Customer Reviews

Penguin Classics David Copperfield

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was absolutely charmed with the personality of David Copperfield, and I can easily understand why Charles Dickens called him his "favorite child" among his other creations. As David recounts the events of his life, starting from the day of his birth, his honesty immediately wins your heart. He is not afraid to share how naive and easily cheated on he was as a little boy; he readily admits it when he was being selfish; and if he did something less than smart, he tells the whole episode just as openly, without trying to make himself look better than he really did.

Born to a very young and beautiful mother, six months after his father's death, young Davy enjoys happy life in a loving home - until his mother marries again. Mr. Murdstone, Davy's new father, who could have easily gained the boy's love and trust had he shown him some kindness, treats him instead as some wild, out-of-hand little monster who needs correction, discipline, and more correction. He soon gives up on the boy and sends him away to a boarding school where daily beatings are considered a most necessary part of education. When David's mother dies a year later, Mr. Murdstone decides that even this type of schooling is too good for the boy, and sends him to London, to work at a wine factory. David, only ten at the time, finds himself alone in the world.

This book deserves to be read over and over again. The story is touching and beautifully written, and the characters are unforgettable.

I found interesting reading in this so called "Dickens' favourite child". It portrays the level of life of the different working classes in the 19th century through the author's eyes and memory in this subliminal book. The book offers some of the most memorable characters of all time; including the treacherous "Uriah Heep", the genteel "Mr. Micawber "and the angelical "Agnes". Dickens masterfully shows us of the great vicissitudes humans undergo through their lifetime, and despite its melancholy "David Copperfield" is a fairly optimistic novel. The novel is awfully captivating and the reader will find David's journey similar to his or will feel of him as an old acquaintance. "David Copperfield" is positively one of the best stories of all time, with the likes of "Roderick Random", "Robinson Crusoe" and "Don Quixote"... simply a must read.

Should I admit that I came to this book late in life? We had to read GREAT EXPECTATIONS in high school, while I understand that others had to read this book. So, these many years later I picked it up and was pleasantly surprised. Quite a bit longer than EXPECTATIONS, this one nevertheless is every bit as good. Written as an autobiography, the book narrates the life of a fatherless child who becomes an orphan at the early age of about eight or nine years. The story continues throughout David Copperfield's life and the plot is as rich as the characters he meets during the book. One of Charles Dickens most notable qualities is how well he creates and describes the characters in his books. And David Copperfield presents plenty of them, some of the most famous: the strong-minded Betsey Trotwood, the lovely Peggotty family, the persuasive Steerforth, the wise Agnes, the ugly Uriah Heep and of course the micawberish Mr Micawber. If you're looking for a book by Dicken's that is his most autobiographical, this is it. Would also recommend "Of Mice and Men," "Bark of the Dogwood" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."

It has boggled my mind how some people can straight-facedly claim, with incorrect spelling and in poor grammar no less, that 'David Copperfield' was either boring, stupid, or both. I am a young man (not yet in my twenties) and I found 'Copperfield' to be the most emotionally powerful book I have ever read, if not necessarily the best written.
'Copperfield' marks a bold step forward in Dickens' writing, both in terms of diction (though his syntax never changes throughout his career) and its use thereof in advancing and establishing multiple moods during the course of the book. From the grim severity of Murdstone's dominance over David's mother, to the unexpected charity and kindness of David's Aunt, to the shadowy, damp, foreboding deaths of several main characters throughout the course of the book, the tone of the writing conveys, powerfully and with undeniable precision, the appropriate mood and instills the reader with exactly the emotion that should be felt. Even the marriages and losses of minor characters shrouds the reader in exactly the right blanket of rejoicing or of sorrow. There is more symbolism both unabashedly apparent and subtly bestowed here than in any of Dickens' previous novels.
There is a reason why this book is considered a classic - the dialogue is crisp and believable, the characters not so much caricatures as they had been in novels past, but more plausible and defined (the despicable Uriah Heep being perhaps the sole exception). The impact apparent in the betrayal, death, and ultimate good fortune so prominent in the book is not lost on the reader, as it would be in the hands of lesser writers. The lone points in the novel where I found my mind to wander were during Mr. Micawber's lengthy expositions, in which he is supposed to be comically exaggerated but instead comes off as something of a blowhard, simply an over-enthusiastic debtor with a knack for paperwork. Otherwise, this book is one of undeniable and irrepressible strength and fervor, from David's fated escape from the factory to Agnes' memorable proclamation; the whole novel works in remarkable symphony to create something better than just a book. It becomes an experience. For those who cannot quite grasp the genius and subtleties of Dickens's work, who complain because it is a little lengthy or a little old-fashioned, I feel sorry. They will never know how much bigger 'David Copperfield' - both the novel and the character - is than them.

