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Apr 21, 2008

Carlie rated it:

"I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is DAVID COPPERFIELD"
I have also a favorite author and his name is Charles Dickens.

This novel is poetry. To truly appreciate the beauty of the English language, one must read David Copperfield. This book cannot be classified. It is a love story, a drama, and a comedy. It has elements of horror and suspense. I laughed hysterically, sobbed uncontrollably, and threw it to a wall in a fit of anger. It a More...

16 comments like (33 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2010

Laura rated it:

Like many people, I never could get too interested in Dickens when it was assigned in junior high or high school. He always seemed like such a chore to read, with the garrulous style, the zillions of characters (all with weird names), and sheer length of a lot of the books.

Fortunately for me, I decided to give him another try, and now I'm madly in love with him. It's hard to say anything about him and his work that hasn't been said already, but as a friend of mine observed, it's startl More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2007

Scott rated it:

Wow, I think Charles Dickens might just be my favorite author of all time. This book was basically his autobiography, and of all his books his favorite. It was really amazing to see all the opposition he had to deal with up til he was ten and after that it just kept coming. The poor guy was amazing, and seemed to keep his wits about him through most of it until after twenty he developed either some self confidence which in turn allowed him to argue with many people. Because prior to that it s More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2010

Lisette rated it:

On a scale of one to five stars, I anoint “David Copperfield” with six.

Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield” is the author’s favorite book. He says “I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.”

“David Copperfield,” which was published in 1850 (Dickens began publishing stories in 1833), is the More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Éponine rated it:

David Copperfield rappresenta per me un vero mistero. Sono una grandissima fan di Dickens (ho letto gran parte dei suoi romanzi) e avevo delle aspettative molto alte per questo, sapendo non solo che è uno dei libri più amati dal pubblico, ma che era anche uno dei preferiti dello stesso Charles.

Generalmente parlando, la storia di David e il suo percorso mi sono piaciuti molto; e i personaggi più eccentrici (vedi Uriah Heep, Mr Micawber o Mr Creakle) sono ben riusciti. Ma quando legge More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 23, 2009

Penny rated it:

Lovely to spend time in the world of David Copperfield, Charles Dickens' most autobiographical, and favorite, book. I picked it up again because I remembered the stories of David's childhood -- the stepfather, the boarding school, the bottling factory, madcap days with the Micawber family, his flight cross-country to the aunt he's never met. In fact, half the book takes place after David becomes an adult but, except for the courtship of Dora, which I found rather touching, the really powerful bi More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2011

Mariel rated it:

I'm writing this review as an exercise in blatant troll whoring. Oliver Twist didn't even get me a crust of bread. The Grinch stole the last crumb and went over to the Oliver! musical set to troll them. No fair. Force feed her some 'umble pie!

David Copperfield gave me cow eyes. My Charles Dickens name would be MaCow.

I never finished reading it. The only reason I carried on as long as I did was because I enjoyed the impressed looks from my classmates when I'd hold the big More...

10 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2007

Hannah rated it:

A story that includes an orphan boy, rags to riches, trials, tribulations, and adventures: it seems to scream standardization and uniformity. Do we really need to hear about another destitute orphan who, through self-discovery and hardships, creates a better life for himself? I say we do, should, or must if his name is David Copperfield. Tom Sawyer, Anne Shirley, Mowgli, Pollyanna, Peter Pan, Jane Eyre, Becky Sharp, and even (or especially) Harry Potter: please step aside. You simply can’t comp More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 30, 2008

Stephen rated it:

After reading Dicken's Tale of Two Cities, I was left wanting to read more of him. I came across David Copperfield in my university library. At first I was a little intimidated, over 900 pages, but enjoyed it deeply. David Copperfield is known as Dicken's 'favorite child' and I can see why. Dickens really brings his characters to life especially with his main character David Copperfield. Although it took me over 2 months to read it, I did not want to the book to end. Bravo to Dickens on this one More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2011

Tim rated it:

In between the too-easy critical division of early, picaresque, comic Dickens and later, more somber, better-planned novels dwells "David Copperfield" smack in the middle, eighth of 15. Indeed, in its mid-period birth, "David Copperfield," has all of Dickens' trademarks but still feels like something other: a more "realistic" (comparatively), unforced, deeply felt tale. The most autobiographical of Dickens' novels was famously his favorite. You can't always trust an More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2007

Michael rated it:

People enjoy knocking Dickens, but fuck them: When someone complained that Dickens wrote what the people wanted, Lionel Trilling (I believe) responded: "Dickens didn't write what the people wanted. Dickens wanted what the people wanted."

