Review: David Copperfield

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At long last, I plowed through this tome and it was well-worth it. Dickens declared this book to be his “favorite child”, maybe because of its autobiographical components or maybe because in it he so often gave voice to some of the things which troubled him about Victorian England.

Since so much of what the protagonist suffered and so much of what most of the female characters suffered are today irrelevant, this book could be an important history lesson for anyone who doubts whether or not progress has actually been made.

We are walked through all of David’s life, from birth to middle-age. He suffered, he prevailed, he worked hard, he helped others, and he was foolish at times. He was carried along by the waves of life. At times things were truly desperate but he had optimism and a will to survive - nothing heroic, but rather just the right amount of tenacity to avoid personal injury or ruin. I think this was one aspect which kept me reading. David Copperfield is not a superhero; he is highly relatable on a human level. The times were different, for sure, but many of the human problems are the same.

This book has so many crazy and persnickety characters; they were marvelously constructed and wonderfully entertaining.

I did find the character of Dora flawed. I could not convince myself that any love could overlook her vast vacuity. I also thought that the dastardly deeds of Uriah Heep were permitted to go on a little too long. As a reader, I sought relief from him long before it actually came.

Of course, the writing is breathtaking. I happen to love long, circuitous sentences excellently constructed. Dickens, of course, offers this in spades.


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