David Copperfield: Level 4

Once again, I listened to the audiobook of this classic. Thank goodness for that, as I do not know whether I would have made it through the novel had I been reading it, or, if I did, it would have taken a matter of months. It's funny how though listening to audiobooks is slower than reading it can, at times, be much faster.

The reason this would have been a really slow novel for me to read was the complete lack of plot. It is the autobiographical fictional biography of the title character. He begins with his childhood and goes into his old age. There is no narrative to speak of. What I expected was that it would be about how David Copperfield overcame the incredibly evil Uriah Heep, since the only thing I knew about the novel was that he was the bad guy, but that's not really how it was.

While the story wasn't bad, and I am glad that I managed to get through it just because of its fame, I definitely was never anywhere close to loving it. I never connected with the characters and saw a lot of the plot twists coming from a ways away. If interested in Dickens, I would recommend instead the rather less well-known Bleak House (and watching the miniseries...so good!).

There are a number of audiobook versions of this novel, I do believe. I would certainly recommend this one, although I have not listened to the others, for one determined to get through the classic novel David Copperfield. For one thing, you get to listen to fancy classical music at the beginning and conclusion of each of the 60 chapters. I love that, although I do regret that an already incredibly long book is made longer. The production seems to have been fairly good, although they did miss editing quite a bit of Griffin's breathing.

Griffin does a really good job as a narrator, as his pompous voice fits quite well to the lofty air of Dickens' writing. He also is remarkable at doing voices, not to Robin Williams' level, but his various characters were generally quite distinct. In fact, many of the voices did not much resemble his his regular voice, so much so that it was sometimes difficult to believe that the whole thing was recorded by this one man.

Unfortunately, some of the voices were rather creepy or annoying. Uriah Heep, of course, is intentionally given an irritating, writhing voice, but creepiest by far is the voice he uses for young Davy Copperfield. I will be haunted by this voice for a while.

I brought this book along to read on the trans-Pacific flight to China. For some reason, I never bothered to crack it, even though I didn't sleep much. Oh well, I did finally get around to reading it when we got settled and was able to savor it. What can I say? It's a classic. It's the life story of a man in 19th Century England, with a rich variety of supporting characters. A well crafted tale that earned itself a place on my shelf. (Once I get back to my shelf, that is.)--J.

Read in one very long weekend, this book is still my favorite Dickens - and I like him without admiring him in all his aspects. Reminds me of Austin, Texas.

This is the sort of novel that always makes me wish the protagonist was female. It is a story about growing up and becoming the master of one's own destiny, riding the unpredictable waves of fate and circumstance and building a good future for oneself. David Copperfield starts out with bad circumstances, and through luck and his own efforts, plus a few supportive friends, he ends up with a good life and a promising future.

This is definently my fave Dicken's book. The story is great, and it's easy to read.

Quite a saga. A veritable classic in its own right. Probably one of the most reviewed books there ever was... So I will be short. This enormous novel became part of me - even though I read it with some breaks (devoted to other books). The semi-biographical story is compelling, the characters will live in my mind for a long time. Mildly criticizing one of his characters (Mr. Micawber), Dickens says: "We talk about the tyranny of words, but we like to tyrannize over them too; we are fond of having a large superfluous establishment of words to wait upon us on great occasions; we think it looks important, and sounds well." And "....as slaves when they are too numerous rise against their masters, so I think I could mention a nation that has got into many great difficulties, and will get into many greater, from maintaining too large a retinue of words." Slightly ironic, I have to say - as if the author is admonishing his own prolifically verbose self.

