Reviews

I was utterly surprised and delighted by how witty, observant, self aware and readable this classic piece of English literature is.

For years I have been intimidated by the size of this tome but I am so glad I finally gave it a chance.

I have never seen any adaptations of this novel and so went into it ignorant and unaware of its narrative. A truly epic family tale following two young women - one of high society, one of low, and how their fortunes rose and fell and intermingled in incredible and dreadful ways.

Rebecca is a formidable figure, unashamed of her behaviour, fighting the system and manipulating high society for her own amusement and desires. I did feel it to be a bit old fashioned and sad that a "wicked woman" would care so little for her child - its a bit of cliche that the wild woman neglects family - but it also made sense. Rebecca lacked empathy and love. She wanted to be free, not tied down, she didn't want to play the role expected of her and therefor it's reasonable she would care little for her kid, lest what they could provide for her.

Amelia is an insufferable wet blanket, smothered by the rules and regulations of polite decorum. She plays nice and is ridiculed and abused, but in the end her moppish attitude pays off and she ends up happy, safe and comfortable. She frustrated me - so blind in her faith to George - she represented everything wrong with Vanity Fair. She suffered the slings and arrows of her parents misfortunes. Nobody abused Joss when his father went bankrupt, but Emmy was now a harlot and wicked woman, rejected by all her previous friends and family. The double standard was engaging.

Such a clever and enrapturing book. Highly recommend it if you're a fan of Pride and Predjudice.

illyanadallas222's review against another edition

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4.0

The book can be summed up with the epic line:
"Why this is Vanity fair! Where everyone is striving for what is not worth having....".

Sadly relevant even today in 2019.

amylikestoread's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5*

neaddean's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

phoenix2's review against another edition

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3.0

There was never any other book which gave me such a pleasure when I pressed the I'm finished! button. I don't really know why, but Vanity Fair took me forever to finish it up. Surely it's not difficult to read, and the pase is quite good, but it is a long, long, long story, where, sometimes, you have to read between the lines. Rebecca is a vilain who strives and then falls, Amelia is the kind maiden who struggles and finally finds happiness. There are more characters, of course, but the main ones are the ones that the story is focus on. The two of them are the complete oposet of each other, but they still manage to maintain a false relationship. Maybe Vanity Fair's problem is that it was published on a newspaper and the chapters are not really conected to each other, there are long prologues before each chapter and the author tends to speak to the reader, but, due to the fact that the reader supposed to be a victorian man, it is not easy for someone nowdays to find those 'chats' interesting. There for, I am giving Vanity Fair 3 out of 5. But again, it was a really long story and if someone isn't that into books, I advise not to even start this one.

irene_chesnokova's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

elizabethkingstonmiller's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

3.25

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