Tag: charles dickens

Book Review | David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Posted June 27, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

‘Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show’

Dickens’s epic, exuberant novel is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories in literature. It chronicles David Copperfield’s extraordinary journey through life, as he encounters villains, saviours, eccentrics and grotesques, including the wicked Mr Murdstone, stout-hearted Peggotty, formidable Betsey Trotwood, impecunious Micawber and odious Uriah Heep.

Dickens’s great Bildungsroman (based, in part, on his own boyhood, and which he described as a ‘favourite child’) is a work filled with life, both comic and tragic.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #23: The other book with a similar plot)
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Classics Club

The Reason

I’ve been wanting to read more Dickens, and I guess all the raving reviews about Demon Copperhead and the similarities between these two books encouraged me to pick them both up sooner rather than later! It also helped that they fit the 52 Book Club Challenge, and I was also doing The Classics Club challenge!

The Quotes

“I never could have done what I have done, without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time.”

“There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.”

“It’s in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present.”

“It has always been in my observation of human nature, that a man who has any good reason to believe in himself never flourishes himself before the faces of other people in order that they may believe in him. For this reason, I retained my modesty in very self”

“My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

The Narrator(s)

Richard Armitage. Oh, I have such mixed feelings! Intellectually, I feel like the narrator did such an amazing job and is incredibly talented. Emotionally, I hate his voices for some of the characters because they are just so vile and annoying and disgusting! Which are entirely suitable to those characters and brought them to life for me, both a good and bad thing because oh, I hated them!

My Thoughts

It’s weird because my thoughts about this book I think will be forever linked to my thoughts about Demon Copperhead. This book has existed for way longer than Demon Copperhead and has been on my radar before Demon Copperhead was ever written, but since I heard so much hype about Demon Copperhead and ended up reading it first, I almost feel like it’s a duology, each taking place centuries apart.

I had no idea what either book was about, and I had no idea to what extent Demon Copperhead was similar to David Copperfield, so everything was still a surprise to me as I read it. I also thought both books were brilliant, but to be quite honest, my respect and admiration for Barbara Kingsolver has gone up after reading David Copperfield and seeing how she incorporated all the elements of the story into Demon Copperhead. They are both incredible books, and I’m very likely to reread both sometime down the line soon.

My Feels

This is a gorgeous book, and in some ways, I regret not reading it before Demon Copperhead because I would’ve liked to have seen it from a fresh perspective, especially since it came first. But either way, I’m glad I read both. I feel like this book has its ups and downs, but it feels more hopeful, and I love that.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Posted May 22, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

“Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose.”

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #22: A plot similar to another book)
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I’ve been hearing so many great things about this book, and I’ve also been wanting to read David Copperfield but haven’t gotten around to it. Now that I’ve finished this one, I’d like to read David Copperfield soon!

The Quotes

“The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.”

“At the time, I thought my life couldn’t get any worse. Here’s some advice: Don’t ever think that.”

“Actual fact: you could make an entire second world out of what people throw away. The landfill is where I figured out one of my main philosophies, that everybody alive is basically in the process of trading out their old stuff for different stuff, day in day out.”

“I think most of humankind would agree, the hard part of high school is the people.”

“When your parent clocks out before you clock in, you can spend way too much of your life staring into that black hole.”

The Narrator

Charlie Thurston. He was pretty great! I enjoyed his narration, was able to follow the story well, and I have no complaints.

My Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect going in. The only thing I knew about the book was that it’s a retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, and the only thing I knew about David Copperfield was that it’s supposed to be Dicken’s favorite book that he wrote. I feel like the subject matter isn’t something I’d normally be interested in, but people kept praising the book and David Copperfield is also one of those classics I knew I wanted to read someday, so I decided to dive in. I’m so glad I did because I got completely immersed in Demon’s life. The story was so well-written, so compelling, and it made me feel so many things.

My Feels

Empathy, anger, compassion, helplessness, hope, fear, heartbreak… it’s all here. It’s a roller coaster of emotions and what a ride it was! There were parts where I got so overwhelmed with the anger and heartache, I had to take a break and come back. There’s so much about this book that I can’t articulate as well as I wish I could, but I feel like it’s one that I’ll come back to and get more out of each time I do. I’m also really looking forward to reading David Copperfield soon.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens | Book Review

Posted January 3, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 4 Comments

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens. It was first published by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. It tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation resulting from a supernatural visit by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain, a period when there was strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions together with the introduction of new customs, such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. Dickens’ sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
The Classics Club

The Reason

Honestly, I wasn’t really planning to read this book. This is one of those stories that get so much reference in pop culture that you feel like you already know the story, so I never thought I needed to read the actual book. However, Charles Dickens’ works have been getting on my radar lately, because of adaptations of his works – Demon Copperhead, The Artful Dodger TV series, and people bringing up A Christmas Carol the whole Christmas season. Shamefully, I have never actually read a single one of his books, even though I’m familiar with the stories and some adaptations. I signed up for The Classics Club in order to remedy some of that, and I thought A Christmas Carol would be a great book to start with!

The Characters

Scrooge must be one of the most well-known characters in pop culture as a caricature of the most miserable, stingy, horrible person. And he was, in the beginning, but I was quite surprised at how quickly he was able to change his attitude, take accountability for his bad behavior, be receptive to the Ghosts’ lessons, and make amends for his mistakes. I hated him in the beginning and loved him in the end.

As for the other characters, I loved the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim and how much love they had for each other. I loved Scrooge’s nephew and his family, they were such fun, boisterous people. And oh, Belle, I love her and I feel so much for her. They all really came to life for me.

The Quotes

“Bah,” said Scrooge, “Humbug.”

“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

“No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.”

My Thoughts

I was having a couple of bad nights and hadn’t slept well, so I read the book aloud while pacing back and forth in order to keep myself awake, and I must say, I initially felt that Dickens was overly verbose. I was tired and there were so many words and descriptions, and I was tired! And yet, I realized I loved it. I loved how descriptive he was of all the characters, the scenes, how he painted such pictures with his words, and made the story come alive for me.

I also realized that I had been missing a lot by thinking I know the story well enough from pop culture and not making an effort to actually read this book until now. There’s so much more to it than I’d thought.

My Feels

It’s so interesting because I think this book runs the gamut. I felt disgusted and angry with Scrooge at the beginning of the book, and also pity. And also horror, at the description of the Ghosts – they were weird! – and later at the potentially horrible end Scrooge might have faced. There was nostalgia about the past, heartbreak with Belle, love and tenderness with the Cratchits, fun and joy with Scrooge’s nephew and family. It was heartwarming in the end and so satisfying. And I felt all of it!

My Rating

5/5 stars. I loved it, and I feel like I’d happily read this again because of how well-written it was and how the characters came to life for me.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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