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ninarg 's review for:
The Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens
Three very solid stars.
In some ways you can tell that this is Dickens' first novel, but it is a damn impressive first novel! At first the characters are loosely described and their adventures are the main focus - only later on are they more fleshed out and Dickens begin to tie events together and make the many separate stories into one cohesive novel.
The most successful creation is obviously Sam Weller who couldn't have been more well-crafted. He is lively, impertubable, clever, loyal to a fault, witty, and for some reason his "as the ... said to the... when...." sayings never get old. Probably because they are too funny.
My other favourite was Mr Winkle, always trying to do his best, but usually failing spectacularly. My heart warmed to him at the very beginning when he, without knowing why, ends up in a duel. It was hilarious yet sad, and it only went downhill from there for poor Mr Winkle. He so wanted to do well and impress the people around him, but he just couldn't catch a break. And though he is hardly in the story at all, I liked Mr Snodgrass a lot. I mean his name, come on! Also, a quiet, lovesick poet, who is loyal to his friends. Yes, I liked him.
Mr Pickwick himself is a kind and pleasant old man, who could sometimes be a bit mean (like when he didn't like Mr Tupman's costume and got angry out of the blue and started calling him fat), but usually he was very friendly and pleasant and fatherlike. Sam's loyalty to him was understandable and adorable. But mostly, I liked how Pickwick always got into weird situations but always took them in his stride.
This is a big book and a lot of things happen, which is why I thank Charles Dickens that he tied the events together, reintroduced characters etc., so the book didn't just turn into a string of events without purpose. And I got to hand it to Dickens - he can write moments so genuinely sad, melancholy and touching that you almost can't help but shed a tear on the tube, while a few pages further on you are laughing as Pickwick, Sam, Ben Allen and Bob Sawyer take a carriage ride from Bristol to Birmingham. From tears of sorrow to tears of laughter. He is a fine writer is Dickens.
The book is not without faults, and the prison chapters especially could have been shortened. But given Dickens personal experiences with prison I can see why he couldn't help but vent his anger at the social injustice of it. He didn't know that he would go on to write a gazillion novels where he would have time and space to explore this issue. But still, given the size of the Pickwick Papers, the prison scenes are fairly short, but they felt long. Any roads, this is very much worth the read - Sam and Tony Weller are in themselves worth the read. It is a hilarious novel, and given that it is his first I can only don my hat to Charles and say, "Well done." A great writer in the making, reveling in the sheer joy of writing and creating. And that joy comes through, so even though this isn't his best novel, it is one of them. Well done, Charles.
In some ways you can tell that this is Dickens' first novel, but it is a damn impressive first novel! At first the characters are loosely described and their adventures are the main focus - only later on are they more fleshed out and Dickens begin to tie events together and make the many separate stories into one cohesive novel.
The most successful creation is obviously Sam Weller who couldn't have been more well-crafted. He is lively, impertubable, clever, loyal to a fault, witty, and for some reason his "as the ... said to the... when...." sayings never get old. Probably because they are too funny.
My other favourite was Mr Winkle, always trying to do his best, but usually failing spectacularly. My heart warmed to him at the very beginning when he, without knowing why, ends up in a duel. It was hilarious yet sad, and it only went downhill from there for poor Mr Winkle. He so wanted to do well and impress the people around him, but he just couldn't catch a break. And though he is hardly in the story at all, I liked Mr Snodgrass a lot. I mean his name, come on! Also, a quiet, lovesick poet, who is loyal to his friends. Yes, I liked him.
Mr Pickwick himself is a kind and pleasant old man, who could sometimes be a bit mean (like when he didn't like Mr Tupman's costume and got angry out of the blue and started calling him fat), but usually he was very friendly and pleasant and fatherlike. Sam's loyalty to him was understandable and adorable. But mostly, I liked how Pickwick always got into weird situations but always took them in his stride.
This is a big book and a lot of things happen, which is why I thank Charles Dickens that he tied the events together, reintroduced characters etc., so the book didn't just turn into a string of events without purpose. And I got to hand it to Dickens - he can write moments so genuinely sad, melancholy and touching that you almost can't help but shed a tear on the tube, while a few pages further on you are laughing as Pickwick, Sam, Ben Allen and Bob Sawyer take a carriage ride from Bristol to Birmingham. From tears of sorrow to tears of laughter. He is a fine writer is Dickens.
The book is not without faults, and the prison chapters especially could have been shortened. But given Dickens personal experiences with prison I can see why he couldn't help but vent his anger at the social injustice of it. He didn't know that he would go on to write a gazillion novels where he would have time and space to explore this issue. But still, given the size of the Pickwick Papers, the prison scenes are fairly short, but they felt long. Any roads, this is very much worth the read - Sam and Tony Weller are in themselves worth the read. It is a hilarious novel, and given that it is his first I can only don my hat to Charles and say, "Well done." A great writer in the making, reveling in the sheer joy of writing and creating. And that joy comes through, so even though this isn't his best novel, it is one of them. Well done, Charles.