This is, of course, the life story -- the very detailed life story -- of Mr. David Copperfield, from his birth onwards, including his horrifically unhappy childhood, his romantic entanglements, and the doings of his various interesting friends.It's definitely the characters that make this one enjoyable. Copperfield himself is carefully and believably drawn, and he knows a lot of entertainingly quirky people, many of whom turn out to have some interesting hints of depth underneath their quirks. I imagine I will be unlikely ever to forget Mr. Micawber, or Uriah Heep, or David's formidable, eccentric Aunt Betsy.I'm not sure it has a plot, exactly, so much as a loose connection of subplots, but that's fine; they're decent enough subplots. It does all get a little melodramatic at the end, although I suppose for Dickens, it's probably pretty mild on that score. I do have to say, though, that Victorian ideas about women and relationships and marriage inevitably strike my modern sensibilities as weird and kind of creepy, which always puts a little uncomfortable distance between me and the characters in such novels, and this one doesn't really qualify as an exception.It also goes on a bit too long. Not that this is the sort of book one picks up expecting a rollicking, fast-paced thrill ride. It's more the sort to immerse yourself in when you're looking to live somebody else's life for a while, and if you're rushing through it, you're probably doing it wrong. Still, I think I would have been happier with it if it were a couple hundred pages shorter. It doesn't help that Dickens has this habit of writing characters who tend to repeat themselves over and over. I don't know whether that's his attempt at naturalistic dialog, or whether it's the result of him trying to make a word count, but it does get annoying. Although, fortunately, either that eased off substantially by the middle of the book, or I'd gotten used to it enough by then that it stopped bugging me quite so much.In the end, it's a book I am glad to have read, but also glad to finally be finished with.

A heart-warming story of the struggles of a young boy growing up in England, in the 19th century, without a loving family. This is a good story to teach the history of life and the struggles of growing up in a world where children were not well cared for. Charles Dickens shares the struggles that he faced as a child. Good for teaching that you can become successful even if you have problems as a child.

Audiobook. You can never read Charles Dickens books too many times. This is such a great book. First person. Child to adult. Story of a writer. And so well read by Simon Vance. A joy. If you don't know Dickens, please discover the wonder of his books. Can you tell I'm a fan.

What can I say about one of my top 3 all time books? Loved all of it, even if it took a bit of time to get into. Classic character novel.

Highly autobiographical, this novel explores childhood poverty and all of its terrors. Packed with amazing, unforgettable characters, the story vividly captures the human condition. Dickens called David Copperfield his "favorite child." You will agree. Fabulous!

One of Dicken's best works, a thinly veiled autobiography. His characterisations were never better.

The life story of David Copperfield, hugely enjoyable.

I have finally finished the illustrious classic, "David Copperfield." At times I really enjoyed the book, at others I was very close to banging my head against the wall. I think the last 100 pages or so were a real challenge. That being said, overall, it was a pretty interesting story. From birth to his second marriage, the tale traces the life of David Copperfield. I found David's early life to be the most interesting part of the book. His father died before he was born, leaving his naive and young mother to raise him. She entered into a second marriage. Her husband (and his sister) were a huge trial to David, as they often mistreated him. Sent off to a boarding school, he was finally able to make friends and come into his own. Unfortunately, his mother died and his step-father made him leave the boarding school, and at the tender age of 10, David was sent to the city to work in a factory. After several months David decides to set off across the country, looking for his infamously eccentric Aunt.Overall, not a bad read at all.

This book is difficult to rate or review. Unlike other of Dicken's novel, this is quite interesting, fast paced, full of actions, events and dialogues. Book is long but delight to read. While interest isn't like mystery novel (which it doesn't claim to be) but is fairly strong that reader is kept longing for story to move forward. And yet, when story does end, this is no aftertaste, no lingering feelings or thoughts, no loss of narrative, no sadness of not knowing fate of characters any more. This is a good book no doubt: humour is well written, characters are greatly developed, events and storytelling is compelling, but it's also a book which is great while being read, and equally forgettable when finished. Rating thus, perhaps, stays in middle to reflect that very mindset.

Semi-autobiographical novel written in 1st person from Dicken's mid-career. David Copperfield was his favorite character. "But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield." What a master at characterization. My favorites - Mr. & Mrs. Micawber and Ham. Largely disregarded by the Murdstone's (his mother's second husband and sister), David spends the rest of the novel answering affirmatively the question with which the novel begins. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life."

