Reviews

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

carrymey's review against another edition

5.0

Vanity Fair is a jewel of a book. Now many people have said it more eloquently than I ever could, but this book is something else.
I ADORED the authors voice. It was so sarcastic, so funny, so blunt at times.
I ADORED the characters, which were all so flawed and perfectly human. Of course Dobbin was my favorite of the lot.
As for Becky. It was very difficult. I enjoyed how she almost always got her way, how clever she is, how rough. I respect that. But I loathed how she treated people who loved her, namely Rawdon and her son.

This book is an amazing study of characters and highly entertaining.

sabinapavlei's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

jufira42's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted slow-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? Yes

4.5

louisegraveyard's review against another edition

funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

vantaesday's review against another edition

3.0

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS KGKGHSAOWIEURWRQ

twas but 500 pages too long

rosie_ac's review against another edition

3.0

Becky is a fascinating character and I imagine the depiction of such an anti-heroine in a semi-sympathetic or admiring light at the time was revolutionary. Though Thackeray’s commentary extrapolating certain characterise to all women is jarring to the modern reader.

Overall, the novel suffers from being overly-long, repetitive, and all the other characters being so one-dimensional as to be boring in the extreme. Becky shines by comparison, but not enough to save the book. I’d recommend listening on audiobook as the perfect book to fall asleep to!

buntingsir's review

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

derhindemith's review against another edition

5.0

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started this. I understood from some of the short descriptions that it was satire. It was indeed that. But the observations he makes are so timeless that despite how involved he is in his own time (okay, thirty years earlier), the events, descriptions, and characters are relevant even today. As far as the old satire I've read, that's a pretty rare feat.

alexisrt's review against another edition

Vanity Fair (Penguin Classics) by William Makepeace Thackeray (2003)

sungmemoonstruck's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

 I last read this sprawling social satire in high school and really enjoyed revisiting it. Thackeray takes on a wide swathe of society and history, from the petty machinations of a baronet’s family to the Napoleonic Wars to the glittering heights of London high society, and expertly skewers it. Unsurprisingly for such a long book, there’s parts where the narrative slows down but I mostly found it to be an absorbing and pleasingly dense read. I’m also a Becky Sharp apologist for life. I love a cunning, scheming heroine and seeing Becky try to maneuver her way through the layers of English society was so engrossing.