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Summary: Viva Pickwickiana
Review: ... to wit, I must confess, how yesterday evening I joined that eager portion of the public, whose appetite for Picwickian reminiscence can only be justly satisfied, by the reading of this fine, and glowing volume. So first and foremost, and with this in mind, I can recommend to any person, worldwide, who wishing to discover an older England, an England furbished with a tongue long dead, and characters most alive speaking this tongue, that they depart henceforth, into the reading of these fine, posthumous, papers, now available in fine print, with original illustrations! Onwards my fine fellows, onwards!
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Summary: Dickens' First Smash
Review: Allright. Maybe it's not a masterpiece. But it sure is close. Dickens' first novel demonstartes that he was capable of creating hilarious comedy as well as tragic drama. If we do not expose ourselves to Dickens' comical side, we are depriving ourselves of a major aspect of Dickens. Characters such as Winkle, Weller, and Pickwick are very memorable. To this day, I have not forgotten the scene where Mr. Pickwick refuses to pay what the court fined him! The touching friendship between Weller and Pickwick is a memorable landmark in Dickens' writing. This novel demonstrates that Dickens was full of magnificent talent even as he wrote his first novel.
Rating:
Summary: Dickens' 1st Smash
Review: Allright. Maybe this was not a masterpiece, but it WAS excellent. A knowledge of "The Pickwick Papers" (1837) is vital for understanding Dickens. Not only was this his first novel, but it also shows that Dickens had the ability to create comedy as well as tragic drama. If we do not expose ourselves to Dickens' comical side, we are depriving ourselves of a major aspect of Dickens. Also, the unquestionable friendship between Mr. Pickwick and Sam Weller is very touching. Between the comedy and touching moments, this novel demonstrates that even as Dickens wrote his first novel he was full of magnificent talent.
Rating: 
Summary: Vapid and superficial
Review: Being a Dickens fan, and having read all of the other Amazon reviews, buying this book was a no-brainer for me. Unforunately, the work is TOTALLY lacking in depth. All the characters are completely two-dimensional, if not one-dimenional: they lack development and in no way resemble real people with real emotions, desires, fears, etc - they are mere caricatures. Worse, the plotline wanders aimlessly. Certain passages do evoke chuckles, but the great majority of the writing is lifeless and indeed boring. This is the work of a very young Dickens, and it shows. At this point in his life, his writing skills had simply not yet evolved very far. The 700+ page novel is simply undistunguised and totally forgettable. I would HIGHLY recommend any of Dickens' more famous works (most notably Great Expectations), but this one is a waste of time. Do not let others lead you astray.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, delightful
Review: Charles Dickens wrote The Pickwick Papers in his early 20s, but the writing is first rate and as witty as any seasoned author could have done in his place! Like many of Dickens's works, Pickwick was published in monthly installments, or "numbers" as they were called then. Although Dickens originally intended to end the story at the twentieth number, the popularity of the series (and the resultant income) convinced Dickens to double the length to forty numbers. The end result is a large offering that'll take you a while to get through (~750 pages in the excellent Penguin edition, which I read). Despite its length, Pickwick never tries your patience. It's delightfully humorous from beginning to end. Samuel Pickwick is the bumbling, middle-aged, wealthy namesake of this novel. He's the leader of a small group of single men that gets into all sorts of mischief, both physical and social. Booze is rampant. Apparently liquor back then was much more a part of daily life than today; everywhere these guys go they party and get drunk. They get into trouble with the law, women, unsavory characters, and more. Characterization is superb. This is one of the few novels I've read for which I can actually say that I got to know the characters. In most books I've read, the characters remain two-dimensional and the plot is what carries the story. In Pickwick, the *characters* are the essence of the story and the novel wouldn't be memorable at all if a lesser author were attempting to breathe life into these people. The Penguin edition includes a decent collection of endnotes to help explain unfamiliar portions of the text. Nevertheless, there were still quite a few words and concepts peculiar to early 19th century England that I didn't grasp. This edition also has maps of southern England and a key to the specific locations that the Pickwickians visit. In addition, two appendices reprint some of the announcements and prefaces that Dickens wrote in relation to the work. Highly recommended, particularly if you enjoy classic literature! Dickens's later works overshadow this gem due to their maturity, but Pickwick beats them all in enthusiasm, humor, and wit.
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Summary: Dickens's most light-hearted novel
Review: Charles Dickens's first novel, Pickwick Papers follows the adventures of the Pickwick Club as they involve themselves in comic mishaps and misunderstandings. His travels as a newspaper reporter acquainted Dickens with the coaches, coaching houses, and inns of England which he uses as settings in Pickwick Papers. Gradually he abandons the use of the club format and attempts to create a plot. Dickens's fame and popularity were forever established with the introduction of his greatest comic character, Sam Weller. In addition Pickwick Papers contains some of the author's best characters: Mr Pickwick, Dickens's most interesting title character; the strolling actor Jingle and his friend Job Trotter; Sam's father Tony Weller who battles with the red-nosed Rev Stiggins; and the Fat Boy. Memorable scenes include Christmas in the country, a Parliamentary election, and the famous court trial, which Dickens frequently recited on his reading tours.