David Copperfield is the worstest, most boringest, non-shinyest/dullest Book ?(if you can call it that)? that I ever haven't read. If I could, I'd make the official maker of Brian Land read it over and over and over again, just to keep him at bay.

I am trying to read the world's greatest novels as found on internet lists. David Copperfield seems to be less of a novel than a long series of episodes that are thinly related to each other. Few of the episodes propel the plot forward. I know that Dickens wrote serially for magazines and it shows. Many of the characters seem like two dimensional caricatures rather than real human beings. The plots seems melodramatic. Still, Dickens can write movingly. I don't think that this is a great novel but it is readable and allows some good insight into what Victorian England was like.

I hat this book it is the most detestible book ever written! If you make me read it AGAIN I will banish you to Brian Land and you will be my PERSONAL AID whenever I need you.

I read Great Expectations years ago, but after reading that David Copperfield was Dicken's personal favorite book he had authored, I decided to try him again. From the beginning of the book, I was swept up in the ever changing lives of the central characters. I can understand why people waited anxiously for the next chapter when this book was released serially back in 1849 & 1850! There are many dramatic buildups and twists and turns that keep you turning the pages and wondering how it will all turn out.

In this remarkabe novel, Dickens created an incredible cast of characters and painted a vivid portrait of 19th-century England. The characters are complex and interesting, and I found it satisfying that the characters who are courageous enough to choose love over pride are ultimately rewarded.

If you are going to only read one book by Dickens, this is the one to choose. It is very interesting, memorable, and well written.

Regarding the ignoramuses who claim David Copperfield is the "wost" book "i" have ever read, consider the source. They are likely venting some teenage angst after having to read something for which they are apparently not ready. For you kids still on the nipple and not ready yet for meat, stick to A Christmas Carol, either the abridged version or an animated one on TV, which is a medium you are likely more than familiar. Also for you teachers who encourage your students to leave reviews: don't dirty the water. Keep the grumbling in your own classroom.

David Copperfield uses the story of Copperfield's life from birth through middle life to introduce and explore some wonderful personalities. Look more for deep and penetrating character studies than a fast moving plot line. It is not character study alone, however. Again and again, through many characters and many instances, he seems to really explore "the first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart", and that "there can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose". Look for these themes to come in from the very beginning and continue until they are actually spelled out by one character and contemplated by another.

When David is born, his father is already buried in the churchyard nearby. He, his mother, and their servant Pegotty live happily enough as a family until his mother remarries. The new husband does not like frivolity or friendly association with servants but more than that, he does not like David. David is sent off to boarding school and then sent out to work. Barred from his mother's affections by his stepfather, Pegotty becomes a full mother figure and his ties to her and her family only deepen with time. Through her, he meets her brother, Mr. Pegotty; her nephew?, Ham, the widow Mrs. Gummidge and Mr. Pegotty's niece, Emily. At school, he makes fast friends with many boys but most especially with the privileged James Steerforth and the not so privileged Tommy Traddles, both of whom show up again in David's adulthood. In the bottling warehouse where he is sent to work as a child, he lodges with Mr. And Mrs. Micawber who are always in debt. They also show up again in his adulthood. When the station of life that he is being forced into at his tender age becomes too much for him, he escapes to seek out his eccentric great aunt Betsey Trotwood who takes him in and provides for him. Through her, he meets her lawyer, Mr. Wickfield, his daughter Agnes, Dr. Strong and his youthful bride, Annie and we mustn't forget Uriah Heep. He marries, works hard and becomes successful. These are the majority of the characters and it encompasses more than half of the novel to get to this point. (In my copy, that was just over four hundred and forty pages).

The only slow part is after David finishes school and before he meets his wife. That part did seem to move slowly but, apart from that, the story moves very, very well and -after all the characters are set up and well developed - it takes off like a rocket and is difficult to put down without worrying about the various characters predicaments and wondering how he is going to pull all of these strings together. This IS Dickens after all. I won't spoil the meat of the plot line for you. Again, look for those themes - "the first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart", and "there can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose".

David Copperfield is, if such things are possible, like a "Best Of" Dickens. It is one very substantial novel and stands alone as an exquisite masterpiece. Yet so many characters from his other novels seem to return here to be rounded out and more deeply developed. David Copperfield (himself) reminds me of Pip of Great Expectations, Betsey Trotwood of Miss Havisham, Mr. Micawber of Magwitch, and Agnes of Biddy. Mr. Murdstone seems to be of the Gradgrind line from Hard Times. One character reminded me not of another character in Dicken's work but of the vile character from Les Miserables (Victor Hugo) who repeatedly attempted to extort or do harm to Jean Valjean and Marius. It would be fun to have read all of Dicken's work before reading David Copperfield just to see Dicken's feelings of the various character types and what time has done to them in his mind. Of course, like any "Best Of", you could read only this one work and have a deep and abiding appreciation of Dickens without having read any of his others.