David Copperfield (Great Illustrated Classics) Paperback – January 1, 2008

I've read other books by Charles Dickens, but I never had an issue getting through a book such as this. I find the syntax vexing. I've read Moby Dick, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities, and these were easily read. This title was a chore to get through. In the forward, Charles Dickens states that this is his favorite book, so I was anxious to finish this title. I am happy to have it behind me. The characters are very different from the movies that this title was based upon, so I was more intrigued with how the story progressed. I hope that you find the book rewarding, I did.

New conditon and prompt shipping

I recently re-read Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and was considering picking up another of his novels. When I saw that a new production of Dickens' semi-autobiographical 1850 novel David Copperfield had just been released narrated by Ralph Cosham, one of my favorite audiobook readers, I eagerly queued the novel up.David Copperfield chronicles the life, from birth to mid-life, of the title character, and is told in first person from Copperfield's point of view. Many elements of Copperfield's life parallel Dickens' own. Child labor, debtors prisons, and endeavors in law, journalism, and writing all have their origins in Dickens' own experience. Other than optimism, Copperfield is largely shaped by the circumstances he finds himself in and the characters he encounters.Dickens does a great job of providing fully-formed secondary characters. Attention is paid to the personality and motivation of virtually everyone Copperfield meets, down to waiters, landlords, and coachmen. My three favorite characters in the novel are Mr. Micawber, Betsey Trotwood, and Uriah Heep. Copperfield lives for a time with Mr. Micawber as a boy, and the pair form a strong connection. Mr. Micawber is characterized by pecuniary difficulties, a taste for the verbose, and faith that something will, in short, turn up. He's amusing whenever he turns up. David's great-aunt Betsey Trotwood is a feisty, strong-willed, no-nonsense woman who is, in fact, quite caring towards those who earn her good graces. Uriah Heep is a despicable clerk, who hides his schemes and ambitions in a cloak of humbleness and subservience. My skin crawled whenever he appeared on scene. In addition to memorable characters, Dickens' crafts some fantastic language in this novel. The dialogue, in particular, is quite good, and many a line will stick with me.The main downside to the story is that there's no central thread to the narrative. While the novel is largely a coming of age story like Dickens' Great Expectation, it lacks any particular goal. Pip strives to become a gentleman and earn Estella's love in Great Expectations, but there's no similar target in Copperfield's mind. He moves from challenge to challenge well enough, but never seems to have any particular direction of his own. While this, most probably, is closer to real life than Pip's goals, it makes for a somewhat meandering novel.I listened to Blackstone Audio's 2012 production of David Copperfield, narrated by Ralph Cosham. Cosham is a favorite narrator of mine, and he does an excellent job here. The novel contains a very large cast of characters, and Cosham manages to make them all sound distinct and memorable. From the despicably conniving and humble Uriah Heep to the solid and seafaring Mr. Peggotty to the adorable and silly Dora, you know as soon as Cosham starts speaking which character you're listening to. Cosham also does a great job of using timing and volume to set a scene. The hands down best example of this is a scene towards the end of the novel featuring Mr. Micawber and Uriah Heep, which is one of my favorite scenes of the novel, in no small part because of Cosham's performance. The unabridged recording runs approximately 34 hours.Dickens' David Copperfield is an excellent novel. The lack of central theme holds it back some, but the many interesting and amusing characters and the memorable dialogue makes it worth reading for anyone looking to give Dickens a go. I highly recommend Cosham's performance of the novel to audiobook fans.Note: I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

I loved the novel, though sometimes felt that the narrator spoke too fast. Yes, I tried slowing down the playback, but that made the quality of his voice unpleasant. But having an audio version to sync with the Kindle version was paramount, especially because I could switch from audio to print so seamlessly.

