Penguin Classics David Copperfield [Paperback]

Somehow, I'd graduated from college - with a degree in English, no less - and had never had to read a single thing ever written by Charles Dickens. I read quite a bit on my own, but still found David Copperfield to be the height of ambition - my copy was 1001 pages long, and I hadn't ventured into a book over a thousand pages since I'd read The Stand at age 12. I cannot imagine that I am alone in completing my education and sidestepping Dickens altogether, so I think it's important I share my experience. In truth, the only reason I chose David Copperfield over, say, Great Expectations or Hard Times was the passing comment made by Jeff Daniels in The Squid And The Whale - dismissing a Tale of Two Cities as "minor Dickens," saying David Copperfield was "much richer."

It is rich. I tend towards modern fiction nowadays, fiction that, unexpectedly, takes you deep inside the heart of its characters sometimes bewildering behavior and humanity. What strikes me about the complex nature of the characters in Copperfield is the way it seems that no effort at all has been used to distinguish each of them, yet there is no doubt as to how vivid they are. Each character speaks in a tone that is a perfect elucidation of who they are - you can hear, just in the dialogue, the calm wisdom of Agnes, the parasitic obsequiousness of Uriah Heep, the punctilious rambling of Micawber, the pleasantries that barely mask the aggression of Miss Dartle, the rigid boredom of the Murdstones, the spoiled impishness when Dora speaks (so precise I heard her voice in cloying and nasal babytalk in my head). It's a delicate balancing act to keep this level of detail so hidden in his work, and it makes the plot machinations speedy and exciting. The varied heights in this book astound - moments of drama, whimsy, intrigue, romance abound, and the book is even prone to its bit of slapstick - midgets falling over into umbrellas, or extreme umbrage taken when donkeys appear on lawns.

What I mean is that it's easy to know you "should" read David Copperfield, but as anyone who's ever had a reading assignment knows, that doesn't necessarily make it something you'd want to do. I know, in a way, that David Copperfield is considered a standard - a book Tolstoy and Virginia Woolf, for example, hold as the pinnacle of English fiction - but then again, I slogged my way through supposed classics in school that, over time, have turned out to appear dull and unsurprising. David Copperfield is so underread these days that I had no idea what to expect, no notion of the amazing surprises within, the sublimely addictive cadence of Dickens' prose, the dazzle of his language. Reading it for no particular reason, then, was a triumph all around - a book that doesn't require a degree to "understand," that moves breezily through its pages, and that teaches a thing or two (or twenty) about the rich heights capable in fiction. It's as rich and winning as you've heard and then some.

I had read the Chinese version of "David Copperfield" when I was about 14, and enjoyed it very much, though it didn't leave much trace in my mind after I grew up. I was glad to be able to enjoy it a second time recently. This time I read the English version, that is, the original work of the great writer Charles Dickens. I was immediately subdued by Dickens' mastery of the language. Reading the book is just like having someone very talented in telling stories talking to you. The rhythms in the language of this book are simply beautiful. Very, very beautiful. Although there're a lot of long sentences in this book (the longest one seemed to be the one in the chapter of Copperfield's wedding, about 2-3 pages for a single sentence. Can you imagine that!), it seems very natural to read -- just like having someone very smart, very passionate and very eloquent talking to you. Although it's about 900 pages, although it's a novel published more than 150 years ago, it's not boring at all to read! I was taken by the story at the first page, and continued enjoying it during these several months, and finished the last page tonight with a satisfied smile, as if I had just finished a gorgeous banquet! No wonder Dickens was deemed one of the best English writers ever! He really had a wonderful mastery of the language, and was really good at telling stories!

** This review is a synthesis of the three Charles Dickens books that I've read: A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics), Great Expectations (Penguin Classics), and David Copperfield (Penguin Classics). The rationale for reviewing in this manner is to provide a foundational point of reference for those new to Dickens' work.

In the last two years I have read, in this order, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield. All three of these books were exceptional reads, and if you are thinking about dipping your toes in the waters of Charles Dickens you can't go wrong with any of them. However, notwithstanding the fact that these three books are all in the upper echelon of world literature, I have no difficulty in distinguishing between them and coming to the conclusion that they are properly ordered, from "most best" to "least best": David Copperfield, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations.

It seems generally to be the case that, for those who have read just one of Dickens' books, Great Expectations is the book most people have been exposed to. And most people who read Great Expectations love it. The genre is probably best described as romance meshed with individual tragedy among numerous characters. However, perhaps the strongest part of the book is the manner in which the secondary characters present a contrast to the primary story. I liked the book very much, but I think it suffers from two flaws not present in the other works reviewed here. First, the characters are not as believable as in the other two works. Second, the plot follows an unlikely path, especially in the end. Concerning this second point, it should be noted that Dickens struggled with the ending of this work, and I think it shows.

Tale of Two Cities ranks second in this group in my mind. This book is a combination of political intrigue, romance, and personal triumph. I rank this book above Great Expectations for the sole reason that the characters in this book are so strongly developed. I don't think I have been exposed to more memorable characters in any book I've ever read. The story is interesting, too, because it takes place against the backdrop of a historical event, the French Revolution. I think Dickens had an easier time writing a convincing plot in this story than in Great Expectations because he had the aid of a real historical event.

Great Expectations and Tale of Two Cities are both excellent books, but David Copperfield is simply the best piece of literature I've ever read. To be sure, I'm only 24 and have only read 10 pieces of classic literature since my high school years. However, David Copperfield so outdid anything I've read that I feel more than comfortable in recommending it as certainly one of the best books of all time. Dickens did a remarkable job of capturing a wide variety of human emotions and mindsets. He was aided in this by two things. First, the length of the book gave him space to fully develop his sentiments. Second, the book is written in a first-person autobiographical voice, which I think made capturing sentiments much easier than in attempting to narrate them in the third-person. Further, because the book chronicles David's life from childhood through middle-age the reader is exposed to a wide variety of human thoughts. The characters, for the most part, are more believable and the plot is generally good; I took offense to only one chapter in the whole book.

Now, if you haven't read any of Dickens' books, I don't recommend starting with David Copperfield. I would start with Great Expectations and work through a couple others before David Copperfield. In terms of the plots, David Copperfield is much more similar to Great Expectations than Tale of Two Cities. So if you loved Great Expectations I think you will be well satisfied with David Copperfield. The plot from Tale of Two Cities is the odd-ball of this trio. In any case, all three of these books are great pieces of literature... enjoy.

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