Dombey and Son in The Roundtable

Oct 03, 2009 Everyman rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-classics

This was my first reading of Dombey and Son, and I found it to be one of Dickens’s less successful novels. I know some rank it highly. But I found the plot mostly uninteresting and even more dependent than is usual for Dickens on unlikely events and coincidences, and much of the writing turgid and uninspired. The first third of the book managed to engage me as the situations developed, but after that I increasingly read more out of duty than out of pleasure. I have enjoyed so much of Dickens’s w This was my first reading of Dombey and Son, and I found it to be one of Dickens’s less successful novels. I know some rank it highly. But I found the plot mostly uninteresting and even more dependent than is usual for Dickens on unlikely events and coincidences, and much of the writing turgid and uninspired. The first third of the book managed to engage me as the situations developed, but after that I increasingly read more out of duty than out of pleasure. I have enjoyed so much of Dickens’s work that I kept reading in the expectation that things must improve, but they never did.

I never managed to get a good sense of the character of Dombey or understand why he acted in such self-destructive ways. My experience of highly successful businessmen is that they are almost universally much better judges of character than Dombey turned out to be. His marriage to Edith Granger was unjustified by any aspect of his character, especially since he didn’t have the excuse of love or even affection blinding his judgment, as there was none of that on either side of the marriage. His treatment of Florence was inexplicable even for Victorian England.

Florence herself was sappy and insipid. I longed to find a single mention of any possible hint of reality in her, but never did. Reading about her was like eating an endless bowl of undiluted sugar.

The backgrounds were less interesting and less finely drawn than in most Dickens novels. London didn’t come alive in nearly the way it does in Bleak House, for example, and there was no location of great interest, such as the Marshelsea in Little Dorrit or the marshes or Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations.

As is typical of Dickens, there were plenty of well drawn minor characters. I particularly enjoyed Captain Cuttle (from whom the phrase “when found, make a note on” apparently comes), Solomon Gills, and Susan Nipper, and appreciated the humor in Mr. Toots and Cousin Feenix.

I have read many of Dickens’s works multiple times, and will read many of them again in future, but Dombey and Son will not be among my choices for rereading. However, it does merit three stars, because even a weak Dickens is still a Dickens. ...more

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Jan 12, 2017 Viv JM rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-male, read-in-2017, z-2017-author-male, fiction-classic

3.5 stars, rounded up

Dombey and Son could be summed up with the adage: pride comes before a fall. It tells the tale of the downfall of the proud and arrogant Mr Dombey, who is (view spoiler). At times I found the book something of a slog, but there were also scenes that I enjoyed immensely, and scenes that had great emotional impact. Dickens imbues his characters with such distinct characteristics that they are ...more

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Dec 20, 2016 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read

Dombey and Son has at its centre the repressed, cold, arrogant Paul Dombey and his neglected and unwanted daughter Florence. Obsessed with the fortune of his firm, Dombey and Son, and the necessity of passing it on to his sickly infant son, Dombey's pride leads him to a number of potentially ruinous actions, and both personal and professional errors of judgement.

The plot of this novel is less coherent and engaging than, say, Bleak House - events serve mainly to underpin a moral discourse on the ...more

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Mar 26, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, recommended-novels, 500-plus-pages, dickens

It's funny how this is one of the less-read Dickens books when it's so enjoyable. In fact it's probably the closest to a page-turner as anything Dickens has written. It's got everything - orphaned youth, hearts of gold, bad guys with gleaming teeth, faithful servants, mysterious benefactors. There are a number of horrendously politically incorrect things going on, but plenty of just deserts.

It's ridiculous for me to complain about how overdone the schmalz was at the end since it was pretty much ...more

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Apr 26, 2008 Susanna - Censored by GoodReads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, classic, victorian

Paul Dombey, Sr., is a real piece of work!

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May 07, 2021 Petra rated it really liked it

Another wonderful story by Charles Dickens. Reading one of his books is like being surrounded by friends and Life, going on a journey, and enjoying each other's company. It's a comfort read. Good & Bad happens, there's suspense, laughter, shock, shaking of the head. Dickens captures all emotions of Life within a story arc.

Dombey & Son is full of colourful characters, some loveable, some villainous. Dickens writes the best comical scenes and many are included in this story. Dickens looks at such ...more

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Dec 25, 2016 El marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: pause-button

Wait, so who was the editor on this??

p 283
For Florence lived alone in the deserted house, and day succeeded day, and still she lived alone, and the cold walls looked down upon her with a vacant stare, as if they had a Gorgon-like mind to stare her youth and beauty into stone.

p 286
Thus Florence lived alone in the deserted house, and day succeeded day, and still she lived alone, and the monotonous walls looked down upon her with a stare, as if they had a Gorgon-like intent to stare her youth and b ...more

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