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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Quintessential Dickens - satire, comedy, social commentary!
Fresh from his success on Oliver Twist as a political satirist of note, Dickens turns his sights toward the abuse of Yorkshire schools - a national disgrace - in which children were effectively abandoned for a fee. Neglect, physical abuse, malnourishment, cold, and ill health were endemic. This political attack becomes the setting for an expansive tale of the Nickleby family and their ongoing struggle against the evil of their uncle Ralph. The usual collection of sub-plots, comedy and Dickensian characters rounds out a lengthy but fulfilling read that nobody will be sorry they started.
Paul Weiss
Fresh from his success on Oliver Twist as a political satirist of note, Dickens turns his sights toward the abuse of Yorkshire schools - a national disgrace - in which children were effectively abandoned for a fee. Neglect, physical abuse, malnourishment, cold, and ill health were endemic. This political attack becomes the setting for an expansive tale of the Nickleby family and their ongoing struggle against the evil of their uncle Ralph. The usual collection of sub-plots, comedy and Dickensian characters rounds out a lengthy but fulfilling read that nobody will be sorry they started.
Paul Weiss
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Finishing this book was more difficult than my senior research but i stan mr dickens i love how sharp he is at picking up his culture’s little social quirks, ironies, and phenomena. He’s so funny too i love the banter
sad
M: How's _Nicholas Nickleby_ going?
J: I have fewer than one hundred pages to go. We're going to need at least two improbable coincidences to wrap things up, but this is Dickens, so I know he'll have no compunction about throwing those in.
M: True.
J: Sometimes when characters in Dickens are expressing a sense of wonder and surprise about the occurrence of an improbable coincidence, I want to yell at them, "You're in Dickens, you nitwits! He does this all the time!"
J: I have fewer than one hundred pages to go. We're going to need at least two improbable coincidences to wrap things up, but this is Dickens, so I know he'll have no compunction about throwing those in.
M: True.
J: Sometimes when characters in Dickens are expressing a sense of wonder and surprise about the occurrence of an improbable coincidence, I want to yell at them, "You're in Dickens, you nitwits! He does this all the time!"
Not Dickens' best work, rather rambling and unclear and not as circular as his later works, but enjoyable, funny, and easy to read.
Nicholas Nickleby is just another one of Dickens' seamlessly crafted adventure novels. Saying "just another" makes it sound like Dickens simply churned these out mechanically. A perusal of his bibliography suggests that he actually did just that...both Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby completed in 1839... David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Great Expectations within an eleven-year stretch?...and this is a jaw-dropping testament to Dickens' greatness. Nicholas is a forgotten gem in this group, but it ranks with the best written adventures alongside Huck Finn and Augie March.
Nicholas differs a bit from other Dickens' heroes. He isn't all parts helpless orphan boy. He does run into hard times like the others, but he marries a ferocity towards his enemies and a kind heart to lift up those even more unfortunate than himself. He possesses the giftedness and resourcefulness to succeed in a variety of situations. Beset on all sides by a memorable cast of evildoers (another Dickens staple), Nicholas' own fight for survival and arduous climb into ranks more prosperous becomes also his battle against the oppression of the poor and friendless. As always, I'm in admiration of Dickens' ability to develop a full cast of characters. The antagonists are especially heinous in this novel, notably Nicholas' uncle Ralph Nickleby and the Dotheboys Hall schoolmaster Wackford Squeers. There are plenty of those who provide laughter to counterbalance the reader's indignation, for example the hilarious Yorkshireman John Browdie and Mrs. Nickleby who appears to be Dickens' precursor to Flora Finching in Little Dorrit.
Once again, I was the recipient of the great experience of being led through the winding road of a Dickens hero whilst being swayed back and forth by passages of equal parts delight and suspense. Just when one thinks "just another," there awaits the reader an ending which shocks like no other to proclaim powerfully the fate of the grand edifice built up by the unfeeling and unyielding avarice and greed of the oppressive rich.
Nicholas differs a bit from other Dickens' heroes. He isn't all parts helpless orphan boy. He does run into hard times like the others, but he marries a ferocity towards his enemies and a kind heart to lift up those even more unfortunate than himself. He possesses the giftedness and resourcefulness to succeed in a variety of situations. Beset on all sides by a memorable cast of evildoers (another Dickens staple), Nicholas' own fight for survival and arduous climb into ranks more prosperous becomes also his battle against the oppression of the poor and friendless. As always, I'm in admiration of Dickens' ability to develop a full cast of characters. The antagonists are especially heinous in this novel, notably Nicholas' uncle Ralph Nickleby and the Dotheboys Hall schoolmaster Wackford Squeers. There are plenty of those who provide laughter to counterbalance the reader's indignation, for example the hilarious Yorkshireman John Browdie and Mrs. Nickleby who appears to be Dickens' precursor to Flora Finching in Little Dorrit.
Once again, I was the recipient of the great experience of being led through the winding road of a Dickens hero whilst being swayed back and forth by passages of equal parts delight and suspense. Just when one thinks "just another," there awaits the reader an ending which shocks like no other to proclaim powerfully the fate of the grand edifice built up by the unfeeling and unyielding avarice and greed of the oppressive rich.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes