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Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray

Start date: January 1, 2023

Finish date: March 31, 2023

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What Members Thought

Apr 29, 2018 Chrissie rated it did not like it

Shelves: returned, hf, classics, great-britain, dnf, victorian, audible-us, 2018-read, disliked, humor

I am dumping this. I should never have picked it up. I have listened to about 5 hours of 32 hours and 20 minutes. It rips me up to dump a book before it is done. I feel like a quitter. I feel like I have given up ....and what if I have made a mistake and have judged too hastily?!

I am quitting because I dislike the humor. At the beginning I laughed. I thought it was clever. Not any longer. The humor is caustic satire. It is used to deliver a message. In small doses it’s fine, but a behemoth of a ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2011 Ellen Librarian rated it really liked it

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would, though there were parts where my interest flagged. There's so much in it, I almost want to read it again to catch the many things I'm sure I missed.

Becky Sharp is an amazing character. You can't really like her but you also can't help but admire her. She's the one who makes this book a classic - along with Thackeray's wonderful narration.

My biggest complaint? Too many characters with names that were too similar, if not actually the same. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2011 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great edition to own as this reproduces the original lithos. and includes explanatory notes . ISBN 0-19-281642-X but mine has a similar cover art " Before Waterloo " by Henry Nelson O'Neill yet it has the intro. by John Suterland Because I read this over several months it did approximate the serial as introduced from January 1847 to June 1848 and it seemed the most natural reading. Thackeray is satirical yet realistically ironic "...and we may be pretty certain that persons whom all the world tr ...more

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May 06, 2023 Natalie rated it liked it

Shelves: classics

I was hoping for an interesting commentary on social class and the effects of trying to raise one's stature. Instead this book seemed more a procession of similar events. The characters all seemed relatively similar to me and they went from one ball or dinner party to another.
The main characters are Becky and Amelia but there are a large cast of supporting characters.
Becky is an orphan but gets a few lessons at a school for wealthy girls and wants to climb the social ladder. She first works as a ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Laura rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: victorians, read-2010, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, hf-19th-century-europe, 3ms

To be read and discussed by the Victorian's group in June 1st.

A novel without an hero. The story of Becky, Amelia, Captain Dobbin among others. ...more

1 like · Like · see review