Customer Reviews

The Friendly Dickens: Being a Good Natured Guide to the Art and Adventures of the Man who Invented Scrooge

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+++++

The author, Norrie Epstein, in the book's introduction tells us the purpose of her book: "[This book]...is an attempt to reveal some of the contradictions and nuances of the man and [his]novels. Its title...refers not only to our feelings for Dickens--and his toward us--but to my desire to make a complex figure more understandable and...friendly."

There is another reason for reading this book: so as to fully appreciate the novels written by Dickens. As Epstein says, "Knowing the man behind the words does change [each novel's] significance."

Epstein fulfills her purpose admirably!! Why do I say this? Here are my reasons:

(1) THE AUTHOR'S WRITING STYLE. The author writes in a relaxed and leisurely but enthusiastic way such that Charles Dickens (1812-1870) seems to come alive.

(2) THE BOOK'S ORGANIZATION. This book progresses linearly from Dickens' birth to his death. To do this, Epstein divides the book into three parts. The first part is entitled "Early Life" and tells us about Dickens' life from 1812 to 1840. Part two titled "Middle Years" goes from 1840 to 1855. The third part called "Final Years" deals with his life after 1855.

Along the way you'll find copious quotations from those who admired Dickens and his writings. For example, guess what famous Russian author said, "If it were possible I would like to devote fifty minutes of every class meeting to mute meditation, concentration, and admiration of Dickens."

I found two sections particularly informative and enjoyable. One of these sections is entitled "How to Read Dickens." It gives eight important pointers on how to get the most out of Dickens' works. Another section is entitled "A Select Filmography." This section describes films inspired by Dickens' works. These films are those made between the years 1895 and 2000.

(3) DISCUSSION OF NOVELS. Sixteen novels are thoroughly discussed throughout the book. In part one, seven novels are given attention, most notably "A Christmas Carol" and "Oliver Twist." Part two looks at five novels, "David Copperfield" being the best known. The final part critically discusses four novels, most notably "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations."

Note that in part one there is also discussion of Dickens' first published book "Sketches by Boz." As well, this part also includes a glimpse into his book called "American Notes" that would later become "a public relations nightmare."

(4) BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. These are peppered throughout the book. I especially liked the reproduced November 1994 cartoon from "The New York Times" that featured Newt Gingrich as Scrooge.

(5) SIDEBARS. These can be found throughout the book. They highlight interesting bits of information that the author wants to bring to the reader's attention. The sidebar that caught my attention was entitled "If You Liked the O.J. Simpson Trial, You'll Love Bleak House." In this sidebar, the Simpson trial is compared to Dickens' novel "Bleak House."

(6) INTERVIEWS. These, too, are found throughout the book. My favorite is an interview with a famous actor (hint: he played "Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise") who feels he must "read" the novel "A Christmas Carol" every year.

(7) TRIVIA. And lots of it!! What I especially enjoyed was that there are complete sections devoted to trivia. For example, in the discussion of Dickens' first serial novel "The Pickwick Papers" there is a complete section devoted to interesting trivia called "Pickwickiana." The same thing occurs under the discussion of his last novel "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" where the trivia section is called "Droodiana."

In conclusion, this is the definitive book for any Dickens' fan or anyone who wants to know more about him. Old Ebenezer himself guarantees that after reading this book you will become an aficionada of Charles Dickens. And that's no humbug!!

+++++

This excellent, readable book will serve as an introduction to first-time readers of Dickens, for those returning to his novels after long absence and even to those aficionados and scholars interested in fresh and insightful, though always level-headed, readings of their favorite author's work. Ms. Epstein's coverage of the soio-economic background of Victorian England, in which the novels and stories are set, could hardly be bettered. And she is as interesting about what is familiar, such as the often-read "A Christas Carol," as she is about what is unfamiliar, such as the author's dark, uncompleted and rarely read final novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

With the Friendly Dickens, Norrie Epstein succeeds in what must surely have been one of her goals: she makes you want to read every Dickens novel you haven't yet read and reread every one you have. Along the way she gives you an overview of Dickens' life and of his times, in an enjoyable, idiosyncratic style that makes highly engaging reading. Want to know how Dickens wrote or why Victorians got off on deathbed scenes? It's in there, along with sections on food, drink, sex, freaks, Dickens' illustrators, a filmography, and more. Of particular interest are the explanation of just why Pickwick was so popular and the musings on Victorian mores versus contemporary ones. About the only thing that could have made this book more complete was a recipe for rum punch.

Unless you are an academic or must read everything on Dickens, you will not need to read another book on the subject. His life, his literature, his complicated relationships, and his genius are all on view here. The book is both fun to read and to look at. Why don't more publishers take the time, effort and imagination to put together books as charming as this? Also while this is not a debunking treatment, it is no whitewash either. She has dusted off the Victorian icon and brought him back to life.

Miss Epstein has a gift for communicating, in a lively and acessible manner, her knowledge about and enthusiasm for her subject. Her scope ranges from the broad social and economic factors affecting daily life down to such tiny details as the amount of horse manure tons left every year on the streets in Dickens' London. She is just as good about the books themselves, providing fresh and sensible interpretations of novels as familiar as "Great Expectations" and "David Copperfield" or as obscure as "Barnaby Rudge" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Her Dickens filmography is the best we've ever had. This is a useful and delightful book.

From their limited exposure to Charles Dickens during their school days, lots of people equate him with boredom and drudgery. Charles Dickens, friendly ?!!? Well, if you haven't yet discovered what a great writer he actually was, you're missing something special. The Friendly Dickens is an amusing, painless way of getting reacquainted with him. Lighthearted but well researched, it reveals Dickens as his fully human, creative, ambitious, gifted, romantic (yes, romantic) self. Any man who could bestow upon his characters such names as Wackford Squeers, Seth Pecksniff, Volumnia Sparsit, and Mr.
McChoakumchild just had to have imagination and a sense of humor. Even if you aren't inspired to run out for a new copy of Great Expectations, you'll probably enjoy The Friendly Dickens all on its own.

This book is a lively companion to the works and life of Charles Dickens, and a splendid read in itself.

I'm going to gush. This is one of my favorite books on literature.

Initially I had trouble getting past the title. Was this going to be a sort of "Dickens for Dummies"? No. The author skillfully interweaves Dickens biography with trenchant, readable criticism about the prose.

She also is skilled at placing the man and his work within his 19th century contexts. For example, her little sidebar on the Victorian idea of death being "slipping away" is extremely helpful.

She accomplishes a lot in a few pages...dipping into about a hundred years of criticism and commentary to pull out the best nuggets.

And this book is funny.

And she underlines a lot of the sex that lies underneath the surface of this writing.

And she loves Dickens.

Buy it.

I liked this book a lot, and I read passages of it constantly now, since I am a large fan of Dickens. This book is easy to read and to navigate. I enjoy especially the parts like "Twistania" which show some of what people have done and said in response to the books. The one problem I had was with the sections which said that Great Expectations was a novel about mastrubation and homosexuality. Yes, perhaps there is much homoerotic behavior in it, but that doesn't mean that the people in the novel want to have sex with eachother. I find the idea of the deathbed scene with Magwitch and Pip being embaressing because the characters were holding hands is ridiculous. The man was dying, for crissake! I think people really need to ease up and see that most of the same sex relationships in this novel are ones of frienship (Herbert and Pip) or father-son relationship (Pip and Joe, Pip and Magwitch). However, this was the only part of the book that bothered me, I otherwise think this book is great for any Dickensan.