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Summary: Watch out for the OXFORD EDITION
Review: Dickens' first novel, THE PICKWICK PAPERS, is as long and meandering as the Amazon River. But as with a trip up the Amazon, THE PICKWICK PAPERS will most likely leave you simultaneously weary to the bone, unprecedentedly enthused, and certain in some indefinable way that you'll always be richer for the experience.
The non-plot involves a strung together series of misadventures and humanistic serio-comic sketches of Mr. Pickwick, an aging but still vital retiree, and the young men who form the Pickwick Club, a sort of informal gentleman's club that wonders around England, getting its members in one improbable fix after another. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a Mr. Pickwick in their lives: an uncomplicatedly giving, decent, larger than life father figure who radiates bands of human warmth like a sun in evening clothes. It's an obvious pleasure for the Pickwickians to orbit around their benefactor and follow him wherever his undiminished sense of adventure leads.
THE PICKWICK PAPERS is an extremely satisfying read--in many way despite itself. It doesn't really go anywhere, and it doesn't presume to critique the human condition in a profound manner, but the sheer looseness and easy-goingness of it all proves itself in many places unexpectedly transcendent. Probably the best parts of the PICKWICK PAPERS are those that detail the friendship between the aging Mr. Pickwick and the his protege, Sam Weller, a young world-weary up-start who spits out pithy, telling one-liners like a roomful of Woody Allen imposters trying to prove who's the real deal. Sometimes the most satisfying art is the kind that takes you by the hand and walks you down this way a little ways and over that way some, and doesn't lead on that you're going anywhere or doing much of anything important, and leaves you sort of surprised by the depth of the experience you've just had.
Rating:
Summary: You'll always be richer for the experience...
Review: Dickens' first novel, THE PICKWICK PAPERS, is as long and meandering as the Amazon River. But as with a trip up the Amazon, THE PICKWICK PAPERS will most likely leave you simultaneously weary to the bone, unprecedentedly enthused, and certain in some indefinable way that you'll always be richer for the experience.
The non-plot involves a strung together series of misadventures and humanistic serio-comic sketches of Mr. Pickwick, an aging but still vital retiree, and the young men who form the Pickwick Club, a sort of informal gentleman's club that wonders around England, getting its members in one improbable fix after another. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a Mr. Pickwick in their lives: an uncomplicatedly giving, decent, larger than life father figure who radiates bands of human warmth like a sun in evening clothes. It's an obvious pleasure for the Pickwickians to orbit around their benefactor and follow him wherever his undiminished sense of adventure leads.
THE PICKWICK PAPERS is an extremely satisfying read--in many way despite itself. It doesn't really go anywhere, and it doesn't presume to critique the human condition in a profound manner, but the sheer looseness and easy-goingness of it all proves itself in many places unexpectedly transcendent. Probably the best parts of the PICKWICK PAPERS are those that detail the friendship between the aging Mr. Pickwick and the his protege, Sam Weller, a young world-weary up-start who spits out pithy, telling one-liners like a roomful of Woody Allen imposters trying to prove who's the real deal. Sometimes the most satisfying art is the kind that takes you by the hand and walks you down this way a little ways and over that way some, and doesn't lead on that you're going anywhere or doing much of anything important, and leaves you sort of surprised by the depth of the experience you've just had.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful reading by Scofield
Review: Having known Scofield chiefly for his terrifying performance as King Lear in the Peter Brook film, it was a pleasant surprise to hear his mastery of comedy in this utterly delightful recording of excerpts from "The Pickwick Papers". (Although the broad outline of the plot is here from beginning to end, far too much material has been omitted to call it a simple abridgement.) Employing a full spectrum of tones and accents, he brings Dickens' colorful gallery of characters to vivid life. An outstanding audio presentation!
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Summary: An extensive cast meshes flawlessly with various subplots.
Review: Having never read any Dickens before - and unaware this was his maiden effort - I was hooked from the first few pages. The benevolent Mr. Pickwick, with his faithful sidekicks, experiences Victorian England as a well-to-do citizen. While the bulk of this novel deals with the "softer" side of society, the hard-edged aspects of the era are nonetheless acknowledged. With memorable characters, marvelous misadventures, subtle comedic touches, and an occasional suprise around the corner, this novel holds it's own as a "classic." My only "Pickwick" regret was waiting this long (24 yrs. old) to read it. This book will undoubtedly serve as a springboard for ALL of Charles Dickens' works.
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