Reviews
It was slow getting into this book, but I think Chesterton might be right to call it Dickens at his best. "A Tale of Two Cities" swept me away more thoroughly, but that was my introduction and I was fourteen. What I really enjoy about PP is that it is lighthearted without being exactly frivolous. True to Dickens's style, it has little insights into good morals and good manners scattered throughout, and also true to his style, these tidbits never once feel out of place, moralistic, or preachy. Rather, he accomplishes these truths nestled in the tale with something of the same effect that your mom or grandma might have done while telling bedtime stories. Especially poignant are Dickens' handling of Sam Wellers's consolation of his father, and Mr. Pickwick's intercession on behalf of Mr. Winkle. It always amazes me that 150 years later, Dickens still keeps our attention and keeps us chuckling along with him.
This book turns out to be the pinnacle of Victorian entertainment. There's a lot of steam, drinking, and travel, but not a lot of the simmering rage against social injustices that fuels Dickens' later works (although there is still some). I was halfway through when I googled the history and discovered that it was his very first work, at the age of 24. So the author wasn't the academic, beardless Charles Dickens we see in pictures, but rather a young lad called Charlie. I'd had the impression it was written by a younger person, so that made a lot of sense. The novel is a very gentle comedy and Pickwick is involved in numerous escapades of hilarity and farce. And yet behind the humor, Dickens shows how these are just ordinary everyday events that happen to us all. At one stage Pickwick loses his hat in a gust of wind. Dickens describes vividly Pickwick's chase of it and describes all the pitfalls of a portly man doing so. He says to chase too hard will see the chaser accidentally step on the hat, and too slow is to lose it altogether. It has the feel of farce but we see this in our daily lives. Even though it's a fun story, the harsh realities of the Victorian era can't be denied. Back then, if you didn't find some way of looking out for yourself and planning for your future, you starved. People made such a big deal out of money because it was a big deal. There was no such thing as welfare payments or government support. Poorhouses and debtor's prisons were places of nightmares. It's easy enough for us to sit back and judge Jingle and Job as villains, but when you look at where they find themselves throughout the course of the story, you can see why they'd do the deeds they did. I'm sure it was the same need that drove lots of boys to become bushrangers in colonial Australia. It's easy to choose to be honest when you don't face a slow, agonizing death. Overall I enjoyed the first of Dickens' novels but I have two issues with it. I found it a touch too long. Sure it was initially published as a serial but as a combined work the 900 pages by about the 700-page mark were too much. I struggled with the last 200 pages as it all began to feel a bit the same. I put it down for a week and then finished it off but I still think it too long. Maybe some of the stories that Pickwick listens to could be edited out for brevity sakes. The second thing that really did annoy me after a while was Dickens use of the word 'ejaculated'. The characters were almost every page 'ejaculating their words. Using that word continuously really got to me. It is a long novel but I think with Dickens command of the English language he could have inter-posed ejaculated more often with something else. I just couldn't escape what else that word connotes!
3.5 definitely worth the read, but not a new favorite. Some parts of it were hilarious, others quite long and dry.
Ah, Dickens, you have once again blown my mind and made me love you just a little more! Before going into The Pickwick Papers, Dickens' only two novels that I had read were 'Great Expectations' and 'A Christmas Carol'. Both of those were amazing reads, Great Expectations being my favourite. I was excited to read more Dickens this year, and I'm so glad The Pickwick Papers was my first choice as I truly adored it! I once again adore Dickens writing style; I feel that it is so unique and witty that it just draws you in from the very beginning!! The most outstanding feature of this book had to be the humour! I found myself smiling and often laughing out loud throughout my reading experience, and it was so wonderful. "Because Sir," said Mr Pickwick, considerably excited - "because you are too old, Sir." "Too Old!" exclaimed Mr Tupman. "And if any further ground of objection be wanting", continued Mr Pickwick ", you are too fat, Sit." "Sir," said Mr Tupman, his face suffused with a crimson glow. "This is an insult" "Sir." replied Mr Pickwick in the same tone, "It is not half the insult to you that your appearance in my presence in a green velvet jacket, with a two-inch tail, would be to me." "Sir," said Mr Tupman, "you're a fellow." "Sir," Said Mr Pickwick ", You're another!" This book was an adventure filled with silly boyish behaviour and the aspects of 19th-century life that left me excited to read on. I loved firstly how the silly boyish behaviour travelled throughout each character, each bringing their own unique quirk and humour. I feel like it was really well balanced and very well done, especially considering Dickens' first novel. Sam and Mr Pickwick, what can I say! Their relationship was so sweet and enduring that it showed throughout. I loved how the relationship got stronger throughout the novel and how willing and caring Sam is towards Mr Pickwick. It was almost like a father-son relationship, and it made me so happy that Sam could experience that type of thing, especially with Mr Pickwick (who I call the big, caring teddy-bear). I can honestly say that both Mr Pickwick and Sam are my favourite characters of the entire book. "Whenever I meet that Jingle again, wherever it is," said Mr Pickwick, raising himself in bed, and indenting his pillow with a tremendous blow, "I'll inflict personal chastisement on him, in addition to the exposure he so richly merits. I will, or my name is not Pickwick." "And whenever I catches hold o' that there melan-Cholly chap with the black hair," said Sam "if I don't bring some real water into his eyes, for once in a way, my name an't Weller. Good night, Sir." The ending of The Pickwick Papers, in my opinion, was wonderful. The way it was written filled my heart with so much love and sadness that the journey was over. I absolutely adore the relationship between Mr Pickwick and Sam, and I love the small conclusion of all-out main characters in the end. I feel like it was all rounded up and ended really well, and it made me so happy. "There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast."
[3.5]
3.75
