Rating: 
Summary: funny book
Review: "Nicholas Nickleby" was Dickens' third serialized novel and was complete by the time he was 27 years old. It is a spacious and interesting coming-of-age tale, but really tells the story of the Nickleby family as a whole rather than just the honorable young gentleman. Once his father dies of a "broken heart" after going bankrupt in the stock market, Nicholas must find a way to provide for his beautiful and virtuous sister Kate, and his kind-hearted, self-absorbed martyr of a mother (think a less outrageous version of Elizabeth Bennett's mother in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"). Their lives could all be made comfortable instantly if the dead Mr. Nickleby's brother Ralph weren't such a bitter, pitiless and hatefully cruel creature, but then Nicholas wouldn't have such a strong nemesis.Nicholas takes jobs as an assistant schoolmaster, a traveling actor and a bookkeeper, all the while looking out for the honor of his family: biting his tongue when he has to and kicking some ungentlemanly derriere when he feels he absolutely must. The speeches Dickens gives his characters when they have to stick up for themselves are particularly moving, even gripping, even if the circumstances are sometimes too melodramatic for the modern taste. I didn't mind the melodrama myself, but rather enjoyed the way Dickens moves from sentence to long sentence as he was still developing his style which would reach greater heights in books like "Great Expectations," one of only three other Dickens novels I have read. As long and relaxingly enjoyable as it is, "Nicholas Nickleby" becomes something of a living, breathing friend to the reader, guaranteeing it won't be the last of what Dickens called his "children" that I will come to know.
Rating:
Summary: An earlier triumph by a great author.
Review: A lot of people think that "Nicholas Nickleby" is a bit of disorganized confusion, but I think it's a pretty good effort. It is one of Dickens' earlier works, and he certainly did get better as time went on, but there is greatness here too. Dickens is noted for his social commentaries with his books, and with this one he took shots at an actual private school - Dotheby's Hall and it's master Wackford Squeer - and the book actually did cause reforms to be implemented in the infamous school. The hero Nicholas is the handsome, warm-hearted son of a widow whose husband's death left her and her two children impoverished. With the help of a shrewd, miserly uncle, Nicholas obtains a post at Dotheby's Hall. Nicholas finds conditions at the school impossible to tolerate, so he thrashes his employer and quits in disgust. The rest of the book outlines Nicholas' life in London. There are a lot of characters in this book, and it's difficult to keep them all straight, but Dickens' skill for characterization shows itself even in this early work, and the reader gets to know and love each one. The plot is a bit melodramatic and complicated, but the characters almost carry that failing through. Certainly worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Favorite book...ever.
Review: Again and again I had the sense of a young writer reveling in his powers -- his creation of a teeming multitude of characters and their antics and adventures, his magical use of classic rhetorical tropes (such as metonymy, irony of various types, etc.), his ringing of many emotional notes. One feels that Dickens must have been amazed and delighted by his own profuse gifts. I'd hope that many people would read this book while they themselves are young! As has been said by someone before, I believe, one doesn't learn much that is new from Dickens, but one encounters a prodigious range of events and persons that relate to the universal experiences of human life -- of being bullied or being a bully, of being too trusting or not trusting enough, of having to resolve conflicting duties, and much more. I started reading Dickens about 25 years ago & only recently got to this one, and found it even better than I expected it to be.
