1.16k reviews for:

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

3.33 AVERAGE

emilykathleenreads's review against another edition

2.0

---

Not going to lie, I kept getting bored and lost concentration while I had the audio on and I didn't feel like I cared enough to keep rewinding so I just let it play on in the background. There's not much I could tell you about the plot of Hard Times but hey ho. Maybe another time in the future I'll reread it.

I have enjoyed other Dickens novels before but this one I couldn't get along with unfortunately.

mjeitler's review against another edition

4.0

---

I read this novel as part of a course on the intersection of film and literature, and I thought it was delightful! In this class, I learned that dickens believed literature should serve to advance a social goal, but that it should first and foremost should entertain. I though this novel did both remarkably well. What a fun read.

middle_name_joy's review against another edition

3.0

---

Considering Dickens wrote Hard Times in weekly installments for Household Words in 1851, its an accomplishment that the narrative has good flow and the characters are consistent. The fact that this was required reading for my 19th Century British Literature course, it is also an accomplishment that I finished it. I feel like my opinion is skewed with all the discussion done in class and the analysis I did independently. It's not even a novel to me anymore. It's an example of Victorian literature, complete with issues of work, facts vs. imagination, self-reflection, etc. It's not my favorite of the readings we've done this semester.

g_monaghan's review against another edition

2.25

slow-paced

mon_3's review against another edition

1.0

dark mysterious slow-paced

---

 I found Hard Times dull. I didn't like it at all! I probably liked it even less because I had not realised the book I had ordered was a big, floppy and cheaply printed copy of the book 😪 

starfisher_gabi's review against another edition

2.5

challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

haley_9's review against another edition

2.5

challenging slow-paced

---

I generally like Dickens, his writing style is normally accessible and fun to read, but this book sort of lacked that. I still enjoyed the writing style but I didn’t love it like I normally do. The pacing of the story made it hard to really feel engaged in the book. The third part of the book had all the resolutions and so it felt a bit rushed while the first two parts sort of dragged out. It was an alright read but not great.

dreams_of_leander's review against another edition

3.25

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

blakeney_clark's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

jasmond's review against another edition

4.5

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