didactylos's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to read this having enjoyed her Hardy. I hoped to get similar insights. I ended up being educated on the life and times but really little further aware of the man. A mix of a parade of names of people, précis of the novels and this a very long book that left me exasperated. Maybe not her fault as Dickens does seem to have very deliberately hidden much of himself.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
As it turns out, I knew very little about Dickens's life, apart from the blacking factory and the ten children. Tomalin's biography is sympathetic but clear-eyed. Yes, he loved music, dancing, theatricals and playing games with friends and family, but he could also be cold and controlling. When she comes to the breakup of his family, Tomalin writes, "You want to avert your eyes from a good deal of what happened the next year, 1859." It is unsettling to see the man you've come to like and admire act so badly. Tomalin is also very good on the novels, summarizing them succinctly and pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. All in all, a brisk biography that is exactly as much as I wanted to know about Dickens. And, of course, a resolution to return to the Dickens Project, maybe Bleak House next?
kouw's review against another edition
3.0
Definite plus: Penelope Wilton did the audio for this, so it was a lovely listen.
Definite con: I am totally unsure if I am supposed to sympathise with Dickens or not - my gut says (while listening to the book being read, it was all very communicative) he was quite an egomaniac and downright cruel to his wife, but the narrative almost tries to persuade you that is all alright because he was a champion of the poor and so extremely well-loved by his audience.
Definite con: I am totally unsure if I am supposed to sympathise with Dickens or not - my gut says (while listening to the book being read, it was all very communicative) he was quite an egomaniac and downright cruel to his wife, but the narrative almost tries to persuade you that is all alright because he was a champion of the poor and so extremely well-loved by his audience.
bangel_ds's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Claire Tomalin is always the best when it comes to biographies. This is a complete portrait of Dickens. If you have put him on a pedestal, you might be disappointed because Dickens comes out as a complex and very, very hard man. But the biography is a must read, that's for sure.
milesjmoran's review against another edition
5.0
Tomalin has swiftly become one of my favourite biographers. When selecting biographies, you (as a reader) have to show some caution in which ones you opt to read. Some are romanticised accounts that leave the subject glossy and inhuman. Others focus on the scandal, on the grime, leaving your impression of the subject permanently tarred. Tomalin has found a perfect balance, wonderfully demonstrated in this biography, studying a man who, at the time of reading, I knew little about and whose work I was uninterested in. I have always loved A Christmas Carol. However, his other books didn't appeal to me but I still wanted to give him a chance since I loved one of his books so much. Reading Tomalin's biography completely opened my eyes to who Dickens was. She portrayed him with both the bad and good aspects of his personality/life, and was written in an engaging way, not at all dry and lecturing like some non-fiction texts can be. Since reading this book, I've fallen head over heels in love with Dickens, savouring his works and citing him one of my favourite writers, and that isn't become this book persuaded me to, it's because Tomalin skillfully penned this biography and stirred an interest in me no other documentary/teacher/book had done previously. I very much look forward to reading more of her work.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
A traditional, cradle-to-grave live of Charles Dickens. In fact, it starts well before the cradle -- with tbe obligatory discussion of the lives of grandparents and parents before the subject is even born. And in an innovation, the final chapter covers the remainder of the lives of everyone who knew Dickens -- including a brief life and death of each of his children (he had ten in total) and friends (many more), going through 1939 when the last person that knew him died.
But that should not be a turn off. The biography feels definitive. It focuses on the life, especially Dickens' manic travel, but also includes a thoughtful few pages on each of Dickens' novels. It is less focused on the process of writing and editing than Michael Slater's Charles Dickens. And it is less creative than Douglas-Fairhurst's Becoming Dickens. And less vast than Ackroyd's Dickens. But at about 400 pages of text (not counting the extensive notes, etc.), for most people this would be the best biography to read.
Claire Tomalin is especially strong on the women in Dickens' life, including his horrendous treatment of his wife Kate, his likely affair with Nelly Ternan (Tomalin has a chapter speculating, reasonably convincingly, that Dickens fathered a child who subsequently died with her), as well as the sister-in-law and subsequently daughter who managed his household.
But that should not be a turn off. The biography feels definitive. It focuses on the life, especially Dickens' manic travel, but also includes a thoughtful few pages on each of Dickens' novels. It is less focused on the process of writing and editing than Michael Slater's Charles Dickens. And it is less creative than Douglas-Fairhurst's Becoming Dickens. And less vast than Ackroyd's Dickens. But at about 400 pages of text (not counting the extensive notes, etc.), for most people this would be the best biography to read.
Claire Tomalin is especially strong on the women in Dickens' life, including his horrendous treatment of his wife Kate, his likely affair with Nelly Ternan (Tomalin has a chapter speculating, reasonably convincingly, that Dickens fathered a child who subsequently died with her), as well as the sister-in-law and subsequently daughter who managed his household.
cmcrockford's review against another edition
5.0
Superb biography of an insanely difficult person to grasp, and in the final pages Tomalin embraces Dickens in all his contradictions, his reprehensible behavior, his genius, his overwhelming goodness. Great work.
fab_fi's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
A complex and fascinating character.