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Loaded record with ID 40.
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Media Review Type
TV
Book
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Rating
1
1.5
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2.5
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3.5
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4.5
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5.5
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6.5
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7.5
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8.5
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9.5
10
(10 is the best)
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(Non-)Fiction?
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Comments
A pleasant read, just not spectacular; no great sense of suspense, partly because the main character, Mr. Pickwick, is not involved in any romance or, really, anything of suspense. Some of the best characters include his savvy, cheerful, and loyal servant, Sam Weller, and his father, who was entrapped by a "widder", or widow. Other good charcters include the fat boy servant. I think Pickwick is a little two soft, in that he saves the two scoundrels who have defrauded version persons, and also pays the lawyers costs once the woman who sued him is put in prison to cover the costs. This is a long book - 928 pages; Dickens is amazingly prolific. Mr. Pickwick is the classic Rockwellian character. The book has an unusual format, in that it is peppered with short stories, told by the characters, which I skipped. Mr. Stiggins is the classic fake good/humble character, the drinker who pretends to a be an abstaining cleric, in the Dickens tradition.
Quotes
There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.
Plot
Pickwick travels with his 3 younger friends, Mr. Snodgross, Mr. Tupman, and Mr. Winkle, and have various adventures. Mr. Pickwick is the victim of a breach of contract suit over a marriage, for which he goes to jail for 3 months rather than pay the woman damages. However, he ends up
Moral
Interesting, in that some bad characters are reformed, and some are not. Mr Jingle, who ensnares an older woman and then is bought out of the marriage by her family, and who imposes on everyone he meets, as well as his friend/servant - Job Trotter, end up in prison, where they are rescued by Mr. Pickwick, despite the fact that he has been one of their dupes. They are successfully reformed. However, the two sleaze bag lawyers continue their slezy - Dodson and Fogg, without any punishment.