Charles Dickens Books

When reading this book, you've I think you got to have the right mind set. Dickens' A Christmas Carol was one of those literary miracles that rarely happen. And these stories should not be judged by A Crhistmas Carol. If you can adopt that mind set (which I had to do) you will find these stories enjoyable and even inspiring.

I think one thing that comes across in all of Dickens' writing is that he sincerely loved his fellow beings--and it shows in his stories.

Also recommended: Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--my new favorite Christmas story.

When Dickens was good, he was very very good. When he was bad, he was wordy and sappy and boring. Did you ever wonder why you never heard of the three stories in this book? Because they're so unremarkable! The title story is the best; i.e. it's the only one that's even readable. Do yourself a favor, don't read this book

Although this is generally a good read, I strongly urge everyone not to read this version of it, or at least to avoid the commentary by Ms. Odden. The endnotes to this edition ruin the endings of no less than three novels: this includes "Hard Times" (!), "Bleak House" and "Clarissa" by Samuel Richardson. I don't know how this was allowed to pass through the final screening, but I was extremely displeased with my experience with this particular edition. Please, buy a different version!

Always concerned with issues of class, social injustice, and employment, Dickens shows in Hard Times, written in 1854, a broader concern with the philosophies and economic movements which underlie those issues. Three parallel story lines reflect a broad cross-section of society and its thinking.

Mr. Thomas Gradgrind runs a school founded upon the principles of rationalism, a belief in the importance of facts, the antithesis of romantic "fancy" and imagination. Basically a good man, he denies the importance of emotion--for himself, his children, and his students. Only Student #20, Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus clown, fails to conform to his notions, and in a hilarious, satiric scene at the beginning of the novel, Dickens shows the absurdity of Gradgrind's teachings.

Gradgrind's friend, Mr. Bounderby, is a banker and factory owner, aged fifty, who claims to have risen from the gutter to his present lofty position through hard work. Bounderby treats the employees of his Coketown factory as machines, rather than as humans, and his eventual marriage to the teenaged Louisa Gradgrind is seen by both as a marriage of "tangible fact," having nothing to do with affection.

The third story line involves Stephen Blackpool, a worker in Bounderby's factory, trapped in a marriage to an alcoholic who periodically appears and extorts money from him. Stephen is in love with Rachael, an adoring factory worker, but his appeal to Bounderby for help in ending his marriage is met with cold, rational pronouncements. Shortly after, Bounderby fires Stephen "for a novelty," forcing him to seek employment elsewhere.

As the story lines overlap and intersect, often with consummate irony, Dickens keeps a light enough hand to prevent the story from becoming a polemic, though his criticism of hypocrisy, corruption, and "progress" at the expense of humanity is clear. His humor, often dark, keeps the plot moving, and several of his characters, which are often caricatures, do grow and change. Characteristically, Dickens uses names symbolically-Gradgrind grinds the emotions from his graduates, hires Mr. M'Choakumchild as a teacher, and lives at Stone Lodge. Mr. Bounderby proves to be a bounder. Some of the circus performers, like Sissy, live at Pegasus Arms.

The dramatic conclusion, which involves the pursuit of an innocent character widely believed to have committed a robbery, draws all the themes together, showing the parallels, contrasts, and ironies which connect these characters, regardless of their social level. Less epic in plot than some of Dickens's other novels, Hard Times provides an intimate look at a changing economy and an important commentary on the philosophies of the times. Mary Whipple

I did not enjoy this particular audio book. The reader has a way of reading that breaks the sentences in odd places making the already difficult book even more difficult to understand. He does not vary his voice sufficiently to make it interesting. All in all-an audio cd to be avoided.

I read the one-star review and was hesitant to purchase this product, but the price was compelling enough, and I bought it. I have been pleasantly surprised by it's quality.

The narrator is Frederick Davidson (1932-2005). His back-of-box bio reads: "He was born in London, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and performed in BBC radio plays before coming to America in 1976." He has earned multiple awards, including the Golden Voice Award, numerous AudioFile Earphone Awards, and a Grammy nomination for his readings. His reading of this novel goes beyond simple narration, as opposed to the monotonous readings of other narrators of other audiobooks. He immerses himself into the reading and assigns various tonal qualities & vocal patterns for the various characters, including French and British accents. It is a dramatic performance rather than a simple reading. I continue to find it a delight to listen to while reading my textual copy.

As for the one-star rating given before, I cannot understand the comment, "He does not vary his voice sufficiently to make it interesting". The fact that he DOES take on the different roles in unique vocal patterns and rhythms totally contradicts that claim. Davidson also provides a smooth flow throughout the chapters, providing not just narration, but a dramatic monologue that is reminiscent of Patrick Stewart's one-man-show, "A Christmas Carol". I have given it only a four star rating due to some background noise I heard in the various discs. It is not terribly noticeable, but does exist nonetheless.

All in all, I'm pleased with the price and performance.

This book is not by John Forster but rather by B. W. Matz, a reprinting of his 1901 CHARLES DICKENS: SOME NOTES ON HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS

Diasappointing Selection, Oct 22 2007
By D. Cooley - See all my reviews


I was looking forward to this small selection of stories. I was familiar with Michael Williams from some of his TV work and had never heard of the stories Dog or Demon and The Mystery of the Semi-Detached. Dog or Demon is indeed a chilling story but nowhere in the 2 cassettes can "The Mystery of the Semi-Detached" or the anonymous "Haunting" be found. The Judge's House is enjoyable and The Watcher becomes a poignant ode to the "dumb" animals of the wild. However, most of the rest of the selection is devoted to the ponderous Dickens standard "The Signalman" and to Bierce's "The Moonlit Road". The latter is almost silly in its earnestness about Spiritualism and fails to deliver the chills of Bierce's other stories such as "The Damned Thing" and "The Eyes of the Panther".
In summation, there are only five stories present in this collection, not seven; and of the five I can only recommend three.

I am a 14 year old who was forced to read this book for a school project, and personally, I think it's boring and senceless.

I dont understand how people said Valverde Pickwick's traduction is great. Sometimes he seems to use Alta Babel Fish. Does simply a literal translation, like a=b. Horrible, but people said is great! Surrealist.

I found this book extremely difficult to understand. In this book the Author uses victorian style english. Victorian English is very difficult to understand due to the verb usage.

This book is one of Dickens' worst, though it is one of his best known. All of his characters are very simple, unnuanced, and one-sided. It is a case of good against evil, a opposition laid so starkly that the book is unrealistic. Some of the characters are memorable (like the Artful Dodger), I'll grant Dickens that, but not much else. At its core it's a muckracking novel, a Victorian _The Jungle_, only concerned with child welfare instead of food quality standards. If you read only this Dickens novel you might be inclined to think that he was merely the Sidney Sheldon or John Grisham of his day, but he has written much better works--Hard Times is, I think, the best.

(this books is also grossly antisemitic. he describes the Evil Jew, Fagin, as having teeth more similar to the fangs of a rat or a snake than to a man)

This is not an unabridged version of Oliver Twist, despite the description that it is. This is a "Full Cast Dramatization" on three CDs running 2 hours and 37 minutes.