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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book. I have only read a couple of Dickens works previously and they were the smaller books. I have seen screen adaptations of some of the bigger books so knew the plot of this but actually reading Dickens writing was such a joy. His characters are all wonderfully drawn, even the ones who were not so nice! I loved Jenny Wren and Lizzy Hexham best and even though I didn't like Bradley Headstone as a person, he was a right nutter, I still couldn't put the book down on his chapters as I wanted to see what he would do next! On to Bleak House next and all other Dickens now on my TBR.
Oh I love Dickens. So while this book is not really a Tale of Two Cities or even Great Expectations (its really long) I did enjoy the twists and turns-and really really disliked Bradley Headstone.
Hope to see the Masterpiece Theater presentation soon.
Hope to see the Masterpiece Theater presentation soon.
“No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on a shelf, like one who cannot.”
I very much enjoyed reading this novel. There were some of the side stories that had a bit more focus than I would have preferred, but everything comes together nicely in the end and I very much enjoyed the main four to six perspective characters that we were invested in.
Eugene has been a favorite character since I watched the miniseries from 1998 and I did enjoy how he was written. He had a lot of problems, but I was happy with where his story took him.
This has some great mystery elements, characters who grow as the story progresses, characters (like Charlie Hexam) who you can despise for being horrible. Characters to feel sorry for. It really has some excellent elements and I'm sure it is a story I will revisit in the future.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As the last novel Charles Dickens completed before his death, Our Mutual Friend displays the author at the height of his sharp wit and observation of human nature. No shortage of evocative descriptions, colorful dialogue, and magnetic characters here. So overall I give this a thumbs up, although it’s not my favorite of his. Like most Dickens novels, the gist is: characters scheme and suffer, and a lucky few make it to a (relatively) happy ending.
*content sigh*
This book was...wonderful. My Mom keeps asking why its not better known, and I honestly have no idea. Though I'm no Dickens expert (I've read Oliver Twist and refused to finish the dull Great Expectations), I absolutely loved this satrical last book finished by Dickens!
With a whole slew of memorable characters, the plot goes something like this:
John Harmon has been called home after the death of his estranged father to inherit the vast family wealth, on the one condition that he marry Miss Bella Wilfer, a woman he has never met. Wishing to get to know Bella before revealing himself, John fakes his death and gets a job with the friendly Mr and Mrs Boffin, who, with his "death", inherit the property. Being a friendly couple, Mr and Mrs Boffin decide to take take Bella into their house as a companion.
That is the general plot, but inter-mixed is the sarcastic Eugene Wrayburn and Mortimer Lightwood, sweet Lizzie Hexam, sharp little Miss Jenny Wren, the hilarious Veneerings, the grasping Lammles, and the obsessive school teacher Bradley Headstone.
Though confessedly confusing, "Our Mutual Friend" was great. What actually helped me get through the book was knowledge that this was originally written for a magazine, thus each chapter had to keep the reader's inerest. With this in mind, I was able to skim through the duller chapters and truly apreciate the more complex ones.
The romance is adorable the ending has a completely unexpected twist!! This book was also FUNNY. I laughed out loud numerous times and took a great deal of pleasure of Dicken's sacrastic, mocking humor. He pokes fun at society, norms of his day, and yet manages to make it applicable for ALL ages, including our own. Perhaps that is what makes Dickens so wonderful, his characters are not just from any century, but all centuries.
Miss Bella Wilfer is also not your typical Dickens heroine, as her many flaws attest! In fact, you quite hate her at first which makes her all the more loveable at the end.
Though he doesn't give Mr. Knightley (or even Mr Darcy) a run for their money, John is certainly in the top ten of epically wonderful guys from literature ;)
Alright, I think I'm done randomly talking about how much I loved this book. I shall wait for Hope to write a brilliant review so I can go 'oh yes! I totally agree, she puts it so well'.
This book is totally worth reading.
This book was...wonderful. My Mom keeps asking why its not better known, and I honestly have no idea. Though I'm no Dickens expert (I've read Oliver Twist and refused to finish the dull Great Expectations), I absolutely loved this satrical last book finished by Dickens!
With a whole slew of memorable characters, the plot goes something like this:
John Harmon has been called home after the death of his estranged father to inherit the vast family wealth, on the one condition that he marry Miss Bella Wilfer, a woman he has never met. Wishing to get to know Bella before revealing himself, John fakes his death and gets a job with the friendly Mr and Mrs Boffin, who, with his "death", inherit the property. Being a friendly couple, Mr and Mrs Boffin decide to take take Bella into their house as a companion.