This classic Dickens work follows the life of an orphaned David Copperfield and the people who shaped his life. He and his mother lived with a beloved servant Peggoty. After his mother's death, his stepfather removes him from school, sending him to work in a factory. Life is terrible, so David runs away to his aunt who agrees to give him a home. She calls him "Trotwood." He encounters the people from his past on many occasions and encounters more people who play a role in his life. The strength of the work lies in character development. The Penguin classics edition includes a large introduction as well as excerpts from a Dickens biography and early outlines of the novel.

Almost read in college, but waited 40 years to actually read it. Seemed like reading an old soap opera. I wonder what i would have thought 40 years ago?

Probably my favourite novel of the 19th century. I think this is the most skilful of Dickens' works and re-read it frequently.

Dickens characters still live, as Uriah Heep penetrates every organization in the world today. Still a great and fabulous story.

Great, memorable characters are the highlight of this book. Those are what I remember.

This was the first time Dickens made extended use of the first person but he was effective, particularly expressing both the innocence of youth and wonder of the young David while subtly signifying the older David's narrative voice as he looked back on the events. I was impressed with the relationships David develops in his youth, especially his friendship with Steerforth who is portrayed as a charismatic character with a portent of darkness in his demeanor. As a reader I am not as trusting as the narrator. We are also introduced to the Micawbers, with Mr. Micawber's famous dictum on the nature of happiness and misery. What fun!What is the identity of David Copperfield? David, through the first two dozen chapters of the novel, is called by various names: David by his family; Daisy by Steerforth; Trotwood by his Aunt Betsey; Davey by Mr. McCawber; the list goes on and will be continued and expanded. What is interesting is that David assumes these names as his own. He does this not only in the company of the person who names him but, in the case of Trotwood, in the school he attends as well. The question of David's identity is one theme of this novel that I believe deserves further exploration and attention. For the moment I wonder at the connection, if any, with all of these names and the opening paragraph of the book where David meditates about whether he will be the hero of his own life. As for the question - who is the hero of the novel? - that is another major issue. I should also note the importance of the sea and nature, for example when Steerforth was staying in Yarmouth at the Pegotty’s we see him in meditation by the fire, where he expresses his wish that he “had had a judicious father”. . . “to better guide him”. It is moments like this that also provide a deepening of our understanding of Steerforth’s character.Continuing on his journey, David completes his schooling and with the financial backing of his Aunt Betsey becomes an apprentice "proctor" (a sort of agent). When David was 10 or 11 years old he seemed old for his years, but he has kept much of his child-like innocence and naivety as he enters his late teens and now seems young for his age. His maturation will have to wait for much more experience and a deepening of his thought much later in the novel. He is able to avoid being taken advantage of by his friend Micawber, but he does not avoid Cupid's arrow and he falls in love with Dora Spenlow. This event with other complications provides growing suspense for the reader. In addition, Dickens continues to provide for David's intermittent commentary from the perspective of his older self. This provides the reader with curious suggestions of the action that will ensue in the rest of the novel.I find Dicken's notion of marriage somewhat strange. David continues to dote on Dora after his marriage and a first year where they discover their inability to maintain there household. Dora , whose complete lack of common sense is irritating (at least to this reader), provokes David with her innumeracy. The situation does provide Dickens with an opportunity for a humorous set-piece when David tries to "form" Dora's mind by reading Shakespeare to her. Needless to say the project flounders on the rock that is located where her mind should be. In a book that is Dickens's best to date (greater novels loom on the horizon) it does disappoint in the use of coincidence and just a bit of melodrama in the saga of L'il Emily who returns to Mr. Peggoty with the help of mysterious Martha. That aside, David does seem to be maturing just in time to become a successful writer just like the author of his story. As the novel closes David's story ends and his new journey, with Agnes by his side, begins. Dickens deftly brings the novel to a climax, as David narrates the resolution of each of the novels main characters' fates. But I was most impressed by Dickens's use of the theme of nature and how it signals the final true maturation of David. While nature and the sea have been recurring motifs throughout the novel (see above), in the final section we have nature brought home to David as he meditates on his life (following the deaths of Dora and Steerforth). We get the first intimation of this in Chapter LII(p. 747):Early in the morning, I sauntered through the dear old tranquil streets . . . The rooks were sailing about the cathedral towers ; and the towers themselves , overlooking many a long unaltered mile of the rich country and its pleasant streams, were cutting the bright morning air, as if there were no such thing as change on earth.Then in Chapter LV, Tempest, natures brews a storm leading to the shipwreck and discovery of Steerforth's dead body. But it is three chapters later while David is travelling in Switzerland that he narrates (p. 821):I think some long-unwonted sense of beauty and tranquillity, some softening influence awakened by its peace, moved faintly in my breast.I believe David's feeling here which is followed swiftly by a reassuring letter from Agnes, allows him to regain his artistic vigor leading him to write once again after a hiatus. It also signals his final maturation; and the reader delights in his return to England and the ultimate moment when he and Agnes share their long delayed testaments of love for each other.

