The winter holidays are an excellent time to dive into Charles Dickens’ work. And while I didn’t read all of this over my Christmas break, I did give it a good start and finished a couple weeks later. (It’s not short!)
I’ve read some of Dickens’ work where I’ve been grabbed almost immediately and others where I’ve had to work a little hard to find myself immersed. Pickwick certainly falls into the second category for me but I knew I could trust Charles to carry me through. (I also found that I really wanted to finish reading it because the March sisters in Little Women clearly love it so much!)
For an 800+ page book, there isn’t exactly a plot that follows through the entire book. We meet Mr. Pickwick and his compatriots as they are travelling about the country, taking notes and making observations about the things they see. I found this very reminiscent of Don Quixote, where it’s more about the characters and the troubles they find themselves in than about a main problem to solve. As Pickwick et al travel from place to place, I find myself thinking of Tom Jones and all the inns he visited, hearing a story at each one.
The heart of the story, and where it won me over in the end, is the characters. While at the outset, Mr. Pickwick seems like a ridiculous character, a bumbling buffoon, in the end he was so endearing and caring toward those around them that I could resist him. Then throw in his faithful manservant, Sam Weller, and I was hooked. I wanted only good things to happen to these two. Sure, both Pickwick and Sam get themselves into ridiculous situations but they do so with the best intentions and very often with a desire to help others. Dickens writes them beautifully so even while we see him behind the page, laughing, we’re not laughing at the characters precisely. And if there’s anything Dickens is, it’s funny.
Learning that The Pickwick Papers is one of Dickens earliest stories made quite a lot of sense to me. Not just because of its length but because there are plenty of hints in it of topics that interested Dickens and that he expands on more fully in subsequent novels. Notably, the court system of the team and the debtor’s prison. Having read Bleak House before, I think that helped me have a better understanding of Dickens focus here.
All in all, a very enjoyable read and the perfect cosy book to combat the dark January evenings.
Karissa Reads Books 
I always think of Little Women when I hear of Pickwick Papers, too 😀
It is one of his most fun ones, isn’t it? I love Mr Jingle – short phrases – abrupt – great story – stagecoach – sandwich – head… 😉 I’m also very fond of the stuff about the by-election – some things don’t change!
I loved how distinct Mr Jingle was on the page. You immediately knew it was him!
Thanks for reading!
That looks like a beautiful copy of the book – where’d you find it? A used book store?
I’m embarrassed to admit I really haven’t read much Dickens, but he probably doesn’t need yet another fan. He’s one of those writers I’m hoping to get to eventually…
I’ve had this copy for a pretty long time…I think I found it at a book sale in Victoria years back. I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book but I do think Dickens stands the test of time.
I should read this one to Nick. He loves Dickens, especially David Copperfield, and having a long book doesn’t really detract from our enjoyment of it if I’m reading it out loud to him.
This would be a great read-aloud! It’s very episodic and very funny. Plus the linguistic styles of various characters could be fun to act out a little!
You know me so well!