A review by libellum_aphrodite
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

1.0

I absolutely do not understand how this book reached beloved classic status. I object not to the story, but the incessant descriptions about nothing - long-winded is too weak an adjective to adequately embody it. To give proper appreciation for Thackeray's satiric perceptiveness, we do get quite the portraits of the deception, manipulation, dishonesty, pettiness, and...well...vanity rampant in the aristocracy of that time. Unfortunately, they are hidden amongst distractions such as 50 page descriptions of everyone seen and every inch traveled on a pleasure tour of Europe. As it was, all reading sessions were inevitably accompanied by small naps, and I have yet to find a book written in 19th century England that I enjoyed reading.