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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some parts of this book are interestingly written but it's just far too long and convoluted. I would struggle to actually recount the story of this book, much less explain how it warranted 800 pages. I understand that it's of it's time but good lord the racism is horrendous. The author writes as if far beyond the people in the story and presents them with contemption but honestly seems just as contemptuous, by virtue of thinking his book warrants 800 bloody pages
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I appreciated Rebecca's sly wittiness, resourcefulness, and ruthless pursuit of a better station in life. However, even on 1.5x speed the audio was soooo long. There were some bright spots in the story but overall it was drag.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TBH one of the most readable Victorian books I have read. Now here are the problems:
The last 200 pages were just about one thing one person did. I do not need that in my life.
Also all of these background characters getting complete histories needs to stop. I don't care about the history of the Southdown/Gaunt family from the 1600s. This is the 1820s goddammit!
Apart from that really enjoyed the character Amelia. Really hated Becky and for such a long time nobody realised what needed to be realised. It's good that Amelia woke up and chose to love Dobbin because her husband wasn't too good .
Overall I will probably regret looking up a summary instead of finishing the damn book. But then again, maybe I won't.
Update: I did not regret it.
The last 200 pages were just about one thing one person did. I do not need that in my life.
Also all of these background characters getting complete histories needs to stop. I don't care about the history of the Southdown/Gaunt family from the 1600s. This is the 1820s goddammit!
Apart from that really enjoyed the character Amelia. Really hated Becky and for such a long time nobody realised what needed to be realised. It's good that Amelia woke up and chose to
Overall I will probably regret looking up a summary instead of finishing the damn book. But then again, maybe I won't.
Update: I did not regret it.
Over winter break, I watched the BBC adaptation of Vanity Fair and found it comical and entertaining. I promptly snatched a copy after finishing the TV series.
The chapters are episodic like Dickens (written in newspaper serials), and like Dickens, the story could be shortened significantly (but Thackeray needed to pay the bills!). I read the preface/background on Thackeray and found many similarities between a couple of the characters and Thackeray himself. Vanity Fair was literally written so Thackeray could stay out/get out of gentleman's prison/bankruptcy and put food on the table-- something we witness a couple of characters struggle with. Overall, it wasn't my favorite classic I've read, but it was a lot more fun than I had expected-- and I'd like to thank the BBC adaptation for piquing my interest in giving this story a chance.
The chapters are episodic like Dickens (written in newspaper serials), and like Dickens, the story could be shortened significantly (but Thackeray needed to pay the bills!). I read the preface/background on Thackeray and found many similarities between a couple of the characters and Thackeray himself. Vanity Fair was literally written so Thackeray could stay out/get out of gentleman's prison/bankruptcy and put food on the table-- something we witness a couple of characters struggle with. Overall, it wasn't my favorite classic I've read, but it was a lot more fun than I had expected-- and I'd like to thank the BBC adaptation for piquing my interest in giving this story a chance.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See, here’s the thing: the first couple hundred pages were amazing. I was laughing out loud, interrupting my husband cooking dinner to read him passages, delighting in the strong, sassy women holding their own among the vain, sooky fuck-boys of the 19th century. Things started to get a bit bleak once the Battle of Waterloo kicked off (I mean, I get bored during fight scenes in movies, let alone reading about military events) – but at least, 400 pages in, things were still happening.
By the 600th page, things had become frightfully dull. There were endless character sketches of folks beyond even the periphery of the plot. Thackeray treated us to lengthy (and I mean *lengthy*) descriptions of people’s living quarters. It’s abundantly clear, by that point, that Vanity Fair wasn’t written as a novel, and Thackeray just wanted to keep getting paid for his serial, even after all the action had passed. Indeed, I found out later that he had only written the first three volumes in advance – the rest he came up with on the fly. It’s like reading an essay where the student has made their point and just needs to pad out the word count...
You can check out my complete review over at Keeping Up With The Penguins (www.keepingupwiththepenguins.com), if you're keen ;)
By the 600th page, things had become frightfully dull. There were endless character sketches of folks beyond even the periphery of the plot. Thackeray treated us to lengthy (and I mean *lengthy*) descriptions of people’s living quarters. It’s abundantly clear, by that point, that Vanity Fair wasn’t written as a novel, and Thackeray just wanted to keep getting paid for his serial, even after all the action had passed. Indeed, I found out later that he had only written the first three volumes in advance – the rest he came up with on the fly. It’s like reading an essay where the student has made their point and just needs to pad out the word count...
You can check out my complete review over at Keeping Up With The Penguins (www.keepingupwiththepenguins.com), if you're keen ;)
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No