Martin Chuzzlewit (1844)

I've been reading and for the most part enjoying all of Dickens' works, and it was time to read Martin Chuzzlewit. It starts out slow and dense, and the plot (I use that term loosely) crawls along until we reach the scenes at Todgers' Boarding House. The narrative livens up and I was thinking, oh good, now we're into classic Dickens. But no. We leave Todgers to go back into the narrative morass. The characters aren't as finely drawn as they are in the major works, or even Little Dorritt (which I read prior to MC). Honestly, I just found this novel too boring to go on with. I stopped reading at about halfway, because I literally could not stop yawning. I'll go on to the next one, and hope for better things. ( )

With the caveat that this is Dickens in paid-by-the-word mode, and despite a slow start, Martin Chuzzlewit must rank with the author's best. Though it lacks a strong, cohesive plot like Bleak House or Our Mutual Friend, the book features some of Dickens' most memorable characters. While Martin Chuzzlewit is not devoid of moral sentiments, the didactic element remains comparatively subtle. It is also as funny as any of Dickens' works after Pickwick. ( )

I probably shouldn't write a review at this point, but I'm feeling loquacious on this sleety Friday. Back in undergraduate school, I became a Dickens fiend, quickly collecting the Signet paperback editions of the majority of his novels.

I started this one, but did not finish it & at this 40-year distance cannot recall why not. I need to go back to it and see whether, at 60, I can allow C. D. to hoodwink me into accepting his tendency to give characters names like "Chevy Slyme".

I also never got to the "America" bits which were reputed to be pretty insulting. :^)

Honestly, wouldn't it be great if all villains were so transparent? It'd be boring, but ... you'd get more work done.

riches and selfishness almost ruin a young man's life

A good read: interesting and humorous, with Dickens's finely drawn characters, as usual. Perhaps a little too long. Five stars ***** for anyone not in any rush. Three stars *** for anyone in a hurry. ( )