David Copperfield was a book that I was supposed to have studied for o level in school. I hated it I only read about 5 pages and I just could not stand it. After 26 years I decided to try again and I could not believe how wonderful it was. I think you have to be an adult or at least to have experienced some sort of life to appreciate Charles Dickens.
The story is written as an autobiography, and from what I am told is loosley based on Dickens life.
The basic story is a boy is born, his father already dead. He grows up in a happy home, with his mother and housekeeper. His mother eventually remarries and the stepfather detests the child sending him to boarding school where he is badly treated.
Without giving away any more of the story, he works hard and becomes a success and ends up happy, but along the way encounters many wonderful and not so wonderful characters. The strength of Dickens writing is that his characters are so real, you can identify with them and see people that you know in them. He doesn't really describe what they look like in detail but along the way adds little clues so that in your minds eye you have a picture of the person.
Each character has got his own personality and there is usually something in there that you can like, even if they seem totally evil, ( even Uriah heep loved his mother)
The emotion that is brought forth from the pages of this book are incredible. I could not believe how much I hated certain characters and how much I wanted others to do well to survive and be happy. I would recommed this book to anyone who likes a good read. It is the sort of book that you would read by an open fire with a mug of cocoa.
It takes about 2 pages to get into the language of Dickens as he tends to be a little flowery at first, and if this is the first Dickens book that you encounter I would recommend one of the editions that has footnotes as the meaning of some words has changed overtime.
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This is one of my favourite of Charles Dickens' books; I am glad that you enjoyed it. However, I must criticise your review for possibly discouraging young readers - I read Copperfield when I was nine (a present from my teacher) and although I found the syntax a little complex and failed to understand some of the finer points of the subplot, I still enjoyed it immensely.
CherryBlossom 27.09.2004 16:53
I remember watching this on telly when I was about 14 and it made me cry. Perhaps I should try the book and see whether it has the same effect. ~Sharon
magdadh 25.09.2004 13:58
I liked it a lot, although the protrayal of his first wife is just too unberably sickly even taking the Victorian style and prejudices into account!
Advantages: An exhilirating novel from arguably England's finest author of all time. Disadvantages: In some parts there are long passges of descriptive writing
Advantages: An exhilirating novel from arguably England's finest author of all time. Disadvantages: In some parts there are long passges of descriptive writing
Sep 22nd, 2004
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