Reviews

Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens

wilde_read's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a fine recording by Frederick Davidson. What a talented narrator he was! He tackled all of the voices of this Dicken's classic superbly. 
As for the story, I got bored with the characters in the romantic relationship in the end and couldn't wait for it to resolve finally. The step-mother left me wondering if her character was really fully developed in this novel. Overall, the cast of characters were diverse and entertaining as you would expect from Dickens. I did enjoy it and hunger for more readings by Davidson.

davidabrams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0

jlewis's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

Slowly working my way through Dickens (a chapter a day) and the jury’s still out on whether or not I’m finding it a pleasure or a chore. There are some very long passages, sometimes amounting to almost whole chapters, where nothing happens other than Dickens embarking on long descriptions or reflections, which I found rather heavy-going. But there is a good mix of engaging, compelling, villainous and deeply-flawed characters, which keeps the story moving.  Aspects of the plot, as always with Dickens, stretch credulity to breaking-point.  On the whole, good enough for me to decide to carry on with my Dickens journey. 

lexiemoon321's review against another edition

4.0

This was phenomenal! The way Dickens made his characters here made me feel extreme emotions from extreme anger to sadness to happiness. Also, the message that Dickens was telling was quite interesting; my theory is that Dickens was trying to talk about how pride can destroy us all and ruin relationships. I would so recommend it!

andriella's review against another edition

funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hannah850's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

msrichardsreads89's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

Although the novel is not critically accepted as one of Dickens’s major works, it is still enjoyable. It is full of vibrant characters–-mostly those of good will but also some villains–-and it is gripping to the end. Some critics have noticed a change in the novel that takes place with the death of the young Paul, believing that having the colorless Florence and the unlikable Dombey as the main characters is not enough to carry the story forward. The absence of Walter and his uncle through much of the book is also thought to be a problem. However, the novel has all of the Dickens hallmarks–-social commentary, comic absurdity, realism, pathos, and transformation.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/dombey-and-son/

dragonarts's review against another edition

4.0

John Carker is our lizard man. 10/10 lizard, 2/10 squishability.
Fun, overall very balanced in terms of plot and set pieces. Would have liked to see fewer chapters dedicated to how sad Florence is because we get it, she's sad.
Good twist too, Dickens, although you could have seen it a mile away. Two good twists actually. I appreciate a twister.

taitlawsen's review against another edition

4.0

Every character is fascinating, and every punchy description is so accessible that you’ll wonder why you haven’t heard it before.