Pentapod reviewed Charles Dickens' David Copperfield by Martin Jarvis
Review of "Charles Dickens' David Copperfield" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I've read a lot of Charles Dickens books but for some reason I hadn't read this one, so when Audible gave the audiobook away to subscribers of course I grabbed it. This is apparently a veiled autobiography of Dickens; it follows the life of David Copperfield, born to a happy family but sent away after his father's death and mother's remarriage to a life of poverty and hardship, still managing to pull himself up by determination and make a successful career of writing, through to a happy second marriage. In that sense it's an interesting read as many of the experiences and opinions of Copperfield can be read as Dickens' own commentary on the problems in society at that time. And like all Dickens' writings it clearly highlights the terrible issues with class disparity and poverty that many other books written at the time gloss over because they focus only …
I've read a lot of Charles Dickens books but for some reason I hadn't read this one, so when Audible gave the audiobook away to subscribers of course I grabbed it. This is apparently a veiled autobiography of Dickens; it follows the life of David Copperfield, born to a happy family but sent away after his father's death and mother's remarriage to a life of poverty and hardship, still managing to pull himself up by determination and make a successful career of writing, through to a happy second marriage. In that sense it's an interesting read as many of the experiences and opinions of Copperfield can be read as Dickens' own commentary on the problems in society at that time. And like all Dickens' writings it clearly highlights the terrible issues with class disparity and poverty that many other books written at the time gloss over because they focus only on the upper class experience.
Nonetheless, perhaps because it is somewhat autobiographical, I found its pacing less gripping than some of his other books, and honestly if it hadn't been an audiobook I would probably have struggled to finish it. Copperfield's early trials and tribulations as his father dies and he's sent away to a miserable boarding school are interesting, but once he runs away to get help from his aunt Betsy Trotwood the immediate urgency of his problems is removed and there seems to be a long period of just describing mostly contented life -- great for Copperfield, maybe less gripping narratively. The wrap up of the book in particular seems to be just one big long "happily ever after" narration that's more taking care of tying up loose ends and describing all the characters' happy endings.
Many of the characters in this book are delightful - from the caricatures of the villainous Murdstones and the ever 'umble Uriah Heep, to the loyal Peggottys, the constantly penniless Micawbers, and the loyal Tommy Traddles. Aunt Betsy Trotwood is in particular a wonderful character, an early feminist far before her time who is delightful in every interaction. However, watching Copperfield fall in love with and marry the utterly useless and brainless Dora is deeply frustrating, and Copperfield himself doesn't seem to come out of the story with as strong and clear a personality as others of Dickens' heroes in my opinion.
So overall, if you enjoy Dickens and particularly if you are interested in the autobiographical aspects this is a good book to dig into, but if you're just starting Dickens I would probably suggest starting elsewhere, probably Nicholas Nickleby or A Christmas Carol.
