A review by kcw98
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
4.0
This was my first Charles Dickens book.
Dickens has a way with words. His writing style is beautiful—a few of my new favorite sentences are found in this book. I’d say one of Dickens’ strongest literary skills is foreshadowing, which made the story very suspenseful. “David Copperfield” is also full of wit, social commentary, interesting characters, and life lessons.
I loved the whole beginning about David Copperfield’s childhood, even though it was dark and heart-wrenching. I just thought it was so interesting to read about adult topics from the perspective of a young boy, and I was so invested in his escape from abuse. I loved Copperfield’s tone as a narrator and how it felt like he was sitting beside me, showing me his life story as the events were unfolding. I loved the lighthearted chapters about Copperfield’s first loves, like Miss Larkins. I loved the Mr. Peggoty/Emily subplot, how she was like his “prodigal son” whom he loved unconditionally, how he never gave up searching for her until he found her. I loved Martha’s redemption, too. I loved the life lessons: money doesn’t equal happiness; never be mean, false, or cruel; “a crust well earned [is] sweeter far than a feast inherited”; “the cottage of content [is] better than the palace of cold splendor”; “try not to associate bodily defects with mental”; don’t judge, and more.
But as much as I love this book, I do have a couple complaints: Dora is annoying, Agnes is too perfect, there were too many convenient coincidences (like how in the whole city of London, David keeps running into the same handful of people from his childhood), and some subplots were boring. It took me a LONG time to read this book—and I know it’s so long because Dickens’ books were published serially—but dragging the story out so much made some parts a little tedious for me. I’ll admit that I skimmed some chapters. But I still think it’s worth it to push through and read it
Dickens has a way with words. His writing style is beautiful—a few of my new favorite sentences are found in this book. I’d say one of Dickens’ strongest literary skills is foreshadowing, which made the story very suspenseful. “David Copperfield” is also full of wit, social commentary, interesting characters, and life lessons.
I loved the whole beginning about David Copperfield’s childhood, even though it was dark and heart-wrenching. I just thought it was so interesting to read about adult topics from the perspective of a young boy, and I was so invested in his escape from abuse. I loved Copperfield’s tone as a narrator and how it felt like he was sitting beside me, showing me his life story as the events were unfolding. I loved the lighthearted chapters about Copperfield’s first loves, like Miss Larkins. I loved the Mr. Peggoty/Emily subplot, how she was like his “prodigal son” whom he loved unconditionally, how he never gave up searching for her until he found her. I loved Martha’s redemption, too. I loved the life lessons: money doesn’t equal happiness; never be mean, false, or cruel; “a crust well earned [is] sweeter far than a feast inherited”; “the cottage of content [is] better than the palace of cold splendor”; “try not to associate bodily defects with mental”; don’t judge, and more.
But as much as I love this book, I do have a couple complaints: Dora is annoying, Agnes is too perfect, there were too many convenient coincidences (like how in the whole city of London, David keeps running into the same handful of people from his childhood), and some subplots were boring. It took me a LONG time to read this book—and I know it’s so long because Dickens’ books were published serially—but dragging the story out so much made some parts a little tedious for me. I’ll admit that I skimmed some chapters. But I still think it’s worth it to push through and read it