Rating:
Summary: The good, the bad, and the extremely ugly
Review: Dickens is as much a social critic as a storyteller in "Nicholas Nickleby," which basically pits the noble young man who gives the novel its title against his wickedly scheming rich uncle Ralph in a grand canvas of London and English society. At the beginning of the novel, Nicholas's father has just died, leaving his family destitute, and Uncle Ralph, a moneylender (specifically, a usurer) and a venture capitalist of sorts, greedy and callous by the requirements of the story, reluctantly feels obligated to help them, and does so by securing for Nicholas a position as headmaster's assistant at a school for boys in Yorkshire, and for Nicholas's sister Kate a job as a dressmaker for a foppish clown named Mr. Mantalini, while Nicholas and Kate's scatterbrained mother is left in her room to mutter incoherent reminiscences about random events in her life. This Yorkshire school, called Dotheboys Hall, turns out to be little more than a prison in the way it is run by its headmaster, an improbably cruel cyclops named Wackford Squeers who badly mistreats and miseducates the students. Now, historical records indicate that while Squeers may be an exaggeration, his school is definitely not, Dickens intending to warn his readers of the day that some such places were indeed that bad. The duration at Dotheboys Hall constitutes only a small portion of the novel, but Squeers and his grotesque family reappear throughout the rest of the story like gremlins who are always causing bad things to happen to our hero. Nicholas's fortunes after escaping from Dotheboys Hall with Smike, a particularly abused older boy whom Squeers had worked like a slave, revolve largely around the circumstances of Kate and Uncle Ralph, who is starting to view the young man as a nuisance inclined to interfere in his machinations. Having been vilified by Squeers for his brash conduct at the Hall, Nicholas takes to the road with Smike in tow, where in Portsmouth they meet a thespian named Vincent Crummles who persuades the fugitives to become actors in his theatrical troupe; this episode, the strangest of Nicholas's adventures, seems more than anything else to reflect Dickens's own interest in the theater. Eventually Nicholas returns to London and gets a job as a clerk at a counting-house owned by a pair of merchants, the cheery Cheeryble brothers, where he encounters a beautiful girl in distress who will become a major factor in the final showdown between Nicholas and his uncle. The supporting characters are numerous and extremely colorful to the point of cartoonishness, such as Miss La Creevy, a talkative spinster and amateur painter; John Browdie, the gruff Yorkshireman whose dialect is so severe he needs a translator; Sir Mulberry Hawk, the arrogant suitor whom Kates tries to rebuff; Newman Noggs, Uncle Ralph's benevolent clerk who helps our hero when he can. In fact, the most curious thing about the characterization in this novel is that its main characters are almost completely devoid of personality; Nicholas and Kate, perhaps being by necessity innocuous paragons of virtue, are practically mere mannequins to whom people talk and things happen. Even the sickly and wretchedly humble Smike, the mystery of whose parentage becomes a part of the plot, does not induce as much pity as Dickens probably intended because he seems trapped in a story that doesn't really want him except as a device to expose even more of Uncle Ralph's villainy. There is much to like in "Nicholas Nickleby": The prose is finely detailed, the satire of various types of characters is on target, the humor is sharp -- there is a particularly funny and suspenseful scene with an unexpected outcome in which Nicholas dispatches Newman to discover the identity of the mysterious beautiful girl. And there is much not to like: The plot coincidences are ridiculously contrived in typical Dickensian fashion; the drama is manipulative, designed to cheer the reader all the more when the author comes to rescue the heroes from their despair and hopelessness; the sentimentality is overwhelming -- by the end "Nicholas Nickleby" becomes so saccharine it makes "David Copperfield" look like "Blood Meridian." But Dickens remains eminently readable because of his flair for portraying and celebrating human oddity in all its varieties, his knowledge that life is all about taking the bad with the good, and his sense that fiction is all about maximizing the contrast.
Rating:
Summary: The good, the bad, and the extremely ugly
Review: Dickens is as much a social critic as a storyteller in "Nicholas Nickleby," which basically pits the noble young man who gives the novel its title against his wickedly scheming rich uncle Ralph in a grand canvas of London and English society. At the beginning of the novel, Nicholas's father has just died, leaving his family destitute, and Uncle Ralph, a moneylender (specifically, a usurer) and a venture capitalist of sorts, greedy and callous by the requirements of the story, reluctantly feels obligated to help them, and does so by securing for Nicholas a position as headmaster's assistant at a school for boys in Yorkshire, and for Nicholas's sister Kate a job as a dressmaker for a foppish clown named Mr. Mantalini, while Nicholas and Kate's scatterbrained mother is left in her room to mutter incoherent reminiscences about random events in her life. This Yorkshire school, called Dotheboys Hall, turns out to be little more than a prison in the way it is run by its headmaster, an improbably cruel cyclops named Wackford Squeers who badly mistreats and miseducates the students. Now, historical records indicate that while Squeers may be an exaggeration, his school is definitely not, Dickens intending to warn his readers of the day that some such places were indeed that bad. The duration at Dotheboys Hall constitutes only a small portion of the novel, but Squeers and his grotesque family reappear throughout the rest of the story like gremlins who are always causing bad things to happen to our hero. Nicholas's fortunes after escaping from Dotheboys Hall with Smike, a particularly abused older boy whom Squeers had worked like a slave, revolve largely around the circumstances of Kate and Uncle Ralph, who is starting to view the young man as a nuisance inclined