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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Another wonderful novel by Charles Dickens! Each time I finish one of his books, I think the next one I read can’t be as good as the last one and yet I am proven wrong every time.
I’m participating in an online book club featuring books that are inspired by Dickens’s works and so I am slowly making my way through the originals after finishing the retellings. And I can safely say that Dickens is fast becoming one of my favorite authors!
I actually listened to this one on audiobook and the narrator, David Timson, is excellent. I highly recommend listening to this one.
I’m participating in an online book club featuring books that are inspired by Dickens’s works and so I am slowly making my way through the originals after finishing the retellings. And I can safely say that Dickens is fast becoming one of my favorite authors!
I actually listened to this one on audiobook and the narrator, David Timson, is excellent. I highly recommend listening to this one.
Surprisingly this is the first Dickens book I've ever read but I loved it so much. It's just such a good critique of London's high society and how greed over money and power generally leads you to be a pretty shitty person. I loved how the scene in the chapter "Podsnappery" really shows this, with Podsnap just being a giant douche to his guest.
I wasn't a huge fan of Lizzie and Eugene ending up together because I though Eugene was kind of a creep but it wasn't that bad.
I wasn't a huge fan of Lizzie and Eugene ending up together because I though Eugene was kind of a creep but it wasn't that bad.
I didn't love it as much as Bleak House or Great Expectations ... but it was a giant, sexy novel and I did really enjoy it.
I have to rate this as one of Dickens’ finest works. It has everything anyone might come to expect from his peculiar blend of comic working class heroes, quiet bravery, and treacherous villains. There is tragedy, drama, hilarity, and intrigue in the scenes he paints, culminating in a plot that comes out in heartwarming scenes of hospitable resolution.
The biggest difference I found here is that the plot is actually a key factor. Typically, Dickens plots feel more like a vehicle to keep writing scenes between interesting characters. While this novel is similar in quality on a scene by scene basis, there is actually a very compelling central mystery which keeps the reader eager beyond the characters developing toward their fates. The book starts with a body washing up. And not just any body; this is the body of a millionaire heir on his return journey home to claim his inheritance. Though the mystery element isn’t on par with Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, the plot manages to continue to surprise far more than most of Dickens romances. I found that added greatly to the appeal he develops in other quarters.
This is top Dickens.
The biggest difference I found here is that the plot is actually a key factor. Typically, Dickens plots feel more like a vehicle to keep writing scenes between interesting characters. While this novel is similar in quality on a scene by scene basis, there is actually a very compelling central mystery which keeps the reader eager beyond the characters developing toward their fates. The book starts with a body washing up. And not just any body; this is the body of a millionaire heir on his return journey home to claim his inheritance. Though the mystery element isn’t on par with Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie, the plot manages to continue to surprise far more than most of Dickens romances. I found that added greatly to the appeal he develops in other quarters.
This is top Dickens.
The Ending of Our Mutual friend, which I consider to be after page 740, is an excellent example of Dickens's mastery of the narrative form. However, I found the first 700 pages hard to slog through. Yes, the narrative had a lot of interesting and intriguing points that left me wanting more, but, for me, the level of description took a lot away from this novel. It may be an excellent example of the execution of a Victorian novel, but its plot took to long to unfold.
I'll give the novel three stars because it truly excelled in tacking many complex notions that were prevalent in its contemporary period. Also, the novel does hold true to our own society, which makes it a bit of an interesting read. Also, I believe the ending and the plot twist, which did surprise me, warrant some leniency towards the plots slow development. This could easily have been a 4/5 if it was edited down to ~400 pages—perhaps this is A flaw in the episodic form or a mere by-product of reading an episodic narrative as one text.
I'll give the novel three stars because it truly excelled in tacking many complex notions that were prevalent in its contemporary period. Also, the novel does hold true to our own society, which makes it a bit of an interesting read. Also, I believe the ending and the plot twist, which did surprise me, warrant some leniency towards the plots slow development. This could easily have been a 4/5 if it was edited down to ~400 pages—perhaps this is A flaw in the episodic form or a mere by-product of reading an episodic narrative as one text.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sometimes when a man is a stalker it's a good thing and sometimes when a man is a stalker it's a bad thing. My name is Charles Dickens and I will not be elaborating
I just finished Our Mutual Friend and I must say this is the first work I've read from Dickens. I loved it. When I first started, I was kind of apprehensive, because I always thought Dickens was not an easy reading, which it isn't, but at a certain moment I was delighted with the associations that I just couldn't stop reading.
There are many characters and storylines and that kind of makes it harder for the reading to flow, but they are so different from one another and so peculiar that it is impossible not to fall in love with every single one of them.
My two favorites would be Mr Twemlow and Miss Jenny Wren. I think anyone who suffers from social anxiety would identify with the first character and Jenny Wren always offers a different and reversed way to look at things even though she is probably the one with the saddest story.
The way she is presented to the read - like a grotesque figure that can't be distinguished if is a child or an old lady - will always stick into my mind, such as the way Mr Twemlow appears in the first time - like a little piece of furniture, wondering with such a stress if he was Veneerings' newest or oldest friend.
Another storyline I loved was the Lammles' and even though they are kind of villains, I confess that I kind of sympathized with them, especially the wife, who was not that bad after all.
There are so much more to said about this, but I just can't put it in words. Now that I have finished I am sad to say that I felt they were all my friends at this moment and I am a bit sad to see they will no longer be part of my life - except if I reread it.
I guess I'll have to read more from Dickens - which was already in my plans.
(Sorry if the text was confusing, I didn't edit and I had just finished the book and wanted to share the experience so bad!)
There are many characters and storylines and that kind of makes it harder for the reading to flow, but they are so different from one another and so peculiar that it is impossible not to fall in love with every single one of them.
My two favorites would be Mr Twemlow and Miss Jenny Wren. I think anyone who suffers from social anxiety would identify with the first character and Jenny Wren always offers a different and reversed way to look at things even though she is probably the one with the saddest story.
The way she is presented to the read - like a grotesque figure that can't be distinguished if is a child or an old lady - will always stick into my mind, such as the way Mr Twemlow appears in the first time - like a little piece of furniture, wondering with such a stress if he was Veneerings' newest or oldest friend.
Another storyline I loved was the Lammles' and even though they are kind of villains, I confess that I kind of sympathized with them, especially the wife, who was not that bad after all.
There are so much more to said about this, but I just can't put it in words. Now that I have finished I am sad to say that I felt they were all my friends at this moment and I am a bit sad to see they will no longer be part of my life - except if I reread it.
I guess I'll have to read more from Dickens - which was already in my plans.
(Sorry if the text was confusing, I didn't edit and I had just finished the book and wanted to share the experience so bad!)
I did not enjoy this. Too many characters. Plot not believable. I have enjoyed some Dickens recently but this was too much.