Rating: 
Summary: On the verge of another breakthrough
Review: This is one of the most complex and intricate of Dickens' novels, as he weaves together a huge number of characters and somehow, I think, pulls it off, though not without a few unlikely devices. Select chapters involving the Veneerings and high society are pure comic delight. The moody and obsessive rivalry of Bradley Headstone and Eugene Wrayburn is fascinating. And, great symbolism of the dust heaps and the river pervade the entire story.
Rating: 
Summary: Cannot stomach the heroines
Review: Used to love Dickens as a moody teenager, cannot pass up a Masterpiece Theatre costume piece, thought I'd give it a go. Length not an issue, was going to read something anyway, and I committed to finish even though knew from TV how it was going to end, but...those dreadfully Victorian women!! Dickens had dissapontments in his relationship with his wife, I understand, so perhaps he consoled himself with idiot idealizations of baby/women. But how a 1999 reader could root for the 1860's Bella...yuck! Playing with her father's hair and him called a cherub & etc., what must the real man Rumty Wilfer have felt, for goodness sake. Even taken on their own terms, which we really cannot do however academic our empathy may be, all is lugubrious. And yet, and yet, for the few moments of real sensibilty and the many of broad farce, I suppose I must always regard Mr. Dickens well and recommend him to young people. I, however, will fade off from his readership. Will order Lorna Doone, another read from my tender years.
Rating: 
Summary: Shadowy mystery and a tale of greed
Review: When I first tried to read Dickens, in the form of Great Expectations, I was disgusted by plot and character, and even skipped 100 pages somewhere in the middle, not missing one single plot twist. You see, I had been brought up on soap operas - I knew the common, unbelievable developments in such a plot.I did not understand the point of a Dickens novel at the tender, unexperienced age of 13. Many people nowadays may be daunted by the size of such a novel (the Dickens novels taught at schools - A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations - are of his =shortest= novels), but a reader will be well-rewarded for embarking on this one. It opens with a father and daughter in a rowboat, dragging back a body found in the river. The murdered man was heir to a fortune made through London's garbage, and Bella, a woman in town of modest means was to have been his wife by the will of the murdered man's father. Instead, the fortune of the ash heaps go to the Boffins, who had been employees of the old man. Shall they be spoiled by the instant wealth? Is there another will to be found among the ash heaps? Who is the mysterious, backgroundless man who becomes Mr. Boffin's secretary and watches over Bella? What of the daughter of the riverman, who is pursued by an idle lawyer and her brother's brooding schoolmaster? Dickens was at the top of his craft in weaving plots and characters together in this novel. He throws some bones to readers every so often, answering some mysteries while opening some others. The recent production on Masterpiece Theater follows the story well, but, as is usual, many of the side characters have been dropped, and the development of some of the characters is rather sketchy. Don't stand for diluted Dickens! The man was master of the novel, and this should be one of the first of his to read.
Rating:
Summary: Dickens at his best
Review: When i was younger i used to be wary of the sheer length of such works-never fear!Not for one moment was this masterpiece a chore in any way.Ive read 300 page books which were twice as hard to get through.If you appreciate classic literature,especially Dickens this is one of those novels that is a pure pleasure simply to get back to-youll anticipate the start of your next reading session. While there may be a slight criticism of the realness or believability of some of the main characters(esp. the female ones)they are individual enough to rise above the stereotypes one may at first feel they conform to.No doubt Dickens created his own 'Dickensian' universe where the characters may not be as bare boned and raw in terms of reality as more modern writers(reviewers comment that his readership were tiring of his style in favour of more naturalist writers like George Eliot around 1860's)but within the confines of the writers world the book works wonderfully well.No matter what the subject or mood and however dark they may be there is always an exquisite brand of humour,a biting sarcastic tongue-in-cheek commentary running through Dickens writing and none so more than in Our Mutual Friend.If your reading this or others of his novels and you are not laughing then you are just NOT GETTING IT!While he uses hyperbole often in his tales there is here plenty of poignant social commentary.There is also a dark thread permeating the story which acts as a good contrast to the humour and it is through this darkness that the best lessons are learned,the best points are made. The plot is very very involved and works for the most part although one has the impression Dickens may have changed dramatically a particular storyline at the end.It is written in the unusual style in that he intentionally hints and prods the reader to a certain conclusion early on,then not much later reveals the mystery-which i think worked well. Lastly i have just watched the new BBC production of this book and as much as tv can capture this it does very well but whatever you do read the book first(the tv series while of quality must intrinsically be inferior-it will really detract from the book).Never once was this book a task and ive now promised myself to read his entire set of works-so take up this book-you wont regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: While the main plot is interesting, the book has about 25 other sub-plots that aren't. It is just too many characters and too many subplots to be enjoyable. Reading it and keeping track of everyone is a full time job. The book was critically known as Dicken's failure.
Rating:
Summary: If you only buy one Dickens
Review: Yes Yes Yes Dickens writes a towering saga of greed and love and jealousy and manifold other emotions. At times it seems as though the happy ending will never come, yet at the end wrong is righted and the heroine wed. Forget this book as great literature - it probably is -(I'm just not pompous enough to say so) This book is a book that makes you glad you read it.
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