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A review by paperbacksandpines
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
3.0
I read this book as part of Katie from Books and Things's Mega Dickens readalong.
Although I had not agreed that Dickens was unnecessarily long winded before, I really changed my mind when I read this book. This has to be the era when he waw getting paid by the world and why write in seven words when 37 words would put mlore in his pocket? I had to go back several times and reread sentences to figure out what they meant. Finding the subject and the verb in some sentences was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As always, I love his characterizations and descriptions of characters. The plot, however, was meandering and too slow paced for me.
I'm not sure if it was just me or not but I felt that Dickens's use of pathos with Smike was a bit over the top, intended to pull on readers' heartstrings in an overly sentimental kind of way. Like a Hallmark movie. But maybe that's just me and I'm overly jaded.
I also felt that Dickens's portrayal of women wasn't too my liking. If women aren't sexually appealing, they seem to be beneath his notice. The descriptions of women in this book either judge them by their beauty or their empty headedness. The women in this book felt one dimensional to me, only defined by their marital status and/or their ability to produce children.
For these reasons, I just wasn't that impressed with this story or the main characters all that much.
Although I had not agreed that Dickens was unnecessarily long winded before, I really changed my mind when I read this book. This has to be the era when he waw getting paid by the world and why write in seven words when 37 words would put mlore in his pocket? I had to go back several times and reread sentences to figure out what they meant. Finding the subject and the verb in some sentences was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As always, I love his characterizations and descriptions of characters. The plot, however, was meandering and too slow paced for me.
I'm not sure if it was just me or not but I felt that Dickens's use of pathos with Smike was a bit over the top, intended to pull on readers' heartstrings in an overly sentimental kind of way. Like a Hallmark movie. But maybe that's just me and I'm overly jaded.
I also felt that Dickens's portrayal of women wasn't too my liking. If women aren't sexually appealing, they seem to be beneath his notice. The descriptions of women in this book either judge them by their beauty or their empty headedness. The women in this book felt one dimensional to me, only defined by their marital status and/or their ability to produce children.
For these reasons, I just wasn't that impressed with this story or the main characters all that much.