Everyone knows the basic premise of this novel—David Copperfield is orphaned at the age of 8; he is mistreated by his stepfather and aunt, forced to live on the streets and work in inhumane conditions. I first tried to read it in the 7th grade, but made it no farther than the 3rd chapter. It was slow, and much of the dialog was nearly impenetrable.Now, at age 41, I have a much different perspective. Yes, it is still slow—there is no getting around that—but it is also layered in ways I could not have understood back then. Dickens excels in peopling Copperfield’s world with a cast of eccentric, nuanced minor characters that come and go throughout his life, giving it a lived-in feeling and the sense of a full-textured reality.Had I read this in 1850, I might have said “I know people just like that!”, but not today. It is clear British people thought and behaved much differently 167 years ago, but Dickens excels at emphasizing the common humanity of his characters. He weaves of tapestry that is like life: often funny, sometimes tragic, occasionally banal, with the odd occasional glimpse of heroism.The early section of David Copperfield’s childhood is the highlight of the book. It is impossible not to burn with anger against the horrible Murdstones or the harsh schoolmaster Creakle. It is easy to feel kinship with lovelorn Mr. Barkis, or laugh sympathetically at the habitual overspending Macawbers, or wonder whether the inscrutable Uriah Heep can ever be trusted. I felt like cheering when Aunt Betsey made her decision to finally rescue David and give him a home.Throughout the novel, Dickens cleverly presents situations that feel organic but serve to highlight social issues of Victorian England—gender inequality, debtor’s prisons, children in the workforce, public shaming of women with “low morals”, the presumptuousness of the gentry class, and the schemes of the poor to achieve upward mobility inside a rigid social structure.On the whole, Dickens seems to have been ahead of his time in championing basic human rights regardless of social class. However, there is one jarring satirical chapter in which Copperfield suggests prisoners should be overworked like horses, so they die sooner, so that the money for their care and feeding can instead be spent on the poor and sick.Once David reaches adulthood, there are several chapters devoted to skewering Doctor’s Commons, a sort of pseudo-legal profession in Dickens’ time that was eventually disbanded about a decade after the book’s publication. (This was my least favorite part of the story, by the way.)There are also several plot lines juxtaposing the romantic ideal of love versus the various reasons people married—to secure financial stability, to enhance one’s reputation, or to maintain a distinguished family name in the face of declining income caused by mass industrialization.Highly recommended. This book requires some patience and perseverance; the richness of the characters makes it worth the effort.

Cuando comencé a leer “David Copperfield” me di cuenta de que estaba ante un libro único. Supe que mucho de lo que había en el libro eran las vivencias del propio Dickens, de hecho dicen que es la más autobiográfica de sus obras. Así que primero investigué un poco al autor y su vida y me fui dando cuenta de que era así. El propio Dickens, en un prólogo de la novela dijo "de todos mis libros, éste es el que más me gusta", y "como muchos padres, tengo un hijo preferido, un hijo que es mi debilidad; este hijo se llama David Copperfield"La novela fue el octavo libro escrito por Charles Dickens, la califican dentro del género “novela de aprendizaje”. En él el propio David nos relata su vida desde la infancia hasta la edad madura. La publicó por entregas entre 1849 y 1850 y más tarde sacó el libro, también en 1850. La trama y la estructura de la novela fue planificada durante un par de años por el autor. Es una obra extensa pero fácil de leer.Fue la primera novela del autor en la que un narrador en primera persona, el protagonista indiscutible, nos cuenta su vida. Los personajes se hacen querer la mayoría de ellos. Sobre todo Agnes y Mr. Pegotty, aunque también destacan la tía de David, Betsy Trotwood, su niñera Clara Pegotty, Ham Pegotty, Emily, la familia Micawber y su amigo del colegio Traddles. Y hay otros que son más bien “odiosos”, entre ellos está Uriah Heep, el Sr. Murdstone y su hermana y James Steerforth, otro amigo de su época estudiantil.Es una obra que incluye una gran reflexión sobre los sentimientos y los estados de ánimo. El amor, la venganza y la traición están presentes en el libro.A lo largo de su vida David Copperfield va encontrando su camino y se va desarrollando y transformando en un adulto con un noble corazón. Se da cuenta de cómo el amor y la generosidad pueden cambiar la vida de las personas. Y como el esfuerzo continuo hace que logre las metas que se propone.Decir que me ha gustado mucho es poco. Me parece una obra imprescindible que todo el mundo debería leer.

A great story full of wonderful characters, who, flawed as they might be, will really capture the reader's heart.

A beautiful cover as all Penguin English Library books have. Quite bulky and hefty. But to be expected when it's just over a thousand pages long. Except to break the spine a bit reading it. But that's fine given its size. Nice readable font.Otherwise, what can I say?A Dickens Classic and also Dickens most autobiographical novel written.

Good

Will update aftr reading