By: Charles Dickens
Dickens chooses words as meticulously as ever to great effect. Certain satirical scenes are delightfully sharp; many observations almost painfully ring of truth. Several character portraits are among Dickens’s best efforts. Yet even setting aside innumerable coincidences and the unbelievably insipid paragons of virtue that are the novel’s protagonists, the ending of Nicholas Nickelby considerably weakens the effect of the novel as a whole as Dickens indulges in saccharine sentimentality. Add in uninteresting and unconvincing romances and a further dimming ensues. Yet nitpicking aside, a thoroughly enjoyable read. (Fiction) 07/27/09
Dickens chooses words as meticulously as ever to great effect. Certain satirical scenes are delightfully sharp; many observations almost painfully ring of truth. Several character portraits are among Dickens’s best efforts. Yet even setting aside innumerable coincidences and the unbelievably insipid paragons of virtue that are the novel’s protagonists, the ending of Nicholas Nickelby considerably weakens the effect of the novel as a whole as Dickens indulges in saccharine sentimentality. Add in uninteresting and unconvincing romances and a further dimming ensues. Yet nitpicking aside, a thoroughly enjoyable read. (Fiction) 07/27/09
