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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I am really not a Dickens fan. He is far too long-winded, and it gets old. Fast. This book could have been completed with half the length.
In my humble opinion, another overrated classic. Apart from painting a good picture of the era (as there's no lack of detail) I can see no 900 page story. Putting it down so many times might not have helped my "getting into the story", still I don't thing it would influence my rating.
Coming to the end of my Goodreads bookclub Dickens read (I've read everything except [b:Nicholas Nickleby|325085|Nicholas Nickleby|Charles Dickens|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352758388s/325085.jpg|4993095] and [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327868529s/18254.jpg|3057979]) and this is my favourite Dickens novel of them all. Great characters who actually develop and grow through the novel, plot twists I didn't see coming, social commentary mixed with comedy and drama, it has it all.
3.5 stars...Dickens' longer books are kind of like anthologies in that you probably aren't going to love everything and some of the stories will be rather meh. I liked the basic plot, but there were some things, particularly at the end, that I thought were odd and not excellent conclusions. It's one of his more epic books, and I think, as with a lot of Dickens, it suffers from having been written as a serial. Some things would likely have been a bit better had he written it to be published as one piece. Still a great read though.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
What a wonderful book!
I have been working at this book for the past month. I would have preferred a slightly slower pace, but it’s now long overdue to the library. This was a joy much akin to David Copperfield to me; funny, peopled with interesting weirdos, and optimistic. It holds so much plot, but as always, the characters shine. I was particularly taken by the sharp delight of Jenny Wren and the ominous smoldering of Bradley Headstone, the latter both deeply familiar and remarkably relevant coming from a book published in 1865.
I recorded many quotes, but must conclude with my favorite:
“How can we tell what coming people are aboard the ships that may be sailing to us now from the unknown seas!”
I have been working at this book for the past month. I would have preferred a slightly slower pace, but it’s now long overdue to the library. This was a joy much akin to David Copperfield to me; funny, peopled with interesting weirdos, and optimistic. It holds so much plot, but as always, the characters shine. I was particularly taken by the sharp delight of Jenny Wren and the ominous smoldering of Bradley Headstone, the latter both deeply familiar and remarkably relevant coming from a book published in 1865.
I recorded many quotes, but must conclude with my favorite:
“How can we tell what coming people are aboard the ships that may be sailing to us now from the unknown seas!”
It was long. It was complicated. I never became attached to any of the characters. Most of them were acting crazy (spoiler alert: many of the characters were trying to fool one another).
I would guess about 10% of the novel kept my attention. But overall it was too ridiculous for me to take seriously. As far as I could tell, 2 of the deaths went unexplained.
I think I read on Wikipedia that author Charles Dickens in this, his last completed work, was a bit experimental in several respects. His experiment did not please me too much.
I would guess about 10% of the novel kept my attention. But overall it was too ridiculous for me to take seriously. As far as I could tell, 2 of the deaths went unexplained.
I think I read on Wikipedia that author Charles Dickens in this, his last completed work, was a bit experimental in several respects. His experiment did not please me too much.
it is very easy book to read i advise English learner to read it very interesting book
I don't know that there will ever be another book that takes me so long to read. YEARS.
It's not that I don't enjoy Dickens, I do! But this was a lot of words.
All the women won out in the end, so that's satisfying!
It's not that I don't enjoy Dickens, I do! But this was a lot of words.
All the women won out in the end, so that's satisfying!
I read this a while back so the details are a bit hazy but I remember nicknaming it "oh when will it end" which speaks volumes (pun intended?). One of the stars in this rating is for Jenny, who I think was one of my favourite characters.
This was everything I want when I pick up a novel by Dickens. It took me a while to get through this, but never did I feel that it dragged on for a long time or that it was unnecessarily prolonged. I barely even noticed how long it was. This book has a great cast of memorable characters, and I grew to love or hate every singe one of them. Every time I opened the book it felt like coming home, like it enveloped me in a warm hug. The stories of all the different characters build up and intertwine and combine to a beautiful whole - funny, sad, dramatic, heart-breaking, heart-warming.
I was going to say that this earns a spot under my top Dickens novels, but then I realized I probably say that for everyone I read (except Oliver Twist, the black sheep), so I'll just say it was excellent and worth every singe one of its 800 pages.
I was going to say that this earns a spot under my top Dickens novels, but then I realized I probably say that for everyone I read (except Oliver Twist, the black sheep), so I'll just say it was excellent and worth every singe one of its 800 pages.