I love the books of his that I've read, and though there may be more artistry in, say, Great Expectations, Copperfield is still the sentimental favorite. (It's that "sentimental" tag that gets people down.)

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2008

Holly rated it:

I loved it! I was enriched to see David overcome his hardships. He worked hard, was diligent and persistent. I enjoyed the different characters he associated with: the silly Micawbers, his unique aunt, his child wife Dora, his good friend Traddles, simple good Dick, pure angel like Agnes, creepy Uriah Heep, and wayward Steerforth.
I connected with David in his love for words. I enjoyed seeing how he became a writer. I'm excited to read more of Dickens.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 24, 2009

John rated it:

I finished reading David Copperfield on the Kindle a few days ago.

I’m not an English major, and so I’m not going to pretend to be one. I’m not going to discuss what themes the book touches on, what category it fits in, or generally dissect it to the point where it’s more monotonous than fun.

I read the book because I wanted to, not because I had to write a paper about it.

I must say, first of all, that this has got to be one of the best books I’ve ever read. The More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

T. Edward rated it:

This is the first full length Dickens that I've read as an adult--(I vaguely recall reading Great Expectations in high school but I honestly have no vivid recollections of it)--and I have to say I was quite surprised at just how engaging and lively the writing is. I had resisted Dickens for so long because of a lack of interest in what I assumed would be another stodgy, over-sentimental, Victorian era writer. I have to admit, I was both wilfully ignorant and seriously misguided in my prejudgin More...

0 comments like

Feb 05, 2012

Tripp added it

Unusually, for Dickens I think, this book is not written in the omniscient mode, but is a first person account, and furthermore, is written in a present tense frame that rapidly--within the first paragraph--gives way to the more usual past tense. The present tense then only reappears from time to time, always brief in duration and always effective in adding weight and temporal dimension to the story.

In fact, this interplay between the young David Copperfield, who is preoccupied with More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Bre rated it:

How I wish I could give 6 stars!

Dickens!

The Signet Classic boasted that this text was as the book had appeared in its entirety , as it was written by the author, and not as it appeared when it was published over nineteen months in pamphlets.

Genius, Dickens! I feel he knew the type of people who were going to be reading his stories and purposefully baited them within the intricacies of the tale. In fact, he seemed to RELY on the reader to infer and predict, correctly More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2011

David rated it:

By his own description, David Copperfield was Dickens's favorite novel and the one closest to his heart, with the eponymous main character being, while not Dickens himself, obviously based on the author. David Copperfield's father dies before he is born, and his mother, while loving and doting, is also too weak to defend him against the tyrannical man she remarries. The book follows David's life from his hard, sad childhood to his adult life as a successful novelist and family man.

Da More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 07, 2010

Bryan rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 19, 2010

Mrs. Crane rated it:

If you've never read Dickens before and you want to dive right into one of his best works, I would recommend you start with Copperfield. In this novel Charles Dickens showcases the crest of his literary style and eloquence. This is the kind of book you almost want to read aloud so you can hear the beautifully woven words he chose to tell the life story of David Copperfield. Sadly, the writing alone wasn't enough to keep me excited and wanting to read more.

I found this book in a junk More...