That is the general plot, but inter-mixed is the sarcastic Eugene Wrayburn and Mortimer Lightwood, sweet Lizzie Hexam, sharp little Miss Jenny Wren, the hilarious Veneerings, the grasping Lammles, and the obsessive school teacher Bradley Headstone.
Though confessedly confusing, "Our Mutual Friend" was great. What actually helped me get through the book was knowledge that this was originally written for a magazine, thus each chapter had to keep the reader's inerest. With this in mind, I was able to skim through the duller chapters and truly apreciate the more complex ones.
The romance is adorable the ending has a completely unexpected twist!! This book was also FUNNY. I laughed out loud numerous times and took a great deal of pleasure of Dicken's sacrastic, mocking humor. He pokes fun at society, norms of his day, and yet manages to make it applicable for ALL ages, including our own. Perhaps that is what makes Dickens so wonderful, his characters are not just from any century, but all centuries.
Miss Bella Wilfer is also not your typical Dickens heroine, as her many flaws attest! In fact, you quite hate her at first which makes her all the more loveable at the end.
Though he doesn't give Mr. Knightley (or even Mr Darcy) a run for their money, John is certainly in the top ten of epically wonderful guys from literature ;)
Alright, I think I'm done randomly talking about how much I loved this book. I shall wait for Hope to write a brilliant review so I can go 'oh yes! I totally agree, she puts it so well'.
This book is totally worth reading.
Old Harmon is dead, and his will stipulates that if his son, John, wants to inherit his vast fortune, then John must marry Bella Wilfer, a beautiful girl from a poor family. John travels back to England, and dons a disguise so that he can observe Bella before making up his mind. But when a body is found floating in the river, everyone assumes that it is John Harmon, and John takes on a new identity and a new occupation.
Meanwhile, the fortune passes to Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, poor friends of the Harmon family, and since they are not accustomed to having money, they are at a loss on how to manage their new riches or enter into wealthy society. Silas Wegg is a street vendor who Mr. Boffin hires to read to him and enrich his mind with books, but sneaky Silas has a scheme to cheat Mr. Boffin out of his money.
Lizzie and Charlie Hexam are siblings, living in a hovel while their father works on the river. When Charlie has a chance to get some schooling, Lizzie urges him to better himself and leave her in her penniless situation, with disastrous results for them both.
The complex plot weaves around this case of mistaken identity, involving blackmail, murder, secrets, and betrayal. There are numerous characters, all with their own part in the story and their own subplots.
There are two sweet romances, both seemingly impossible, with many obstacles and objections to be overcome.
Money and its effect on people is a major theme of the book, as each character is offered a chance for happiness, honor, or wealth, and they have to make a decision.
This is definitely a new favorite Dickens. I loved the intriguing story and the magnificent characters!
There are 36 characters in this book, so I had to make myself a list to keep track of them all. I am always amazed at how Dickens can create so many varied and distinct characters, each with their own special flavor and style.
As always, I love Dickens' masterful writing style, but he is terribly long-winded, and there are so many details that it's easy to get bogged down in it all. But those imaginative and realistic details are also what make his stories so entrancing and enjoyable.
Meanwhile, the fortune passes to Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, poor friends of the Harmon family, and since they are not accustomed to having money, they are at a loss on how to manage their new riches or enter into wealthy society. Silas Wegg is a street vendor who Mr. Boffin hires to read to him and enrich his mind with books, but sneaky Silas has a scheme to cheat Mr. Boffin out of his money.
Lizzie and Charlie Hexam are siblings, living in a hovel while their father works on the river. When Charlie has a chance to get some schooling, Lizzie urges him to better himself and leave her in her penniless situation, with disastrous results for them both.
The complex plot weaves around this case of mistaken identity, involving blackmail, murder, secrets, and betrayal. There are numerous characters, all with their own part in the story and their own subplots.
There are two sweet romances, both seemingly impossible, with many obstacles and objections to be overcome.
Money and its effect on people is a major theme of the book, as each character is offered a chance for happiness, honor, or wealth, and they have to make a decision.
This is definitely a new favorite Dickens. I loved the intriguing story and the magnificent characters!
There are 36 characters in this book, so I had to make myself a list to keep track of them all. I am always amazed at how Dickens can create so many varied and distinct characters, each with their own special flavor and style.
As always, I love Dickens' masterful writing style, but he is terribly long-winded, and there are so many details that it's easy to get bogged down in it all. But those imaginative and realistic details are also what make his stories so entrancing and enjoyable.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated