David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Genre: Classics
Blurb (on back of book):
David Copperfield is the story of a young man's adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among the gloriously vivid cast of characters he encounters are his tyrannical stepfather, Mr Murdstone; his brilliant, but ultimately unworthy school-friend James Steerforth; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble, yet treacherous Uriah Heep; frivolous, enchanting Dora Spenlow; and the magnificently impecunious Wilkins Micawber, one of literature's great comic creations. In David Copperfield - the novel he described as his 'favourite child' - Dickens drew revealingly on his own experiences to create one of the most exuberant and enduringly popular works, filled with tragedy and comedy in equal measure. This edition uses the text of the first volume publication of 1850, and includes updated suggestions for further reading, original illustrations by 'Phiz', a revised chronology and expanded notes. In his new introduction, Jeremy Tambling discusses the novel's autobiographical elements, and its central themes of memory and identity.
MY OPINION: ****
This is an extremely late review. I read this over the month of September, not realizing it was around 800 pages, so it took up virtually all of my reading time for the month.
I've officially read all of the "greats" of Charles Dickens, or at least the ones I would consider his most well known. While I haven't touched Nicholas Nickleby or Bleak House I'd say I've officially done enough. I do not really enjoy Dickens's writing, though I found this one to be in my favorites of the many books I've read of his.
I believe that this is commonly referred to as Dickens's most autobiographical of his many novels. If that is true, that is quite sad because this was honestly a very sad book. Every single character you meet is some new obstacle or sets the scene for some new traumatic event for poor little David Copperfield and you can't help wondering when this series of trauma will end. I will be honest, there were times when I got mixed up with the characters but each of them were so vividly written and fleshed out that you can't help but think that this must be drawn from Dickens's own life.
Even though David's childhood is tumultuous and traumatic, I found it interesting how the book only highlighted the happier things, emphasizing the small happinesses David found. Even though they're very minute events, they seem to be exaggerated more so in contrast with the dark, trauma-filled events of David's life.
We literally go through David's entire life, reading from his perspective as he recounts his childhood, his teenage years, his first relationships, his marriage, his job, his friends, his enemies, and his later loves. I found it interesting for the most part but there were times when this book dragged on for so unbelievably long that you couldn't help but wonder why Dickens was talking so much about what felt like nothing. He is definitely a fan of rambling.
The world building is majestic and truly brought the story to life. While critics say Dickens is a dull writer with boring plotlines, he definitely knows how to set the stage and introduce each new personality into the scene. I would definitely NOT read this book again anytime soon but you can't deny that Dickens understood and knew how to manipulate his craft, and rightly so, considering that writing is what he dedicated his life to. I definitely think this book was much more interesting than his other works and didn't focus too much on the history or outside world like some of his other novels.
I would overall recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classics as it is one you have to read at least once before you die. Be forewarned that it is 800 pages though.
Main Character: David Copperfield
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Uriah Heep, enemies, etc
Classics Elements: This is a work of classic literature.
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