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erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
Of all the young heroes of Dickens' novels, Nicholas Nickleby is the one likeliest to put a bad guy in the hospital. He administers beatings to at least three people: a nasty schoolmaster, a rival actor, and a lecherous gambler. Do not mess with him.
This is a highly enjoyable novel, but then, the only one of Dickens' that left me cold so far was Hard Times, which was a bit preachy for my tastes.
Plenty of great characters abound, as is usual for Dickens, but I particularly liked the section where Nicholas joins the acting troupe, which is hilarious, especially if you've spent some time around theater people.
This is a highly enjoyable novel, but then, the only one of Dickens' that left me cold so far was Hard Times, which was a bit preachy for my tastes.
Plenty of great characters abound, as is usual for Dickens, but I particularly liked the section where Nicholas joins the acting troupe, which is hilarious, especially if you've spent some time around theater people.
skconaghan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Marvellous.
emzapk's review against another edition
4.5
Was not expecting this to be so hilarious! I love Dickens. He has a bit of a predictable type in his protagonists, but fills the story in with enough intrigue and amusing side characters to keep you interested. Sometimes the themes and moral lessons can seem a bit heavy-handed, but he handles them so deftly that I can't help but absorb them. In this one, I was especially struck by Ralph, and how his self-hatred and projection of that onto others really messed with his life. He was full of selfish motivations and a focus on inconsequential things, and assumed everyone else was the same. This kept him from forming meaningful relationships, and made him always assume the worst in people. It made me think about the danger of assigning motivations to people. Doing this generally only fuels bad feelings. Don't assume you know why someone is acting a certain way! Communicate! It makes things so much easier. (I say as a reminder to myself...)
musicsaves's review against another edition
5.0
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "There once lived, in a sequestered part of the county of Devonshire, one Mr. Godfrey Nickleby: a worthy gentleman, who, taking it into his head rather late in life that he must get married, and not being young enough or rich enough to aspire to the hand of a lady of fortune, had wedded an old flame out of mere attachment, who in her turn had taken him for the same reason." Oh, Dickens, how I love thee! Like an old flame that I don't return to often enough, you are so comforting and surprising. This massive novel thoroughly delighted me on every level. I didn't want it to end (which is always a good sign, especially for someone who reads as much as I do!). Heartbreaking, delightfully humorous and oh-so romantic! A great way to spend my winter break!
loyaultemelie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is a difficult one for me to review. Because despite the fact that I highly enjoyed it, found the prose engaging, and the plot enjoyable, it took me forever to read this book. Moby Dick, for comparison, took me two weeks to read. This one took me a month.
I also have to admit, this is not Dicken's best work, as much as I enjoyed it. Moreso than the Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, this book exhibits the difficulties of serialization. The biggest example of this to me isKate Nickleby's and Madeline Bray's almost identical plot points. It's a little funny to me that as soon as Madeline enters the fray Kate's lecherous suitor is promptly dispatched so that Nicholas might rescue Madeline from her own lecherous suitor. Both of these suitors, of course, are in concert with Ralph Nickleby, which makes it even more ridiculous. I really do think in this case Dickens would have been better focusing on Kate for the plot involving press-ganging into marriage. Madeline could have simply been a poor girl looking for work whom the Brothers Cheeryble helped, and with whom Nicholas fell in love. There isn't even a question as to Nicholas' poverty, since he becomes a partner of the Cheerybles. Really, I think this was a time when Dicken's youth was on show. The lack of foresight in this kind of plotting is funny, but also is distinctly a shortcoming.
There were other things too. This book is a sort of combination of the Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, and this really shows in the loose nature of plot points, fighting against a larger story. There are certain parts of this book which obviously had a lot of forethought put into it. But other parts feel a little, incongruous, and some of the larger themes of the book itself are shunted in favor of Nicholas' various adventure. This meant for me a lull period in the middle, when I was reading maybe 50 pages a day instead of my usual 100.
You may be wondering - okay, if this is all true, why are you rating this book so high? Because it's Dickens! Because Dickens is a master prose writer, and even when things are going slowly, the reader is still being carried by a love, very evocative writing style. And because when the plot kicked in and Dickens wants to make it count, it really does count. Both in terms of moments of drama, and in more general terms. I've read a lot of books with creepy men in them, but rarely have I been so uncomfortable as when reading Mulberry Hawk and Arthur Gride's dialogue about the respective women they harass. This book so far of all the ones I've read reminded me the most of why Dostoevsky was so inspired by and affected by Dickens. In the more serious parts, Nicholas Nickleby makes for a rather devastating read.
If I had to rate this book solely based on skill it would likely be 3/5. But because I did enjoy it so much, I'm giving it a rating hike. I probably won't read another Dickens for a couple of months - I still have some Christmas stories to get through, and I probably won't read another novel of his for about a year like last time - but I look forward to the next with as much pleasure as I started this book with.
I also have to admit, this is not Dicken's best work, as much as I enjoyed it. Moreso than the Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, this book exhibits the difficulties of serialization. The biggest example of this to me is
There were other things too. This book is a sort of combination of the Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, and this really shows in the loose nature of plot points, fighting against a larger story. There are certain parts of this book which obviously had a lot of forethought put into it. But other parts feel a little, incongruous, and some of the larger themes of the book itself are shunted in favor of Nicholas' various adventure. This meant for me a lull period in the middle, when I was reading maybe 50 pages a day instead of my usual 100.
You may be wondering - okay, if this is all true, why are you rating this book so high? Because it's Dickens! Because Dickens is a master prose writer, and even when things are going slowly, the reader is still being carried by a love, very evocative writing style. And because when the plot kicked in and Dickens wants to make it count, it really does count. Both in terms of moments of drama, and in more general terms. I've read a lot of books with creepy men in them, but rarely have I been so uncomfortable as when reading Mulberry Hawk and Arthur Gride's dialogue about the respective women they harass. This book so far of all the ones I've read reminded me the most of why Dostoevsky was so inspired by and affected by Dickens. In the more serious parts, Nicholas Nickleby makes for a rather devastating read.
If I had to rate this book solely based on skill it would likely be 3/5. But because I did enjoy it so much, I'm giving it a rating hike. I probably won't read another Dickens for a couple of months - I still have some Christmas stories to get through, and I probably won't read another novel of his for about a year like last time - but I look forward to the next with as much pleasure as I started this book with.
nickleby_shepherd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0