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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This honestly just sucked…
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 instead of 4 stars because of
I did enjoy Bella and Lizzie better as female leads than Florence, for example, in Dombey and Son. Neither was quite an angel--Bella's liveliness and character development make her interesting, and Lizzie's physical strength, skill with a boat, and bravery counteract her extreme self-effacement and self-sacrifice. When Lizzie and Bella meet for the first time (Book the Third, Chapter IX), it's laughingly obvious this book was written by a man--they are dazzled by each other's beauty and that's what they first want to remark upon to each other ("'It's quite new to me,' said Lizzie, 'to be visited by a lady so nearly of my own age, and so pretty as you. It's a pleasure to me to look at you.' / 'I have nothing left to begin with,' returned Bella, blushing, 'because I was going to say that it was a pleasure to me to look at you, Lizzie...'") Female readers out there--is this how you strike up friendships?? Maybe women in the 1800's did, but I'd need some primary documentary evidence.
I didn't see anything attractive in Eugene. Though he's witty, it's in an apathetic, cynical (and sometimes cruel and condescending) sort of way. He doesn't do anything productive or useful, except through his attraction to Lizzie. He is careless and irresponsible with her heart for his own immediate gratification. He hardly behaves honorably towards her. For that matter, neither does. I suppose he's such a "useless" person so that Lizzie can improve him, but he totally does not deserve her.
It was actually especially irritating that Eugene, John, and Bradley Headstone were all expressly rejected at some point (or multiple points) by the women they sought, but doggedly persisted anyway, in their own ways. While two were supposedly romantic, and one decidedly creepy, what I appreciated most was when John visibly respected Bella's wishes by communicating with her as little as possible.
Riah's reflections near the end about how "Christian countries" view Jews sadly still seems apt regarding basically every minority group. Riah reflects: "For it is not, in Christian countries, with the Jews as with other peoples. Men say, 'This is a bad Greek, but there are good Greeks. This is a bad Turk, but there are good Turks.' Not so with the Jews. Men find the bad among us easily enough--among what peoples are the bad not easily found?--but they take the worst of us as samples of the best; they take the lowest of us as presentations of the highest; and they say, 'All Jews are alike.'" A pleasant surprise to see so explicit a commentary, when Dickens no doubt still used stereotypes with his Jewish characters.
In terms of the ending, I found it rather hypocritical that
My review has mostly sounded negative, but I did enjoy Dickens' usual weaving together of all the characters and humorous wordplay. Lady Tippins' use of "you morose backwoodsman" as an epithet near the end was a delightful reward for getting through the 800+ pages.
Spoiler
the deep deception against Bella. While it makes for such a dramatic twist at the end, it's hard to pass over that she was manipulated (by 3 of the people she cares for most, no less) into falling in love with and marrying a man whom she had decisively told she wasn't interested in, and who perpetuates the deception longer than he'd originally planned to partly just to revel in his own "triumph." Yes, this book is a product of its times... But still.I did enjoy Bella and Lizzie better as female leads than Florence, for example, in Dombey and Son. Neither was quite an angel--Bella's liveliness and character development make her interesting, and Lizzie's physical strength, skill with a boat, and bravery counteract her extreme self-effacement and self-sacrifice. When Lizzie and Bella meet for the first time (Book the Third, Chapter IX), it's laughingly obvious this book was written by a man--they are dazzled by each other's beauty and that's what they first want to remark upon to each other ("'It's quite new to me,' said Lizzie, 'to be visited by a lady so nearly of my own age, and so pretty as you. It's a pleasure to me to look at you.' / 'I have nothing left to begin with,' returned Bella, blushing, 'because I was going to say that it was a pleasure to me to look at you, Lizzie...'") Female readers out there--is this how you strike up friendships?? Maybe women in the 1800's did, but I'd need some primary documentary evidence.