to interfere in his machinations. Having been vilified by Squeers for his brash conduct at the Hall, Nicholas takes to the road with Smike in tow, where in Portsmouth they meet a thespian named Vincent Crummles who persuades the fugitives to become actors in his theatrical troupe; this episode, the strangest of Nicholas's adventures, seems more than anything else to reflect Dickens's own interest in the theater. Eventually Nicholas returns to London and gets a job as a clerk at a counting-house owned by a pair of merchants, the cheery Cheeryble brothers, where he encounters a beautiful girl in distress who will become a major factor in the final showdown between Nicholas and his uncle. The supporting characters are numerous and extremely colorful to the point of cartoonishness, such as Miss La Creevy, a talkative spinster and amateur painter; John Browdie, the gruff Yorkshireman whose dialect is so severe he needs a translator; Sir Mulberry Hawk, the arrogant suitor whom Kates tries to rebuff; Newman Noggs, Uncle Ralph's benevolent clerk who helps our hero when he can. In fact, the most curious thing about the characterization in this novel is that its main characters are almost completely devoid of personality; Nicholas and Kate, perhaps being by necessity innocuous paragons of virtue, are practically mere mannequins to whom people talk and things happen. Even the sickly and wretchedly humble Smike, the mystery of whose parentage becomes a part of the plot, does not induce as much pity as Dickens probably intended because he seems trapped in a story that doesn't really want him except as a device to expose even more of Uncle Ralph's villainy. There is much to like in "Nicholas Nickleby": The prose is finely detailed, the satire of various types of characters is on target, the humor is sharp -- there is a particularly funny and suspenseful scene with an unexpected outcome in which Nicholas dispatches Newman to discover the identity of the mysterious beautiful girl. And there is much not to like: The plot coincidences are ridiculously contrived in typical Dickensian fashion; the drama is manipulative, designed to cheer the reader all the more when the author comes to rescue the heroes from their despair and hopelessness; the sentimentality is overwhelming -- by the end "Nicholas Nickleby" becomes so saccharine it makes "David Copperfield" look like "Blood Meridian." But Dickens remains eminently readable because of his flair for portraying and celebrating human oddity in all its varieties, his knowledge that life is all about taking the bad with the good, and his sense that fiction is all about maximizing the contrast.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining to the last page, despite its length
Review: I had never read one of Dickens book before Nicholas Nickleby, though I had always wanted to. I particularly enjoyed this book because of Dicken's subtle sense of humor and colorful characters. It was easy to hate the villains such as Squeers or Ralph Nickleby, and laugh at the amusing chracters of Mr. Mantalini and John Brody(whom I found to be the funniest) Authenticity of personality and speech allows you to connect with the various chracters. Although he was probably the least complex, my favorite was Smike, the pitiful victim of the Yorkshire schools of the 1800s.
The one drawback was the size of this book. Dickens spent much time giving detail of many places and people (and did a good job of it), but we must draw the line somewhere. Just when one thinks enough words have been spent on one topic, it diverges into yet another irrevelant matter.
I'd recommend this book to almost anyone, unless you have a great fear of commitment. But the book has plenty of plot and satire to hold you to the end. I certainly was, but I don't think my librarian would believe me.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most entertaining novels ever
Review: I read criticisms of this book that it is not one of Dickens' best. For me, it is up there with Great Expectations and David Copperfield as one of his most enjoyable novels (A Christmas Carol is a short story). The social axe that Dickens had to grind in this story is man's injustice to children. Modern readers my feel that his depiction of Dotheboys Academy is too melodramatic. Alas, unfortunately, it was all too real. Charles Dickens helped create a world where we can't believe that such things happen. Dickens even tell us in an introduction that several Yorkshire schoolmasters were sure that Wackford Squeers was based on them and threatened legal action. The plot of Nicholas Nickleby is a miracle of invention. It is nothing more than a series of adventures, in which Nicholas tries to make his way in the world, separate himself from his evil uncle, and try to provide for his mother and sister. There are no unintersting characters in Dickens. Each one is almost a charicature. This book contains some of his funniest characters. To say this is a melodrama is not an insult. This is melodrama at its best. Its a long book, but a fast read.
Rating:
Summary: Nicholas Nickleby - The young Dickens at his best.
Review: Nicholas Nickleby is a marvelous novel. It is the young Dickens at his best. I almost feel guilty for giving it four stars, but giving it five would be unfair, I think, because his later works, such as Great Expectations, are bettter. The novel is written enthusiastically and contains some of Dickens' best humor. I especially found funny the character Mr.Lillyvick, the revered and dignified water clerk. And I will never forget Ralph Nickleby. Mr.Squeers and Arthur Gride were detestable and colorful villains, but they pale before Ralph Nickleby. He is such a cold and heartless character that he steals nearly every scene he is in. He has a certain magnetism that most of Dickens' good characters lack. And his suicide at the novel's end is so perfectly written that I read over it several times before I finished the novel. My only problem with the book was Nicholas's lack of psychology, but let us remember that this was written by a young man, not the mature artist of Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend. The novel's strengths easily make up for its weaknesses. Nicholas Nickleby will be enjoyed by fans of Dickens and all other readers for centuries to come.