The first time I've read a book on the recommendation of a fictional character in another novel. The main character in Per Petterson's 'Out Stealing Horses' re-reads David Copperfield regularly and finds it inspiring for his approach to life. I hadn't read any Dickens since school days so when I saw it in a charity shop I thought 'why not?'. And I'm glad I did. A 700 odd page meander through the life of David Copperfield is known to be a heavily fictionalised and romanticised autobiographical novel by Dickens. What a pleasure it is to wade through the high Victorian mannered and florid language at such a leisurely pace. Characters sculptured rather than sketched so it's no wonder they have endured as much as those in Shakespeare. Great also to get a view of life in the mid 19th century. Pre-electronic and pre-motor car life was nevertheless full and varied. But with it a clue to the sytle of writing. Long and leisurely. How else to fill the evenings?

At the completion of this novel, my only complaint is that I took so long to work my way through it. Not that I don't cherish the time I spent with it, but more that the time I spent was far too infrequent.How is it possible that I can find so much of myself in the depths of a 19th Century, fictional and notedly male character? It can only be the flowing associations of the heart, wither it's strength or is undisciplined aspects. Copperfield's fortitude through a life of fear, loss and some of the most downtrodden adventures ever known to literature is truly inspiring for anyone who has felt they can't possibly make it over the next big mountain in their lives.I can genuinely say that is the most profitable 99 cents I've ever spent at a secondhand store and that it's coffee stains, torn and battered covers are well deserved indeed.

I have read, in this order, Bleak House, Nicholas Nickleby and David Copperfield, and my enjoyment of them is ranked more or less in the same order. They are all deliciously written, and are bursting with Dickens’ unique character portrayal (including some quite startling examples of womanhood which, being no kind of feminist at all, I am perfectly willing to overlook in exchange for being entertained; it’s important to put these characters in context… it’s not just the women who are drawn in extremis, after all) but David Copperfield, despite its share of comedic characters and passages, is perceptibly less delightful a read than the other two, the author’s own entanglement in the tale bringing substance and detail, but also a seriousness which seems to place a burden on the novel rather than enhance it.The reader follows the titled protagonist through a troubled childhood into an early adulthood as an articled clerk, into marriage, a writing career and beyond, while around him, Copperfield’s friends are being led into ruin by various parties. Without doing any research into this, I’m assuming that the autobiographical aspect of David Copperfield centres upon his childhood and intimate adult life rather than the broader plot and character cast – particularly novelising the arena in which villainously ‘umble Uriah Heep begins overthrowing reputations, the alternative being too bizarre to contemplate. For me, the rich detail of childhood, and the emerging plot sat very oddly together, as though the author were telling two different stories at the same time, and happened to be the principal character in one of them, and an observer, rather than hero, in the other. Macawber, Traddles and Mr. Peggoty manage to sort themselves out quite satisfactorily, in the end, while Copperfield’s own successes seem an entirely separate matter. Despite this odd disparity, I enjoyed David Copperfield as a story – Mr. Macawber’s verbosity might have been frustrating at points, but it was worth it for --- that ---- HEEP speech, and overall, Dickens’ talent for creating characters that are both enormous in personality and multi-layered, so they don’t simply become caricatures was, if anything, more in evidence in David Copperfield than in even those of those works of his that I prefer… Steerforth, particularly, is a wonderful example of how to draw a character and then use him.

