A review by nincrony1
Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My biggest trouble with the novel Barry Lyndon is that the film adaptation is one of my all-time favourites and I think the changes made to the film improve the narrative overall. So coming to the book, the film runs largely in my head. But reading the source material was an interesting, and at times enriching, read. Far funnier than I was expecting. The first half is definitely the strongest, Thackeray wryly throwing Redmond Barry into situations far below his perceived station. Book Barry is far more of a charlatan than the film interpretation (who is a likeable yet dim anti-hero); he gets up to some pretty unhinged stuff. I do think the novel loses steam half-way, as I got the sense that Thackeray had a longer novel planned but knew the joke of parodying contemporary literature had run its course at the half way mark. Ironically, by contrast, I think the final portion of the film version is the strongest. Still, I enjoyed my time with Barry Lyndon and certainly enjoyed the witty prose.