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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel is a masterpiece. It’s in at least my top three favourite books of all time, which, from a voracious reader, is saying something. It’s an epic. We follow the lives of around five characters in detail throughout years. It’s a saga, and a true journey.
Thackeray’s prose is beautiful and well-written, yet is daring, provocative and even humorous for the time. However, this isn’t what draws you into the novel and why I love it; the overwhelming strength of the book is it’s characters. Thackeray described his book as ‘a novel without a hero’. He’s certainly right; Becky Sharp is no heroine, yet she is an incredible main character, simply jumping off the page, and there is an amazing cast of supporting characters.
The ending of Vanity Fair I firmly believe is one of the best endings ever written. It befits the general tone of the novel, the entire theme of which is ‘striving for what is not worth having’ so perfectly.
Yes, Vanity Fair does have its problems. Racist and antisemitic behaviour do occur, but it’s not prominent in the novel. Does Vanity Fair deserve to be cancelled? I think that’s an individual decision for a reader to make, so just be aware of these issues going into reading this.
Vanity Fair demands to be read slowly, savoured, appreciated. It’s certainly a commitment, but one which is so worth it. While it may not be a ‘must-read’ classic, it wholly deserves that title. For pure entertainment purposes, it delivers, but also is very thought-provoking. How far can Becky’s actions be justified? Was her social climbing worth the effort? How much does our birth determine our character?
Thackeray’s prose is beautiful and well-written, yet is daring, provocative and even humorous for the time. However, this isn’t what draws you into the novel and why I love it; the overwhelming strength of the book is it’s characters. Thackeray described his book as ‘a novel without a hero’. He’s certainly right; Becky Sharp is no heroine, yet she is an incredible main character, simply jumping off the page, and there is an amazing cast of supporting characters.
The ending of Vanity Fair I firmly believe is one of the best endings ever written. It befits the general tone of the novel, the entire theme of which is ‘striving for what is not worth having’ so perfectly.
Yes, Vanity Fair does have its problems. Racist and antisemitic behaviour do occur, but it’s not prominent in the novel. Does Vanity Fair deserve to be cancelled? I think that’s an individual decision for a reader to make, so just be aware of these issues going into reading this.
Vanity Fair demands to be read slowly, savoured, appreciated. It’s certainly a commitment, but one which is so worth it. While it may not be a ‘must-read’ classic, it wholly deserves that title. For pure entertainment purposes, it delivers, but also is very thought-provoking. How far can Becky’s actions be justified? Was her social climbing worth the effort? How much does our birth determine our character?
I first attempted to read this book many years ago and only got 150 pages because I couldn't stand it. It felt like I was just reading about a bunch of haughty, unlikeable people so I abandoned it. I now feel like I was entirely missing the point which goes to show (once again!) how the timing of the reading of a book can very much influence our reception of it - poor authors!
Thackeray does a brilliant job of sharing the juicy stories of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley all the way since their dispatch from school through to their later lives.
The narration throughout is done in such a way that forms a special bond between the narrator and the reader. With the narrator often stepping back to chat directly with us, commenting on the matters at hand in a conversational tone. Thackeray often buoys up the reader's character, suggesting we'd be forgiven at thinking X or have we never also committed Y, as he graciously does (or seemingly so) to all the characters he is telling us about. It's really brilliantly done. In many ways it's as if Thackeray takes his place as a character in the book itself, actually towards the end he does, which makes perfect sense.
How fun is poked at each of the characters misgivings through sarcasm and a sharp wit is endlessly entertaining and very superbly done. I often found myself shaking my head and the deceptive nature of Becky or rolling my eyes at the sentimental nature of Amelia. It was fun to read and at times had me give out a little chortle at the characters expense.
I also liked how the book leaves you reflecting on the complex matter of morals. For one is neither all good and all bad and while initially Becky may give the impression as a villain and Amelia as a saint, things are never quite that simple. There is a lot about Becky to like and just as much about Amelia to dislike.
At times I found it a little hard to keep track of exactly which character was being referred to since a lot of them share the same last names to which they are often referred but as you keep reading, the exact person in question is always revealed to you. So if you find yourself in that same position, I urge you to press on!
It's definitely a book that my mind will be going over for a while left to come and always with a little grin on my face.
Thackeray does a brilliant job of sharing the juicy stories of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley all the way since their dispatch from school through to their later lives.
