A review by nikki_in_niagara
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

3.0

A collection of vignettes of Mr Pickwick and The Pickwick Society which travels and records incidents of interest either experienced or heard. This is Dickens' first novel and as he admits is a collection of stories rather than a novel per se. The book does start very episodic but unknown to the reader small incidents are dropped which will be important later on. The second half of the book is more cohesive and novel-like. I enjoyed all the Pickwickians and found their exploits hilarious. A comic novel it does slightly touch upon Dickens' further use of his social conscience as regards the Debtors Prison. Often a parody of contemporary themes such as lawyers and elections. An easy-to-read writing style. I'm glad to have started my year of reading Dickens.