Rating:
Summary: My review of Nicholas Nickleby
Review: Nicholas Nickleby is a story of a young man and his family dealing with the hardships in their life. When Nicholas father died the family was left with little money. It was because of this that they turned to Ralph Nickleby (Nicholas's uncle), who got Nicholas and his sister Kate jobs. Ralph only did this because he did not want them to rely on his money, he reminded me of Scrooge from the Christmas Carol, he is a business man with no heart at the beginning. Ralph Nickleby is a complex character that unfolds completely by the end of the novel. Ralph's assistant, Newman Noggs, parallels Bob Cratchit in many ways. He works for Ralph and puts up with many harsh words and actions. Noggs becomes Nicholas best friend. Dickens paints a picture of every character. By the end of the novel you have visual imagine in your head of every detail. You never just meet a person; you get to know their character. As much as I loved this description of everything, it does tend to be a bit much. At certain points throughout the story you remember that Dickens got paid by the word and that attributed to his (sometimes) excessive detail.
The very beginning was a bit slow and it took a bit of effort to get through. Around the fourth or fifth chapter the book became very interesting. In the next few chapters the plot of the novel started to evolve. I enjoyed the balance of humor and seriousness that was in the book. Wackford Squeers was perhaps one of the crudest characters however he was one of the funnies as well. The Squeers owned Dotheboys Hall, for a small fortune you may send you child there to be educated, however the as a reader you soon learned about the horrible treatment of the boys. For example, the boys are occasionally given a "medicine", this made the boys so ill that they didn't want to eat and therefore the Squeers save money on food. You are introduced to a very important character by the name of Smike; he is a boy who was left in the care of the Squeers years ago. After his first six years there this parents stopped paying and he became a servant and he is treated horribly. At one point in the book Nicholas can no longer witness this treatment and saved poor Smike from a beating. After this the book takes a dramatic turn. Nicholas sets out on his own and soon finds that Smike has followed him.
Eventually the interest starts to die down and the plot seems boring and over played. I must admit that as much as I loved the book the middle was not very enjoyable to read. In the middle you are introduced to many new characters and you learn the detail surrounding the life that Kate and Nicholas now lead. Kate is employed in a dress shop, which soon becomes bankrupt because of bad investments. Nicholas joins Mr. Crummles entertainment "business", in which he puts on plays. Just when you start to lose hope in the book, an exciting series of twist and turns unravels. You start to learn that Ralph has a few secrets that may lead to his destruction. Newmen Noggs starts to play a very important role in the story. He learns that Ralph has a friend (Mr. Gride) who plans to marry Madeline (the woman Nicholas is in love with) and give the deed her father promised him to Ralph. Madeline's father is in prison for not repaying is debt; the deed is worth 12,000 pounds and will replace what he borrowed from Ralph. The end of the book is the greatest part of all; you learn very important things about Ralph and his life before money. The theme of how money can ruin a person is really displayed in the last few chapters.
Overall this book had its highs and lows. I am very glad that I read it because it is so mind blowing, you really get involved in this world that Dickens creates for his characters. There are so many different aspect of this book that almost anyone can find something that they enjoy about it. The best part is that you can see what everything is leading up to but there is still an element of surprise until the end.
Rating:
Summary: Ralph: The Rich Uncle you always dreamed of: A Nightmare!!
Review: The hero of this book has been described as a 'clean cut' Tom Jones. Nicholas does have quite the peripatic journey and most importantly-the prerequisite Victorian happy ending is firmly in place: a triple wedding!
Two scenes stand out: When the young Nicholas's father dies, the family goes to their rich uncle Ralph for assistance. Spying an ad in the paper for a teaching assistant at a boarding school, Uncle Ralph sets Nicholas up with the headmaster, saying while Nicholas doesn't have a 'master's degree' he is 'flexible.' Does Nicholas ever need that flexibility. This is one of those notorious boarding school. The other big scene that stood out for me happens when 'Uncle' begins to get his 'just desserts.' This scrooge of a man has put the screws to the family of Madeline Bray and to 'ease the burden' he has placed on them, he proposes to marry Madeline...Guess who's Nicholas' love-interest? Oh yeah! Nicholas manages to persuade the dutiful Madeline that he's her man and he wrests her away from Uncle's clutches. Well, the characterization is exquisitely Dickensian and there are numerous ways to enjoy this story, in paper and plastic.
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