The narration throughout is done in such a way that forms a special bond between the narrator and the reader. With the narrator often stepping back to chat directly with us, commenting on the matters at hand in a conversational tone. Thackeray often buoys up the reader's character, suggesting we'd be forgiven at thinking X or have we never also committed Y, as he graciously does (or seemingly so) to all the characters he is telling us about. It's really brilliantly done. In many ways it's as if Thackeray takes his place as a character in the book itself, actually towards the end he does, which makes perfect sense.
How fun is poked at each of the characters misgivings through sarcasm and a sharp wit is endlessly entertaining and very superbly done. I often found myself shaking my head and the deceptive nature of Becky or rolling my eyes at the sentimental nature of Amelia. It was fun to read and at times had me give out a little chortle at the characters expense.
I also liked how the book leaves you reflecting on the complex matter of morals. For one is neither all good and all bad and while initially Becky may give the impression as a villain and Amelia as a saint, things are never quite that simple. There is a lot about Becky to like and just as much about Amelia to dislike.
At times I found it a little hard to keep track of exactly which character was being referred to since a lot of them share the same last names to which they are often referred but as you keep reading, the exact person in question is always revealed to you. So if you find yourself in that same position, I urge you to press on!
It's definitely a book that my mind will be going over for a while left to come and always with a little grin on my face.
Couldn’t get into story, didn’t care about protagonist.
It was long but had some fun twists. Becky really made a mess of her life and some very poor choices but a life viewed as a whole is a messy messy thing.
Ласкаво просимо до клубу лицемірства
Спочатку хочу зазначити, що автор просто прекрасно пише, це саме той тип письма, що орієнтований на нас – купку поціновувачів класичної літератури. Текст у багатьох місцях відходить від сюжету і спрямовується до розмірковувань письменника, у які він посвячує і нас, таке відчуття, що пан Текерей веде бесіду зі своїми читачами.
Отож, в центрі сюжету дві молоді жінки – Емілія та Ребекка (добро і зло, так би мовити
Спочатку хочу зазначити, що автор просто прекрасно пише, це саме той тип письма, що орієнтований на нас – купку поціновувачів класичної літератури. Текст у багатьох місцях відходить від сюжету і спрямовується до розмірковувань письменника, у які він посвячує і нас, таке відчуття, що пан Текерей веде бесіду зі своїми читачами.
Отож, в центрі сюжету дві молоді жінки – Емілія та Ребекка (добро і зло, так би мовити
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You know the joke that you can drive in Europe for 4 hours and cross 4 countries, but in the USA you drive 4 hours and not even reach another state? Europe is every other book, and Vanity Fair takes hours of lifeless deserts of most boresome, useless information that never comes up again before ever reaching anything at all.
I really wish I had more to say about this book. It's a book I'd heard a lot about, people referenced as if everyone should know what they are talking about, but I had never really had an interest in reading. When I saw it was being read in the "Chunksters" group on Goodreads, I took advantage of this excuse to finally read it.
The book just goes on and on and on and on and on.
I didn't much care for any of the characters, but I sort of think that was Thackeray's intent. They were merely puppets, after all. I did find some of the historical bits interesting. Hard to believe that wives went with their husbands when they marched to war and sat in encampments near the battlefields. And the gambling houses and debtor's prisons and prim and proper parties with everyone playing charades and waltzing and the well-known families and and and....
But the story itself bored me. It's one of those slice-of-life stories that doesn't really have a plot -- unless you consider Amelia and Dobbin a plot but that could have been a MUCH shorter story. And Thackeray often breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader and goes off on these (sometimes chapter-long) tangents that I couldn't care less about.
At least now I know what all the references are about...
The book just goes on and on and on and on and on.
I didn't much care for any of the characters, but I sort of think that was Thackeray's intent. They were merely puppets, after all. I did find some of the historical bits interesting. Hard to believe that wives went with their husbands when they marched to war and sat in encampments near the battlefields. And the gambling houses and debtor's prisons and prim and proper parties with everyone playing charades and waltzing and the well-known families and and and....
But the story itself bored me. It's one of those slice-of-life stories that doesn't really have a plot -- unless you consider Amelia and Dobbin a plot but that could have been a MUCH shorter story. And Thackeray often breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the reader and goes off on these (sometimes chapter-long) tangents that I couldn't care less about.
At least now I know what all the references are about...
challenging
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced