Reviews

Why classify this novel in children's literature? I am not convinced that this is the category that corresponds. Getting into this novel took me a while because we did not understand the style immediately. Will there be several adventures utterly independent of each other? As the chapters read, since, in the end, they are chapters, we realize that there will be a continuous story and that all these little adventures lead to a final scene. Characters continually add, and remembering the good ones is not always easy (those who will return in the following pages). Still, after a few returns and some memory efforts, one settles well in the London of Mr. Pickwick and Pickwickians, and we enjoy their adventures. We laugh all the way and never get bored.

thoko555's review against another edition

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4.0

Found the first half slow and I struggled to get into it. Really enjoyed the second half

oz617's review against another edition

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1.0

Looking up necromancy techniques so I can resurrect Mr Dickens and clobber him over the head with this brick of a novel. My new literary arch nemesis. The one good thing I can say about this is that you could make a fairly interesting queer and/or feminist reading of some of the side characters, but I have no idea why you’d put yourself through such a thing rather than analysing a better (and shorter) book.

eclecticlittleadventures's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad 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

happylilkt's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 Stars

Oh, Dickens.... I read [b:Great Expectations|2623|Great Expectations|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327920219l/2623._SY75_.jpg|2612809] my first year of high school and it was not bad but it was not amazing for me like it is for some Dickens fans*, but then sometime as a young adult (after I watched the BBC film of David Copperfield with a young Daniel Radcliffe, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, et al) I decided to read [b:David Copperfield|58696|David Copperfield|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461452762l/58696._SY75_.jpg|4711940] and found myself on a Dickens binge with [b:A Tale of Two Cities|1953|A Tale of Two Cities|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344922523l/1953._SY75_.jpg|2956372], [b:Hard Times|5344|Hard Times|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348651243l/5344._SX50_.jpg|6751955], and [b:Oliver Twist|18254|Oliver Twist|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327868529l/18254._SY75_.jpg|3057979]. But the latter was my least favorite and I must have moved on. Since then I've read [b:A Christmas Carol|5326|A Christmas Carol|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406512317l/5326._SY75_.jpg|3097440] a few times and, honestly, felt that I had ticked the Dickens box, if you know what I mean? I still reread A Christmas Carol and David Copperfield (and A Tale of Two Cities) because they are just so wonderful, but not sure I felt the need to read more. I mean, who reads EVERY Dickens book...?**

And so it stood. But then one of the most enduring and endearing book clubs I have been a part of elected [b:Nicholas Nickleby|325085|Nicholas Nickleby|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352758388l/325085._SY75_.jpg|4993095] for our December/January read. Shame on me for doubting you, Charles Dickens! I was reminded of why he and [a:Jane Austen|1265|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588941810p2/1265.jpg] are the master and mistress of amusing side-characters. Yes, Dickens makes his heroes perfect and his villains the worst; yes, everything is very episodic (hello, serials!), amusing, and at times sentimentally tragic. But I am not embarrassed to say that I laughed, I cried, and I bored my husband by reading passages aloud (tip: it's not usually entertaining for those who haven't been reading with you).

yearbook notes for my favorite characters:
Mrs. Nickleby, you got me shaking my head. John Browdie, you are the best that Yorkshire could ever offer. Tim, may your heavenly ledgers be legible and accurate. Newman Noggs and Smike, you both have my heart!

*I think it's kind of like Wuthering Heights. Some love it and others don't really get it. For me, it's Jane Eyre and David Copperfield. Sorry, Pip.
**I'm not committing myself or anything, but I will now freely acknowledge that it could happen to me.

v_andbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Maybe one of the weaker stories by Dickens, but still with a satisfactory ending.

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