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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Very Dickensian. The poor are poor, the rich are heartless, the children are sickly, and the people with guttural names are evil. Really, if you meet someone named Wackford Squeers and don't know he's monstrous from his name alone, it's best you not be unsupervised.
Mil Nicholson, the narrator, rocks my audiobook world.
Mil Nicholson, the narrator, rocks my audiobook world.
Not worth the effort. Much of it was a slog. Not nearly as memorable as the better works of Dickens. Useful for the depiction of the cruelty of the Dotheby Boys Hall and the horrific Mr. Squire, who I imagine was part of the inspiration for the schoolmaster in Pink Floyd's The Wall. But generally a bore, disjointed, and not nearly rich enough to justify the tremendous effort required to get through the nearly 900 pages.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This was such a chore to get through the book- It might have been because it was an ebook, but definitely not one of my favorite dickens books. I might re-read this one day in actual book form, but the length of it, and the entire plot- and characters were so difficult to get through. I really liked Oliver Twist so much more, and I'm hoping when I get to "The old curiosity shop", I'll like that more than this behemoth of a title.
Perhaps 5 stars is too high, but this book will always have a special place in my heart, as the titular character is basically the literary personification of James Carl Housworth. I’ve always thought so.
P.S. I will never forgive the 2002 film for casting Anne Hathaway as Madeline.
P.S. I will never forgive the 2002 film for casting Anne Hathaway as Madeline.
3.5
Full of clever and entertaining caricatures, which I enjoyed (though they sometimes got old/belabored, especially the ones completely inessential to the plot like the acting troupe) and not much else--noticeably less coherent plot than any of the other Dickens books I've read. So it took a bit more work. But still fun.
Full of clever and entertaining caricatures, which I enjoyed (though they sometimes got old/belabored, especially the ones completely inessential to the plot like the acting troupe) and not much else--noticeably less coherent plot than any of the other Dickens books I've read. So it took a bit more work. But still fun.
What a rollick! If more students were required to read this rather than A Tale of Two Cities, more would actually enjoy Dickens. Very funny.
For as massive a work as this is, it's absolutely chock-full of plot. The characters aren't quite as vivid as those in Oliver Twist, but the narrative surrounding Nicholas and all his surrounding characters is a genuinely stunning one, with a death scene that's a real tear-jerker and a villain who meets his downfall in an utterly satisfying, *complete* way. The length may be a turn-off, but stick with it: it's worth the time commitment.