WONDERFUL recording, though unfortunately abridged.

books:


	• Nicholas Nickleby (Penguin Classics) Charles Dickens Penguin Classics, 1999 - 864 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Forgive him for his overdraft of wordiness

Matches Great Expectations (Oxford World's Classics) in the ultimately good-natured story of Nicholas, sister Kate, Mrs. Nickleby, evil Uncle Ralph Nickleby, and numerous side characters. Some mystery, some tragedy, ultimately resolved for the good with much humor.

Dickens's one fault, probably more the age than his, is that of flowery and immensely wordy romanticism when he tries to get serious. Get over it, forgive him for the overdraft of wordiness, and pay this worthy classic its time-honored due.

I actually read this in a pocket-sized hardback edition from 1900! Well before ISBN and obviously not for sale on Amazon, so I posted this review to the Penguin Classics edition because I find them the best presented and most affordable versions of the classics.

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Great for your library collection

This is a great book. Bought it for my brother-in-law in Dallas, an avid book lover. He loves the book and this hardcover edition looks sharp as well.

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A Very Funny Dickens Novel

This is a very funny novel in some sections. Imagine an older Oliver Twist, about 19 or 20 or so, but handsome, and with a temper, and with a strong outgoing personality, and one who can act and do all kinds of things. He has lots of self confidence and a beautiful sister, and throw in an obnoxious and rich uncle and a dotty mother. Yes, it is very, very entertaining.

I bought the Wordsworth Classic version but would recommend the Penguin Classic version, and recommend that purchase highly. This is among Dickens's somewhat forgotten novel but still among his best. It is another masterpiece that brings together all of Dickens's writing skills with a great story. I would rate it slightly behind David Copperfield but it remains one of the most original and interesting of Dickens's novels somewhat on par with Oliver Twist.

As background information, I am in the process of reading most of Dickens's 22 novels and longer short stories, and set up a Listmania list. As a suggestion, avoid the Penguin Popular Classics with the plain green covers (I bought two). They fall apart and do not stand up to a read, especially books over 500 pages in length. The Regular Penguin Classics with the photo or painting on the front are excellent and some have maps and illustrations (drawings). The Wordsworth Classics are not as good, and some are illustrated.

A young Dickens at the age of 12 had the unenviable job of attaching labels 10 hours a day at the Warren's boot blacking factory. That experience shaped much of his writing career. Still in his teens he became a law clerk, then later in his twenties a journalist. The last job as a reporter led to the serialized writing of his novels. His works were social commentaries with larger than life characters, or colorful caricatures, living in the slums of London. He was a critic of poverty, social injustice, and the slow moving court system.

All of Dickens's experiences come together in his novels. The Pickwick Papers, his first novel, is mostly humorous. But the next one, Oliver Twist, is a dark novel set in the crime plagued streets of early 19th century London. Next in novel number three, he changes back to a more humorous novel which is the present work. This is a big novel, about 750 pages or so - but the pages fly by. The protagonists are Nicholas, who is almost 20, his sister Kate, a few years younger, and his uncle Ralph Nickleby. Their father has died and Nicholas and Kate come to London with their mother to seek aid from the wealthy uncle. The uncle finds them minimum paying jobs, and that creates a good story. It is a novel with many common features that we expect from Dickens with things such as a school where the children are beaten, but it has many funny parts and it is complicated by the uncle's financial dealings.

Having read many of Dickens's novels I still rate David Copperfield as best as a work of literature and rate Oliver Twist as close behind and a must read. The latter book was read by Queen Victoria and Karl Marx, and both enjoyed the read. The novel had a far reaching social impact. Nicholas Nickleby is another gem and well worth the read, but lacks the social bite of Oliver Twist, and lacks the enthusiasm of David Copperfield, but it is hilarious.

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Worth Reading

Nicholas Nickleby might not be the best book ever written (certainly some other book wins that prize (and it is likely that that book is widely available)), but it is still worth reading. It is long, yes, but it has plenty of things to recommend it: interesting characters, comic interludes, and a touching (if a bit sentimental conclusion). Perhaps the book's main problem is that Nicholas Nickleby (the character, not the eponymous book) is a bit too good. His character doesn't change, and his probity can become annoying. One imagines that Dickens could have fixed this shortcoming quite easily: he could have had Nicholas drink a bit too much and stagger around; he could have had Nicholas pick the pocket of some Londoner (he needs money, after all); he could have given Nicholas a hook for a hand (a device he used to great effect in a later novel); he could have had Nicholas use a few bad words (which perhaps is unlikely given that Dickens wrote in the 19th century, though one might suggest that an editor could jazz up a new edition); or any other numerous things. As it stands, Nicholas is the least interesting character. It's a good thing that many other characters (e.g. Newman Noggs, Ralph Nickleby, Mulberry Hawk, Smike, Wakford Squeers (Jr. and Sr.), Mrs. Nickelby, Vincent Crummles, and pretty much every other character other than Nicholas himself) carry the book. Except for Nicholas' sister; she's too good as well. In fact, one of the more annoying aspects of Dickens work is his brother-sister pairs (see Dombey and Son, Hard Times). Still, you should read this book.

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WONDERFUL recording, though unfortunately abridged.

I grew up listening to this audiobook and I have adored Nickleby ever since. Siberry's narration and character voices are superb, particularly his Yorkshire accents. The eccentricities of Dickens' characters are truly accentuated by the narrator's character voices, making this audio version of the story a truly delightful experience. If only it weren't abridged! It's still a worthwhile buy, particularly if you don't have the time or energy for the 800+ page novel.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Our hero confronts a large and varied cast, including Wackford Squeers, the fantastic ogre of a schoolmaster, and Vincent Crummles, the grandiloquent ham actor, on his comic and satirical adventures up and down the country. Punishing wickedness, befriending the helpless, strutting the stage, and falling in love, Nicholas shares some of his creator's energy and earnestness as he faces the pressing issues of early Victorian society.

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