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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Port Moody Public Library.
Aug 28, 2013alpaca85 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Reading David Copperfield was one of the toughest experiences I’ve had to endure in a long time. I started reading the 882 page novel, written by Charles Dickens as a person who disliked Dickens. I came out as a person who really disliked Dickens. When it took me ten minutes to read ten pages, I knew I was in trouble. When it took me a regime of 5 day reading cycles to finish, I really knew I was in trouble. Every morning for the past 5 days, waking up to the chore of reading a book that weighs two pounds (though around page 600 I could of sworn it weighed much, much more) was a huge burden. It’s not that I haven’t read something I didn’t like before; I’ve gone through a similar experience with Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or it’s not that I haven’t read something of this size. I don’t want to be overly venomous, I’m sure I could have endured and maybe even enjoyed another Dickens, albeit at a much shorter length. However this experience has left me with a bad taste in the mouth that probably won’t go away for a while. David Copperfield is the life’s story of a prominent author in 1800’s England. It is told in flashback from when Copperfield is in his 50s. The novel is based on Dickens’s life, though it is probably a very romanticised account. It starts when he is a boy. He was born to a single mother. Being the 1800s, she gets remarried soon after his birth, and his new stepfather is a big meanie (described in the book as a great dog, waiting to attack in the dark, or in other words a big meanie). His mother dies soon after and David is sent to a school in London. The book has multiple subplots from here on, which I’ll skim over. There are the Peggotty’s; a poor working class family whom David befriends through his nurse. There are the Micwaber’s; a long suffering family whom David befriends after renting in their home. There are his school friends, Steerforth and Traddles; whom he keeps in close contact with for the story. There is his rich aunt and her companion Mr. Dick, a simple minded kite builder who is also building a memorial of some kind. There is Rosa, a girl he falls in love with and her dog Jip. Finally, there is Mr. Wickfield a lawyer whom David befriends, his daughter Agnes, who becomes David’s great confidante and Uriah Heep, an evil clerk who works to undermine Mr. Wickfield’s practice. In short, it’s a convoluted thing. Even the names make my mind hurt. If you can keep track of everything, and if you like Dickens you’ll probably love this book. If you’re everyone else, you probably won’t. Maybe it’s too soon to make such a judgement, but I really hope not to encounter this book again. I am open to reading more Dickens, just not this one.