Rating: 
Summary: It's not a beautiful life
Review: Parts of this book are brilliant. Dicken's description of Louisa's breakdown is perfect and chilling. But some of the first person, lisping, cockney dialogue made it rather hard to read. The themes of inequality and hypocrisy soar high, but so does the sappiness.
Rating:
Summary: Still Hard Times
Review: This book isn't Oliver Twist. This book reminds me of Animal Farm, only not as comical, but the social commentary is the same. What would the world be like if children were raised without that magical sense of wonder and pretend? What was the world like before the working class was not respected for all the hard work they do? Those definately would be hard times. This is just the scenario in this book. In this book, Coketown is a hard place. The factory workers toil day in and day out yet get no respect from "civilized society". Louisa and Thomas Gradgrind are raised with books and facts and no room in the world for emotion, and then Sissy, a carnie orphan, enters their world as each spiral in different directions due to their upbringing. What happens? Hard times indeed but in the end, the human spirit triumphs even if not everyone gets to see that wonderful ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A good, clean book
Review: For my English class, I read Charles Dickens' "Hard Times." I chose this book because I have read several of Dickens' works, and I have enjoyed them. I find his works good, thought-provoking books that are free of cuss words, violence, and lusts. I think this book was a realistic account of what life was like in the early nineteen hundreds. I was glad that Mr. Gragrind came around in his thinking and realized it is okay to have fun. I am also glad of how the book ended. I was glad to see that justice was preserved. Overall, I think this is a good book, and I would suggest that you read it. I enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Horrible Mess of Incoherent Words
Review: This book was terrible! Half the characters did not have an ending and no main character is apparent. Then again, I'm a freshman in high school and may be a little inexperienced to judge so harshly. I personally dislike Dicken's wordy style of writing because it's easy to get lost. If you like Dickens, and you don't mind his writing style I'm sure you would probably disagree with me. I'll give it a two.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Times, indeed (but rewarding)
Review: This book at times was challenging to read due to its drab setting (Victorian England) and heavy (read: depressing) subject matter, but its clear message and singularity of theme helped keep me focused: all work and no play makes Jack (or in this case, the Gradgrind children) a dull boy. All in all, an excellent and convincing criticism of Utilitarianism. The characters were well developed and evoked genuine feeling, although ultimately you either hate or feel sorry for all of them. Poor Louisa was piteous, having bypassed childhood and forgone love to slavishly follow her father's iron rule; while Josiah Bounderby elicited the kind of loathing one has for a sleazy politician, the way he concealed his privileged background in order to appear self-made and humble. Despite being almost 150 years old, this tale wasn't dated one bit, and its lessons are appropriate today along the lines of "stop and smell the roses." However, its teachings are not of the inspirational sort, and to read this I would suggest being free from distractions (you will need to concentrate to get through some of the slower parts), and keeping some sort of emotional pick-me-up nearby afterwards. Lastly, unlike some reviews I have seen, I thought it was seamless, despite its being published in installments.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Dickens!
Review: I was forced to read Hard Times for my English class. Although I was skeptical at first, this book turned out to be pretty good. Dickens manages to create an engaging story with believable characters. He definately does an excellent job satirizing England during the Industrial Revolution. This book is not perfect, but is clearly a fine work of literature. A word of CAUTION: If you have a hard time reading wordy, descriptive passages in the Victorian writing style, this book is NOT for you! (I generally enjoy novels written during this time period.) A further note: If you are not assigned to read this book and really want to read some good Dickens, I would choose GREAT EXPECTATIONS, which I think is superior by far. Otherwise, enjoy the novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Dickins brilliant satire
Review: Dickins was a master of satire. He routinely lampooned the social structure of his time. Hard Times deals with the philosophy of utilitarianism. You can enjoy this book without any history lesson but for full effect read a little about Jeremy Bentham, James Mill and his son John Stuart Mill. You will undoubtedly notice the parallels. This book savages the unthinking, uncaring effects of unchecked capitalism. I'm no Marxist but this book is a fine arguement not just for balance in economic thinking, but in our daily lives. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Hard but Worthwhile
Review: Here is a stunning indictment of soot-covered early Victorian England. Its relevance today though should not be underestimated. Parallels abound both here at home and the world over. Hard Times is brilliant and multifaceted. Dickens is both dreadfully serious and stingingly witty. And yes, a thorough Marxist reading is certainly possible. Dickens cared deeply about the world in which he lived and his humanity shines through in every line. This book, and all that Dickens wrote, is worthwhile if only for the beauty of the prose. Those forced to read it in school are unlikely to see its value as anyone forced to do anything against the will is going to be resentful and rejecting. Be deeply suspicious though of the reader from Madison Wisconsin, Hitler, or anyone who advises the literal trashing of books.
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy with a shot of wit
Review: This is a totally honest book of life between the lower and upper class. Having lived in the United Kingdom for more than 4 years, I truly appreciate Dicken's description of the physical environements of Coketown. It has so much resemblance of present day London's buildings, especially with regards to the North and South part of the city from Zone two onwards, except for the trailing serpents of smoke. As to the characters so vividly presented and the conversations that were exchanged between them in the course of the narration, I just enjoy the satire on fat old Bounderby, the game being turned upon the Gradgrinds, I think mainly to shame Mr old Tom Gradgrind for his stiff-necked beliefs in 'hard facts'. The consoling fact is he did learnt his lessons. Poor Mrs Gradgrind. It was a pity that she had to be killed off so soon in the story. If she had been alive till the end, what would she say to her daughter's divorce, her son's connection with the bank robbery and Bounderby big fat lies? Probably nothing but something she would never hear the last of! I don't know much on how to comment with a literature eye, but I think Dickens did write pretty well here. I would not hesitate to read it again but since I still have a lot of other books to peruse, I may just as well skip this second reading till later...
Rating:
Summary: Soot-covered Sentimentality
Review: Any Dickens book can be summarized in two words: coal and suffering. I was forced to read this weepy piece of high-strung emotional swill in high school. Dickens lacks the punch and anger of Zola's sweeping "Germinal". For the best critique of Dickens, read "Against Nature" by Joris-Karl Huysmans. The high schools of America would be better off trashing their Dickens paperbacks and reading something with real value, like Lewis Carroll or the Marquis De Sade, both masterful storytellers of the absurdity of authority. Plus both Carroll and Sade are a lot funnier than the ever-serious monotony of Dickens. Do yourself a favor, steer clear of all those Dickens books in the bookstore and curl up with a nice volume of Sade.
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