Fantastic book from page one. In the beginning, I had to adjust to the language barrior. I speak English but England has a different english than what I am use to. Though at times, I was lost due to the inablity to understand their meanings I still found the story well written and interesting.

Lots of interesting characters along the route of David's life which is why I always enjoy reading this book.

This was both exasperating and charming. At the same time, tedious and compelling. Some of the characters I lose patience with, but others are delightful. There were moments I laughed out loud and I don't think I will ever think of Uriah Heep without a shudder. I will certainly never forget him.

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”This novel is a great example of what Dickens does best. He writes about a young man, orphaned and surrounded by dozens of colorful characters as he tries to make his way in the world. My favorite part of this particular Dickens’ tapestry is the varied people he brings into his protagonists’ life. They’re never boring and tend to have fantastic names. There’s the eccentric aunt, Betsey Trotwood, who is convinced Copperfield’s mother is going to have a girl. Then David is born and she’s so disappointed she leaves the house immediately and never talks to her again. There’s Mr. and Mrs. Macawber, a curious pair who are devoted to each other, despite the mister’s tendency to get them into debt. Copperfield’s step-father, Mr. Murdstone and his sister are an obviously sinister pair, while Steerforth, David’s schoolmate, just makes you a bit uneasy at first. Peggotty is David’s servant and dear friend and her courtship is hilarious. Without giving anything away, I would add that I didn’t love the character of Dora. You meet her about half way through the book and she’s the equivalent of a dizzy blonde. No offense to blondes out there, but you know what I mean. I just found her incredibly annoying. On the flip side we have Agnes, Copperfield’s close friend. She’s clever and kind and I loved her.This book feels a bit light-hearted at first, but it takes a darker turn as the characters are forced to deal with some horrible things. Apparently Leo Tolstoy once said that chapter 55, The Tempest, “is the standard by which the world's great fiction should be judged,” high praise from Mr. War and Peace himself. There are also some wonderfully funny parts in the books, with lines like… “He was always doing something or another to annoy me, or I felt as if he were, which is the same thing.”One section gives a detailed account of David Copperfield getting wasted with his friends. It’s not something you ever think you’ll stumble upon while reading classic literature and because of that it’s even more delightful when you do. After a few rocky years, I think I can officially say I’m a big fan of Dickens’ work. I haven’t loved everything he’s written, but the deeper I go into his lesser known works, the more I enjoy them. I think the key, for me at least, is to pace myself. His books are too similar to each other to read in a binge. If I read only one a year instead, I find myself eagerly anticipating the next one.

David Copperfield is the narrator of his life from boyhood through young adulthood, an account that in some ways mirrors Dickens' own life. It begins with David's own birth and his Aunt Betsey Trotwood's disappointment that he was not a girl. David's father was already dead, and his mother eventually remarried a man who believed in "firmness." So begins Master Copperfield's tale.This is one of those books I've been meaning to read for years, those classics that I enjoy but only seem to get a chance to read over the summer. The length is daunting and the story starts slowly, which was much of the reason the book took me so long to finish. It was well worth it, however, as I was introduced to some of the most memorable characters - Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, Mr. Dick, Uriah Heep, and my personal favorite Miss Betsey Trotwood - that I have ever encountered. I'm sure I will read it again.