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Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Amazing charactersBy morehumanthanhumanI loved this sprawling novel; but it definitely isnt for those readers who like their authors to get right to the point. A self-told account of David Copperfield (who is apparently a thinly veiled version of the author himself) from birth to mid-life; the novel has several peaks of action. Events that modern readers may expect to happen quickly (courtship and marriage) instead may take years. However; Dickens is such a great storyteller that I was glad to go along with him for the ride. The special pleasure of the novel isnt Copperfield himself (hes a capable narrator; but a little bland for my tastes); but the secondary characters Dickens creates for us - the loathsome Uriah Heep; the nasty Murdstones; the entire spoiled Steerforth family; and - my favorites - Mr. and Mrs. Micawber; the man who cant stay out of financial trouble and the woman who swears she will never desert him. Ive read hundreds of novels over the years and the Micwabers have to be some of my favorite characters ever.So; yes. It is over a thousand pages and you will be reading it for a while. Some reviewers have suggested that the flaws they see in the novel are a consequence of it being written serially - but who would want to read a novel this long that didnt have several different rises and falls in action? I wouldnt want to wait until page 900 for all the different plot points to come to fruition.The Kindle version of this novel is very readable - Im sure there were a couple of typos; but nothing that I can remember. Overall; I highly recommend this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Dickens David Copperfield is an excellent novel with a great cast of interesting charactersBy Gary HoggattI 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 Copperfields point of view. Many elements of Copperfields 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. Hes amusing whenever he turns up. Davids 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 theres 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 Estellas love in Great Expectations; but theres no similar target in Copperfields 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 Pips goals; it makes for a somewhat meandering novel.I listened to Blackstone Audios 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 youre 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 Coshams 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 Coshams performance of the novel to audiobook fans.Note: I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from the publisher.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. An Enduring Classic Worth ReadingBy BuzzMy interest in Charles Dickens was rekindled when; earlier this year; I visited an exhibition about his life and times; at the London City Museum; to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. Something I came upon in this very interesting exhibit; indicated that "David Copperfield" was Dickens favorite creation. Not too long ago; I read and loved "Bleak House" and I felt I was up to the 900 pages of "David Copperfield." The question for me in undertaking to read such a long and leisurely book; is whether it is worth the time spent. As the middle of the book dragged on at a very slow pace; more suited perhaps to the Victorian era than to today; I had my doubts. But; as the narrative picked up; I was very happy to have read this very wonderful book to completion.