Readers new to Dickens should be aware that 'The Pickwick Papers' is, in some ways, not a particularly 'Dickensian' book. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I should like to dispose of some of the most obvious objections - forewarned is, after all, forearmed.
Firstly, for the purposes of the casual reader, the prose style still reeks of the nineteenth century parliamentary and court reporter that he was before this, his first long work of fiction, was published. This can variously be viewed as enjoyably quaint, frustratingly gratuitous or simply incomprehensible. Half a page should suffice for the potential buyer to discover which way they will take it. Secondly, this is a book where nothing very much actually happens and that which does happen is generally ridiculous and inconsequential. I strongly suspect Dickens had some of the picaresque novels of his own literary heroes firmly in mind as he bent to each serial instalment, a cheap and nasty publishing method which negatively effected the quality and integrity of all but a handful of his works.
Now to the good stuff. The lack of a plot is, as anyone familiar with Dickens will probably agree, a bit of a blessing in disguise. We do not have to struggle to remember characters who triumphantly unmask themselves after first appearing in disguise in some trivial incident buried unmemorably between bouts of low comedy. We are not required to strain our credulity at shocking co-incidences (much) or bizzare wills or motives. We are left free to enjoy the brilliant, fecund riot of spontaneous creation that is what makes Dickens an enduring miracle of English prose. Characters of such vivid and memorable form that, more than a hundred years on, the cigarette cards they were pictured on are still readily recognisable to anyone who has met them in print. And Dickens' England, a sort of neo-mediaeval, pre-industrial idyll, is one of my favourite places to go. Incidentally, this work was reportedly Tolstoy's favourite bedside book, so we travel in good company.
Dickensian moral and social outrage is in full force here as well, as he rails against false charity, debtors prisons and charlatans of every stamp, rounding it all off with a dose of genuine compassion and forgiveness for the repenting sinner. At times sickeningly sentimental, but never dull, this book is a delight. Do yourself a favour and take an uncomplicated, cheerful walk through the English countryside and spend some time with its broad-waisted, narrow-minded, but ultimately big hearted denizens. Also, look out for what is arguably Dickens' finest creation - the irrepressible cockney everyman, Sam Weller.
It is, however, important to keep in mind when this book was written. Political correctness should be left at the title page - I have never read a feminist review of Dickens that showed the slightest ability to see past the patriarchal reality in which he lived. If one wishes to understand him, I think it is best to accept the political world that he lived in as uncritically as he did himself.
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Reviews with images
Great cleansing sage
Really good sage for cleansing all negativitiesClean burning. I love the smell of burning sage. Cleans out all negatively out of your life
Top reviews from other countries
Farhad Shawkat
My favourite Dickens
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2024Lala57
Perfecto, exactamente lo que necesitaba.
Reviewed in Spain on November 11, 2023
Lala57
Reviewed in Spain on November 11, 2023
Valoro positivamente la edición. Es un libro subrayable: tamaño folio, 383 páginas sin índice, prólogo ni ilustraciones, papel grueso no satinado. Es un libro para aprender inglés.
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Arthur Fonzarelli
Ordered the US version, but received the UK version
Reviewed in the Netherlands on October 7, 2023