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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
4.5
Fav Dicken’s book so far! This will stick with me for a long time :)
Fav Dicken’s book so far! This will stick with me for a long time :)
I am a big Dickens fan, so it's no surprise that I loved this. To me, it's in the same vein as David Copperfield and Bleak House. Not as serious in tone as Tale of 2 Cities or Great Expectations, not quite as much of a silly parody as Oliver Twist. So many funny characters, darling pure-hearted heroes and heroines, fun plot twists, and clever commentary on human nature. Yes, Dickens is always a bit verbose. But if you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey, it's an epic payoff.
I cannot read Dickens without loving it. He cares for the underdog and has the most wonderful characters that are larger than life.
I'm reading all of Dickens' novels in chronological order, and this is the best of the first three. It has The Pickwick Papers' sense of humor and motion, while folding in Oliver Twist's drama and themes of social (in)justice, particularly as they relate to children. At the same time, it doesn't lean so heavily on a small cast as the former or beat you over the head with its message as the latter.
That's not to say that it's without its flaws. The conclusion to the Mulberry Hawk plot is abrupt, unexpected and unsatisfying, and Ralph Nickelby goes from being curmudgeonly to flat-out evil without reason. And the Brothers Cheeryble are as one-dimensionally magnanimous as Oliver Twist is pathetic. But on the whole, Dickens keeps a lot of plates spinning without dropping too many - especially impressive considering its serialized nature.
That's not to say that it's without its flaws. The conclusion to the Mulberry Hawk plot is abrupt, unexpected and unsatisfying, and Ralph Nickelby goes from being curmudgeonly to flat-out evil without reason. And the Brothers Cheeryble are as one-dimensionally magnanimous as Oliver Twist is pathetic. But on the whole, Dickens keeps a lot of plates spinning without dropping too many - especially impressive considering its serialized nature.
Read it when i was really young, remember enjoying it but cant remember enough to rate it
A reasonably enjoyable book, but not as much fun (or as funny) as [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940], and not as touching as [b:The Old Curiosity Shop|429024|The Old Curiosity Shop|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1332523435l/429024._SY75_.jpg|5246858].
But still a great deal better - and certainly better written - than the majority of books written today...
But still a great deal better - and certainly better written - than the majority of books written today...
Nicholas Nickleby surprised me with how engaged I was with the story and the characters. I was pretty sure as I haven't enjoyed the two earlier books, Oliver Twist and Pickwick Papers, I wouldn't enjoy this but from the first page I was in love. Sure, it is a bit too long for my liking at parts and should have come through a serious editing progress but I fell in love with the characters, especially Nicholas, Smike and Kate and was invested with their journeys until the very end. I'm very happy to say that I don't think my journey through Dickens' books will be as bad as I predicted.
Really easy reading. This lacks some of the flourishes of language that characterize Dicken's more well-known works, but I don't really think it suffers as a result. It isn't a particularly inspired or surprising plot, but it has loveable characters, it's funny and there is a happy ending where the good are rewarded and the bad punished. An enjoyable read.
Read this for grad school, mainly to get a sense of how Dickens constructs scenes of education. After all depictions of the infamous "Dotheboys" ultimately shut down the Yorkshire Boarding Schools. I found this text very interesting to work with in the sense its "disciplinary" function is evident-- Dickens seems to (in the words of Miller) "normalize normalcy" in this novel. But there were rich relationships to unpack-- Squeer's queer desire for Nicholas; the intimacy between Nicholas and Kate; the powerful Cheeryble Brothers; and Brodie's remarkably powerful influence. If someone wanted to read Dickens for "fun" (are there people like that?) I would definitely read later Dickens. But, there were some real moments of humor, melodrama, and entertainment in this novel so it wasn't without its joys.
Pretty long as far as plays go. Can't compare to the original; haven't read it, but the play is in regular Dickensian/social commentary/satire style.