could not stand Becky Sharp, one of the two "anti-heroines" of Thackeray's masterpiece.

While Becky is clever and charming, able to adapt to every social situation with ease, Amelia Seddley, is shy and meek, incapable of even uncharitable thoughts. While Amelia's a total doormat, I prefer her to Becky, the whirling dervish who ends up destroying nearly everyone who cares about her through her selfish conniving schemes.

Actually, this book sort of reminded me of Sarah Grand's The Heavenly Twins, written on the other end of the Victorian era. Both books have multiple heroines to contrast society's ideas of what's proper with a more earthy view of what life sometimes ends up being like.

With how long this book was, I'm sure I could come up with more to say, but really I'm just glad to be done with it.