10 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2010

Sara rated it:

Io Dickens non me lo ricordavo così. Avevo l'idea di una Londra fumosa, sporca e triste, con bimbi scalzi che corrono per levie pozzangherose e case austere di salda moralità vittoriana. Invece è tutta una macchietta. Ogni personaggio è una maschera comica, potrebbe andare bene per il Carnevale. Come dice la quarta di copertina, il massimo è Mr. Micawber, che parla come neppure Dante nella Divina Commedia. Ma anche la zia, che si stropiccia il naso in continuazione e scaccia gli asinelli, Dora c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 12, 2009

Julianne rated it:

My overwhelming impression of this book is that it is Dickens at his most Dickensian. I don't mean that it is the best thing he ever wrote, the most literary or influential. (I have yet to read "Great Expectations" and have expectations it will be truly great.) However, I think in "David Copperfield," those qualities which distinguish every Dickens work are exemplified to an inordinate degree: funny names, sentimental domestic scenes, attention to detail, improbable coinciden More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2008

booklady rated it:

I first got the idea about reading Dickens aloud from watching the movie Gone With the Wind. (They were even reading this book!) To me as a young bookgirl (at the time) it seemed like such fun, I kept wishing we didn't have TV at home and we'd sit around and read aloud in the evenings. It didn't happen in the home I grew up in, but my husband and I made it happen (for awhile at least) in our own home. David Copperfield, like most of Dicken's works is at its best when read aloud. I think tha More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 14, 2007

Ben rated it:

I picked this book up in preparation for a 36 hour bus ride, and while I don't regret it, I have reservations about recommending it to anyone not in similar circumstances. Dicken's writing is excellent, of course, and sometimes remarkable. The story picks up and carries on quite well, perhaps a little two well. I think that's the problem. Compared to other novels of his that I've been exposed to, like Great Expectations and Tale of Two Cities, this one has almost no conflict. Dickens seems More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2009

Annie rated it:

My first Dickens!(in a really long time, I've also read A Tale of Two Cities, Twice!) Slow start, but ended up being one I gave up sleep to read! Loved it! Loved the characters, the setting, all the different conflicts. Was appalled by David's first marriage, even wished for her death, and my wish was granted! Although, I felt bad after the horrible things I thought about Dora Spenlow! Gratefully, my bro-in-law reminded me that the characters aren't real people! But, isn't what makes a book More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2008

Jason rated it:

Roger Ebert once said that if nothing has happened by the end of the first reel, nothing is going to happen. I had to pause about 40% of the way through to pursue my thesis, but after David grows into a young man, the travails of his youth are behind him. At the point where I stopped, partly out of necessity and partly for lack of interest, absolutely nothing was happening. Nothing had happened for several chapters. Given this trend, I began to believe that nothing would happen. I will probab More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 10, 2007

Donald rated it:

I consider Charles Dickens to be the greatest writer in the history of the English language. While all his books are classics, I think that "David Copperfield" is probably his finest work. A massive volume (even for Dickens, whose books were always huge), it is basically the story of his life, and he clearly relishes telling it. The characters in all Dickens' novels are numerous, original and very funny, and this book has a cast that is hard to top. Read "David Copperfield" a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Ahmad rated it:

I would have rated it higher than five if I could!!!

It was very gripping, eventful, dramatic piece of literature. It has a variety of themes that would satisfy most of the readers. I was absolutely engrossed while reading it and Charles Dickens shall be my favourite writer from now on.

Without any doubts, David Copperfield is a perfect choice to choose for classic readers.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Inder rated it:

This is a very long but enjoyable read, with all the colorful characters, predictable plot twists, and extreme Victorian sentimentality I've come to expect from Dickens.

Enjoyed for what it is, an adventure and simplistic morality tale, David Copperfield is a rolicking good time. I enjoyed all 900 pages.

However, I must say - if you are looking for subtlety, believable characters, moral ambiguity, or female characters who are neither fallen (Em'ly), silly (Dora), nor dull More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2011

K.D. rated it:

This is my favorite Charles Dicken's novels. It is a long novel but entertaining. The way Dickens narrated the story is seamless and magical. It is very inspiring being a rags-to-riches story. What makes this different from other inspiring novels is that they say that this is his own autobiography. I picked up this novel just to challenge myself if I can finish a thick classic. I did - finishing it in less than 2 weeks! This is a must book for children and young adults who despite facing the odd More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 12, 2011

Kristen rated it:

The ending of David copperfield left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside of my soul.
I guess I wasn't sure what to expect. There are always elements of the sad and profound in a life story. Dickens makes the trials of life seem to always have a good lining. The characters are endearing and I find myself wishing that more people in the circle of life were true to themselves and their oddities. I'm glad I read this and look forward to another Dickens.
"There could be no disp More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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