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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Mini Book Review: This was a truly fascinating but at time extremely boring piece of literature. At times I was laughing aloud at the biting and witty commentary about early 19th century Britain and the absurdity of the upper class society. But I found that as soon as I was enjoying it Thackery would go off on some side story that really could have been left out and quite frankly bored this simple girl to tears. I struggled less with the language in this classic as it wasn't as flowery or overly descriptive as in many pieces of literature during this period in history. I did have to put it down quite frequently as Thackery gives a very dark portrayal of human nature and I have a more hopeful positive nature and it was making me sorta depressed. The characters are very richly drawn, but they are extremely flawed and I felt no real attachment to them. I know that this is the point of the book, but I have to feel something for the characters in the story to truly enjoy. I was either disgusted with how horrific the characters were (Becky & Jos) or disgusted by how wussy other characters were (Amelia & Dobbin). As a social commentary this is brilliant and for those obviously more intellectual than I am you will enjoy. However, I am a far more simple girl and I prefer a good story that I can lose myself in.
3 Dewey's (as usual this is based on my enjoyment and not on the quality of the writing)
I read this as part of the BBC Top 100 Books Challenge & it came preloaded onto my Kobo
3 Dewey's (as usual this is based on my enjoyment and not on the quality of the writing)
I read this as part of the BBC Top 100 Books Challenge & it came preloaded onto my Kobo
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i loved becky, and thackeray’s voice, but if this had been 200 pages shorter i would not have been mad
We follow the upbringings of two young ladies from school through adulthood, with all their differences in pride, personality and circumstance contrasted sharply. Despite not being an especially happy story, it was often laugh-out-loud funny and I enjoyed the whole book. I especially appreciated the plot twists (which, for me at least, were unpredictable and seriously gripping) and the general tone of sardonic, sassy matter-of-factness.
I guess I've been in a bit of a classics from the 1800s kick lately. I enjoyed Vanity Fair. I thought it was interesting how the author broke away from telling the story to comment on the story he was telling. Thought it was also interesting that he referred to the story as one without a hero. I enjoyed this story told about two women but in which neither women was exactly the heroine and in which neither really got a "happy ending". I also enjoyed the large view the story took, not centering on a single coming of age or a single event, but spanning the young adult lives of two generations.
I listened to this on Audible. I would recommend both the story and the audiobook format.
I listened to this on Audible. I would recommend both the story and the audiobook format.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied? — Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out.
Thus ends William Makepeace Thackeray's saucy, sarcastic, insightful novel about the citizens of Vanity Fair, a place of appearances, wealth, social status, and hypocrisy. The denizens of this part of Vanity Fair are the incorrigible Becky Sharp, the naive and kind Amelia Sedley, the steadfast and honorable William Dobbin, the vain Joseph Sedley, scoundrel George Osborne, and the dim-witted gambler Rawdon Crawley—among a host of others, a whole cast of vivid characters that the narrator, himself a character in the novel, eviscerates at every turn. I've written briefly before about my first impressions starting this novel, and now that I've finished, I have to say my biggest takeaway is my varying loyalties and sympathies to the two female characters in the book, who are extreme opposites: Rebecca Sharp and Amelia Sedley.
Rebecca Sharp is the ultimate female anti-hero: a social climber, manipulative, dishonest by default, a terrible mother, a gambler, and a cheat. Her most famous description/line is:
...Though Miss Rebecca Sharp has twice had occasion to thank Heaven, it has been, in the first place, for ridding her of some person whom she hated, and secondly, for enabling her to bring her enemies to some sort of perplexity or confusion; neither of which are very amiable motives for religious gratitude...Miss Rebecca was not, then, in the least kind or placable. All the world used her ill, said this young misanthropist...This is certain, that if the world neglected Miss Sharp, she never was known to have done a good action in behalf of anybody..."
Then there is Amelia Sedley, a woman from a merchant's family who is gentle, naive, kind, and blind to the faults of the man she adores. Her most famous description is:
But as we are to see a great deal of Amelia, there is no harm in saying, at the outset of our acquaintance, that she was a dear little creature. And a great mercy it is, both in life and in novels, which (and the latter especially) abound in villains of the most sombre sort that we are to have for a companion so guileless and good natured a person. As she is not a heroine, there is no need to describe her person; indeed I am afraid that her nose was rather too short than otherwise and her cheeks a good deal too round and red for a heroine..."
Clearly, something is going on here with the virgin/whore dichotomy; on the one hand, it's clearly implied that Becky is carrying on some kind of affairs with men to further her husband's career and financial standing. On the other, Amelia is steadfast to the memory of her husband, hardly willing to look at another man after he dies for fear of betraying him, even though he almost jilted her when he was alive.
Even though Thackeray made clear lines between these women, it's not clear if he wants readers to love Amelia and hate Becky. In fact, he portrays Becky with bad qualities mixed with a few good, and Amelia with very good qualities mixed with some bad.As far as who I rooted for throughout the book, I found myself cheering Becky on through every misdeed, every terrible thing she does, every time she treats someone like dirt just so she can get to the top. I cheered her on because she's so very clever, and so in my mind, I feel like she deserves to have her cleverness and scheming pay off. Up until the end, where she does something very bad.
I also found myself cheering Amelia on through every hardship she endures, every time she feels sorry for herself, every time she moons over her dead husband's portrait, because I sympathize with her gentle, sad soul. My reaction to these two characters made me realize a lot about myself, and made me figure out a little more about what was going on in Thackeray's mind at the time.
Rebecca's actions are definitely disapproved of, but Thackeray also doesn't hold Amelia up as a paragon of womanhood, either. Amelia has her faults, most notably the way she strings along William Dobbin for years, taking advantage of his love for her. She casts him off when he has finally had enough of her toying with his emotions, and it's Becky who tries to reunite William and Amelia, even though it has nothing to do with herself, and she hates Dobbin anyway.
Throughout it all, every single character in this cast is satirized in some way, and human faults and foibles are set on a main stage. It's a hysterical, satirical novel you won't ever forget.
But my kind reader will please to remember that this history has “Vanity Fair” for a title, and that Vanity Fair is a very vain, wicked, foolish place, full of all sorts of humbugs and falsenesses and pretensions.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very cynical take on British society in the early to mid 19th century. The characters are universally disagreeable for one reason or another and their personality defects result in sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic circumstances. Vanity Fair is an alegorical tableau of moral lessons to be learned and character flaws to be avoided. I liked it, but didn't love it.