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liesbethtatjana's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Amy and Arthur so much. Dickens' writing and themes are really interesting to me and the focus on the lower classes is really refreshing to me when it comes to victorian novels. That being said I had some trouble focussing on what exactly was happening and had to read some chapter summaries because I kept feeling like I missed something. Turns out that Dickens was purposely holding information back for suspense! All in all I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more Dickens
imber's review against another edition
4.0
my first dickens :) i really liked his writing, especially the dialogues, and the way everyone in this book was interconnected to one another. the rating isn't higher solely because this is a very long novel (for me, at least) so reading it felt like a chore at times but god, did i enjoy it ! even the characters who were objectively annoying (lol, it had to be said) had many facets to them and were interesting to read about. considering the time in which this was written i wasn't expecting the women in this book to have so much depth to them, so that was a pleasant surprise. precisely because of what i just said my favorite characters were harriet, amy, minnie and miss wade (speaking of which... was i the only one who perceived some sapphic coded tension between her and her childhood friend charlotte ? yes ? ok)
hungerford's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
isobelline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The most class-conscious Dickens
This is the ninth Dickens novel that I've finished this year and let me tell you, it reads like a medley of everything Dickens wrote about earlier. Debtor's prison! Angelic women! Financial machinations! Inheritance plots! Loveless marriage! Hapless young men! Dastardly criminals! Oh my!
I have to admit, it gets pretty tiring reading all of this for months and months and months. But what can I do? My master's thesis won't write itself. So I soldier on...
I'll be brief with this one: meh... With Dickens' novels I usually find a character that I particularly like and spend the entire book in anticipation of their next appearance. I couldn't do that with Little Dorrit. No one really stood out to me (except maybe for Miss Wade, the almost-canonical lesbian). Little Dorrit herself feels like a Little Nell 2.0, but without the fantastical, fairytale-like plot of The Old Curiosity Shop she feels a bit out of place.
One thing I can note about this novel is this: it is probably the most thorough exploration of class yet in Dickens' oeuvre. He covers a lot of ground here, and yet none of his observations really surprised me. Oh well, perhaps I'm just tired of his prose in general, I haven't really enjoyed it since Barnaby Rudge (though I haven't gotten to my David Copperfield re-read yet)
This is the ninth Dickens novel that I've finished this year and let me tell you, it reads like a medley of everything Dickens wrote about earlier. Debtor's prison! Angelic women! Financial machinations! Inheritance plots! Loveless marriage! Hapless young men! Dastardly criminals! Oh my!
I have to admit, it gets pretty tiring reading all of this for months and months and months. But what can I do? My master's thesis won't write itself. So I soldier on...
I'll be brief with this one: meh... With Dickens' novels I usually find a character that I particularly like and spend the entire book in anticipation of their next appearance. I couldn't do that with Little Dorrit. No one really stood out to me (except maybe for Miss Wade, the almost-canonical lesbian). Little Dorrit herself feels like a Little Nell 2.0, but without the fantastical, fairytale-like plot of The Old Curiosity Shop she feels a bit out of place.
One thing I can note about this novel is this: it is probably the most thorough exploration of class yet in Dickens' oeuvre. He covers a lot of ground here, and yet none of his observations really surprised me. Oh well, perhaps I'm just tired of his prose in general, I haven't really enjoyed it since Barnaby Rudge (though I haven't gotten to my David Copperfield re-read yet)
lindzlovesreading's review against another edition
3.0
This was an easy books to get lost in. And I don't mean oh I love getting lost in a good book, wandering down the halls of Hogwarts kind of lost, I mean turning right when you turned left, I'm sure we past that gate half and hour ago, and having to ask directions kind of lost. Though in saying this getting lost down long winding confusing ally ways you find that little hole in the wall cafe, where the coffee is so good it should be illegal.
This is for me 'Little Dorrit' Charley would wind me around with only the vaguest of landmarks then just as I was going to throw my arms up in desperation calling for help he would pull out something special.
I love how Dickens writes about society and money.
This is for me 'Little Dorrit' Charley would wind me around with only the vaguest of landmarks then just as I was going to throw my arms up in desperation calling for help he would pull out something special.
I love how Dickens writes about society and money.
hellohannahk's review against another edition
4.0
Well, a 36-hour-long audiobook was quite ambitious for me, but I did it during my 20-minute commute to and from work every day, and ended up enjoying it!
meowserly's review against another edition
4.0
The Barnacles and the Circumlocution Office about did me in with nonsensical prose that seemed to go on forever. Which is exactly what Dickens intended, I'm sure — an exact parallel in my being to the frustrations and anxiety that Arthur Clennam felt while dealing with those self-righteous fools. I'm ashamed to say that I did not have the fortitude of Arthur, so those blasted Barnacles played a shamefully large roll in it taking me three years (to the day) to read this otherwise perfectly lovely book. John Chivary 4Lyfe.
zanhoven's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An amazingly written story with lots of depth, detail and sub-plots that intesect and combine. Thus, Little Dorrit has complex connections between characters.
mer_dont_care's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t not rate this book 5 stars after putting in so much time and effort into reading it these past few months. definitely the sum cost fallacy but whatever.
this was described to me as dicken’s most mature novel and I can definitely see why. tl;dr on the plot is there are two families where son of one family and daughter of the other are love interests. the main plot revolves around the lives of these two families and a debtors prison. in real life, dicken’s father was in this same debtors prison so I was constantly psychoanalyzing him the whole book lol.
there aren’t any characters I particularly resonated with, but the characterization was great. each person was so fully formed from their dialogue to their actions it just felt so real.
random thoughts from my notes:
-dicken’s prefaces are so endearing. i wish authors still did them. so interesting to see how he views his work and his fame at the time it is being written
-the circumlocution office is truly one of the most ingenious satires I have ever read
-dickens writes about poverty so well
but can I really recommend a thousand page charles dickens novel to everyone? like most people don’t need to read this lol and you will probably be bored out of your mind.
if you are crazy enough to read this, definitely read the trigger warnings on this book and prepare for a JOURNEY.
this was described to me as dicken’s most mature novel and I can definitely see why. tl;dr on the plot is there are two families where son of one family and daughter of the other are love interests. the main plot revolves around the lives of these two families and a debtors prison. in real life, dicken’s father was in this same debtors prison so I was constantly psychoanalyzing him the whole book lol.
there aren’t any characters I particularly resonated with, but the characterization was great. each person was so fully formed from their dialogue to their actions it just felt so real.
random thoughts from my notes:
-dicken’s prefaces are so endearing. i wish authors still did them. so interesting to see how he views his work and his fame at the time it is being written
-the circumlocution office is truly one of the most ingenious satires I have ever read
-dickens writes about poverty so well
but can I really recommend a thousand page charles dickens novel to everyone? like most people don’t need to read this lol and you will probably be bored out of your mind.
if you are crazy enough to read this, definitely read the trigger warnings on this book and prepare for a JOURNEY.
charlotteforbes's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25