A review by ncteixeira
Hard Times by Charles Dickens

sad slow-paced

5.0

Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirizes the social and economic conditions of the era.

The story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town.

It’s his shortest novel and until now I thought that it was my favourite of his works, but I praised the writing more than the story (I favour stories like Bleak House, Oliver Twist & Martin Chuzzlewit).

This was a re-read for me, but first time in English (instead of Portuguese).

The writing, in my humble opinion, is simply terrific and far from being ostentatious, pretentious or even flowery.

The plot is simple and straightforward, void of overly dramatic events, and we were presented with a nice revelation or twist, near the conclusion.

The characters are all very well displayed and constructed, and some are unforgettable.

The sense of humour, although subtle, is also present, as well as the author’s pessimistic view of industrialization and the future.

This is very different from his other books and may not please everyone, but like the first time, I truly enjoyed the storytelling.

PS. Just yesterday I watched the 1994 BBC adaptation for the tv, written and directed by Peter Barnes. It was well done and helped me to add some faces to the characters, but the book is a lot better.

e-book (Kobo): 382 pages (default), 110k words 

Paperback (The Modern Library Classics) - introduction by Jane Jacobs: 374 pages (cover to cover)

Audiobook narrated by Sean Murphy: 11h37 minutes (it’s excellent and I only paid $0.65 Canadian from Kobo audiobook)