I didn't see anything attractive in Eugene. Though he's witty, it's in an apathetic, cynical (and sometimes cruel and condescending) sort of way. He doesn't do anything productive or useful, except through his attraction to Lizzie. He is careless and irresponsible with her heart for his own immediate gratification. He hardly behaves honorably towards her. For that matter, neither does
Spoiler
John act honorably toward BellaIt was actually especially irritating that Eugene, John, and Bradley Headstone were all expressly rejected at some point (or multiple points) by the women they sought, but doggedly persisted anyway, in their own ways. While two were supposedly romantic, and one decidedly creepy, what I appreciated most was when John visibly respected Bella's wishes by communicating with her as little as possible.
Riah's reflections near the end about how "Christian countries" view Jews sadly still seems apt regarding basically every minority group. Riah reflects: "For it is not, in Christian countries, with the Jews as with other peoples. Men say, 'This is a bad Greek, but there are good Greeks. This is a bad Turk, but there are good Turks.' Not so with the Jews. Men find the bad among us easily enough--among what peoples are the bad not easily found?--but they take the worst of us as samples of the best; they take the lowest of us as presentations of the highest; and they say, 'All Jews are alike.'" A pleasant surprise to see so explicit a commentary, when Dickens no doubt still used stereotypes with his Jewish characters.
In terms of the ending, I found it rather hypocritical that
Spoiler
the reward for not desiring wealth was obscene riches. I suppose the nuance is that wealth doesn't spoil everyone, but wasn't Bella as happy as she could be in her modest cottage in Greenwich? It seemed that John after all wanted to be rich so he could shower Bella with gifts. I suppose where the fortune would end up had to be solved, and it ended up with the "deserving" while all the undeserving lost their money.My review has mostly sounded negative, but I did enjoy Dickens' usual weaving together of all the characters and humorous wordplay. Lady Tippins' use of "you morose backwoodsman" as an epithet near the end was a delightful reward for getting through the 800+ pages.
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just finished Our Mutual Friend.
Dickens had a lot going on in this novel - it almost felt like too much in parts.
With this being his last completed book, Dickens threw in about every big theme he had done in previous books - the plight of the poor, class differences and how money can change people, sibling and family relationships, London and English society, etc. In addition, he had a major theme in Our Mutual Friend of water/rebirth contrasted with water/drowning/death. Lots of water imagery throughout with the River Thames and various bodies of water. There was also a lot of fireside conversations and action in the story - it was kind of a back and forth between fire and water.
Setting was well done and the vast cast of characters was memorable, but kind of overwhelming for me. The plot was unnecessarily complicated especially at the end with the final twists and turns about the will. I feel there were some plot threads that didn’t fully realize their potential or were extraneous to the overarching story.
Our Mutual Friend is a great story with some wonderful lines and passages like only Dickens could deliver. Definitely not to be missed by fans of Dickens - maybe not the best place to start though.
3 stars.
Dickens had a lot going on in this novel - it almost felt like too much in parts.
With this being his last completed book, Dickens threw in about every big theme he had done in previous books - the plight of the poor, class differences and how money can change people, sibling and family relationships, London and English society, etc. In addition, he had a major theme in Our Mutual Friend of water/rebirth contrasted with water/drowning/death. Lots of water imagery throughout with the River Thames and various bodies of water. There was also a lot of fireside conversations and action in the story - it was kind of a back and forth between fire and water.
Setting was well done and the vast cast of characters was memorable, but kind of overwhelming for me. The plot was unnecessarily complicated especially at the end with the final twists and turns about the will. I feel there were some plot threads that didn’t fully realize their potential or were extraneous to the overarching story.
Our Mutual Friend is a great story with some wonderful lines and passages like only Dickens could deliver. Definitely not to be missed by fans of Dickens - maybe not the best place to start though.
3 stars.
Not the kind of book I'd like, but I had to read this one because it was our english novel in school, The plot was so good actually but Idk why I didn't enjoy it that much, Recommend it for people who like classics maybe.
It's very slow to start. It's probably the worst book by Dickens I have read so far. But Dickens worst book is better than most books you will ever read. If you are English, or, so I have heard, even if you are American, reading Dickens feels like home. It's cozy, even though characters die, bad things happen, etc. It's like travelling to an England that feels more like home than the one I grew up in.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder