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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
I didn't think I'd love Dickens, but apparently, I do.
I’m really glad I read a novel which I thought would bore me at the beginning; and it wasn’t at all as I expected! Dickens is so modern that, if it weren’t for the Victorian context, clearly recognizable, I’d have considered him a contemporary writer! He just delivers the story in the best way possible, both for literature and the general public. His very elegant and well-pondered irony in describing the Victorian era, his extreme characters (really difficult to forget) interacting with each other as set in their ways as they can be, make his novels unique in the nineteenth-century English literature.
Hard Times deals with education and the idea on which industrial revolution and positivist philosophy were based at the time: everything had to be rational. Everything was a rational Fact and could be explained only through Reason. The characters in the novel are educated to the science of Facts and are completely void of any unnatural and uncontrollable manifestations of the heart. How will they develop in life is the main interest of the writer: will they success in finding a well-paid job in Coketown, bargain a profitable marriage, live decently and happily? And will their parents, the champions of Positivism, who took care of their education first-hand, be happy with their choices, support them throughout their lives and be proud of them?
Some of the other issues addressed in this novel: the gap between rich and poor, the conditions of workers and of the orphans (Dickens himself was a humanitarian in his everyday life).
Hard Times deals with education and the idea on which industrial revolution and positivist philosophy were based at the time: everything had to be rational. Everything was a rational Fact and could be explained only through Reason. The characters in the novel are educated to the science of Facts and are completely void of any unnatural and uncontrollable manifestations of the heart. How will they develop in life is the main interest of the writer: will they success in finding a well-paid job in Coketown, bargain a profitable marriage, live decently and happily? And will their parents, the champions of Positivism, who took care of their education first-hand, be happy with their choices, support them throughout their lives and be proud of them?
Some of the other issues addressed in this novel: the gap between rich and poor, the conditions of workers and of the orphans (Dickens himself was a humanitarian in his everyday life).
This was a great suggestion to read from Jay Pluck. Easy read. The characters were easy to understand and love our laugh at. A sweet book. Chuck Dickens has a hit on his hands.
"So does the eye of Heaven itself become an evil eye, when incapable or sordid hands are interposed between it and the things it looks upon to bless."
-Charles Dickens
-Charles Dickens
Al principio se me hizo pesado y no terminaba de ver clara la trama. El resto del libro me ha entretenido a ratos. Le iba a dar un 2'5 (un 5 si fuera sobre 10, el aprobado justito), pero los últimos capítulos sí me han gustado, así que lo subo a 3. De Dickens solo había leído Cuento de Navidad y, sin duda, me atrapó más que este.
3,5 stars
As someone who lives in her own imagination 24/7 and who’d rather wish to live in the world I picture in my head, I was very excited to read this quite not-so-much-talked-about novel by Dickens.
The novel itself is very interesting and tries to sympathize with the protagonists of the story as much as it can, which is understandable. Therefore, the characters have very understanding qualities to them. It makes sense why they act the way that they do, which makes rooting for the morally good characters easier.
The writing was at times a bit hard to follow, which I found surprising because I had read Pride & Prejudice prior to this (expecting it to be way harder, but wasn’t at all) that was published 50 years before Hard Times was published. It might be because Dickens love to complicate the speeches of his characters/descriptions of events (something that I have noticed, and is 100% my own observation/opinion).
The plot had a logical line to follow, had some good plot twists, and was overall enjoyable. I don’t think I’ll be rereading this book again any time soon, but it’s definitely not off the table since the story carries a strong message about the differences between the poor/rich, imaginative/factual, and good/bad people.
As someone who lives in her own imagination 24/7 and who’d rather wish to live in the world I picture in my head, I was very excited to read this quite not-so-much-talked-about novel by Dickens.
The novel itself is very interesting and tries to sympathize with the protagonists of the story as much as it can, which is understandable. Therefore, the characters have very understanding qualities to them. It makes sense why they act the way that they do, which makes rooting for the morally good characters easier.
The writing was at times a bit hard to follow, which I found surprising because I had read Pride & Prejudice prior to this (expecting it to be way harder, but wasn’t at all) that was published 50 years before Hard Times was published. It might be because Dickens love to complicate the speeches of his characters/descriptions of events (something that I have noticed, and is 100% my own observation/opinion).
The plot had a logical line to follow, had some good plot twists, and was overall enjoyable. I don’t think I’ll be rereading this book again any time soon, but it’s definitely not off the table since the story carries a strong message about the differences between the poor/rich, imaginative/factual, and good/bad people.
Read for uni. This started out very slow for me but interesting. Then about the halfway mark it sped up and things really started happening and I really enjoyed that. I also enjoyed the characters's relationships with one another.
Listen, some of the characters were great and I enjoyed getting to know them, but still... this was pure torture to get through. I've been reading it since the beginning of May, and the only was I managed to get through it was by giving myself tiny rewards for continuing.
I'm... so disappointed!? Worst Dickens novel I've read by far.
I'm... so disappointed!? Worst Dickens novel I've read by far.
Covers some important themes, but I really didn't like it.