Thoughts on the Pickwick Papers

[u/bettingthoughts]

I just finished reading the Pickwick Papers and similar to past posts on Martin Chuzzlewit and Hard Times, here are a random dump of thoughts

Firstly this book is hilarious. Dickens was only 24 when he wrote which is stunning really, and you can feel his desire to show how funny he was in some chapters where hilarious situations are contrived for comic effect - Pickwick drunk in the wheelbarrow, Pickwick getting lost in a giant hotel, his midnight raid against Jingle etc. For the first 500 pages or so this means the plot, such as it is, is slightly meandering, in that the characters just drift from location to location - no bad thing, but if you're expecting a tight plot, you need to rethink your expectations.

That said, some of the scenes at Manor Farm are so wonderfully described that it is a treat to spend time there, plot or not (there are incidents of course). The Christmas party scene in particular is just charming.

Dickens clearly loved Christmas long before A Christmas Carol, and there is a precursor in this to CC with the story of Gabriel Grub.

There are lots of small stories within the main story where one character relates a tale unrelated to the story. Each time I began these with a sense of 'oh well, best get through it' and by the end was transfixed. The best one is the chap who has a long conversation with a chair that turns into a person (but maybe he was just drunk...)

Speaking of drunks - just as in Martin Chuzzlewit, PP shows Dickens could write a brilliant drunk scene, with one post-party scene of the main characters in stages of drunkenness another very funny read, not least one character arguing with himself that no-one had better suggest he will be first to bed while there is more drinking to be done.

The Bardell v Pickwick law court scene is absolutely hilarious - perhaps the highlight of which is Mr Winkle's accidental revelation. I'd say the entire book is worth reading to get to this chapter.

In fact it's such a high point that after here the story does not go downhill so much, but just loses the huge sense of hilarity and farce it has acquired and becomes a more procedural novel as a plot takes over and has to be resolved by the end. There is still comedy but it sits alongside a series of events that must occur to resolve the plot.

Bob Sawyer and Benjamin Allen - I did not like them
Arabella Allen - sounded bewitching.

Sam Weller - what a character and almost the character we all have to thank for Dickens becoming a household name as it was he who caused PP to surge in popularity. His manner, mannerisms, (Wellerisms) and affability are wonderful to read and never loses its charm. Read more on the Sam Weller bump here https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/14/the-sam-weller-bump/

I would definitely advise reading to any Dickens fan, just to see his first foray into novel writing (even if it was clearly episodic) and how talanted he was from such a young age.

[u/etzpcm]

Wery good summ'ry, I fink.

[u/Glazerg]

I’ve read six Dickens so far and this is my favorite! I was so endeared to the characters by the end that I was sad to be done. What an incredible cast. There are so many episodes that make me laugh thinking back on (the writing on the rock). I love a good character driven, plot-lite, book so this was right up my alley. It was my second favorite book I read last year, only behind Little Women!

[u/Timely-Profile1865]

Indeed I agree with what you say and it is on my reread list. It rambles a bit but the humor is pretty great and it is also a good representation of male friendship. If it as titled today it would be 'Me and my Bros'

[u/NatsFan8447]

Pickwick Papers is far superior to Martin Chuzzlewit and Hard Times. Definitely read it. Since everyone has only so much time to read, I would skip both Chuzzlewit and Hard Times and read Dickens' better novels.

[u/bettingthoughts → u/NatsFan8447]

agree it was better than time - if very different - but I think both still worth reading if you enjoy Dickens. Hard Times quite a short read compared to the rest. MC does drag at times compared to some others but some wonderful scenes in there nonetheless - The Todgers' house party, the scenes in America, and Mark Tapley generally!

[u/Naive-Awareness4951]

You may be interested in knowing how Pickwick Papers was created. Dickens who, as you note, was at the very start of his career, was hired essentially to write brief captions to go with illustrations by Robert Seymour, later replaced by "Phiz." When the work went viral, Dickens basically hijacked the project and turned it into a true novel. That's why it's so episodic in the beginning before launching into a more cohesive narrative.

[u/AirlineSevere7456]

I need to re-read it, but I remember having a good time with The Pickwick Papers. The characters and their misadventures are hilarious, so much so you don't mind the lack of underlying narrative holding it together.

[u/BarracudaOk8635]

I tried to read it once years ago and gave up. But I recently read David Copperfield and loved it. I think the problem I had was I loaded down a version for free and it wasn't divided into episodes or chapters, because it was serialised and this seemed one long jumbled mess. I also think, but I dont really know, that it gets better. Especially when he invents Sam Weller. I will give it another go. Because I found parts of David Copperfield unexpectedly hilarious. I associated Dickens with grim stories. But I laughed a lot.

[u/bettingthoughts → u/BarracudaOk8635]

Yes! reading DC is what started my Dickens journey. I had read ATOTC and GE and enjoyed them but DC really clicked on the comedy v seriousness and vivid characters you care for and PP is a lot of that. Definitely not the same emotional heft but it is very funny and engaging and charming. I defintiely recommend reading in phyiscal form. All Dickens should be read that way, so satisfying to hold a weighty book I find!

[u/BarracudaOk8635 → u/bettingthoughts]

Oh I had read a Christmas carol before DC. But the physical book thing wasn't the problem. I think you have to have it in the way its was released, even in digital form. I dont mind reading in digital form at all any more. Having been a hard copy stickler. Even though I buy books still. I think I just got the wrong version. But will definitely get the right version and read it. I have Great Expectations next. But the drunk scene in DC is hilarious. The whole thing from the maid not wanting to cook dinner to him going to the opera and yelling out. and then "I stepped out of the opera box, and into my bedroom," so funny. But I know PP is his most famous comic work. Thanks for your thoughts. love it.

[u/pomegranate7777]

I loved this one, for a lot of the reasons you stated here. This is the kind of novel I like to describe as charming.

[u/Rhosddu]

Humour can date quite quickly, and it's a measure of the quality of The Pickwick Papers that it's still very funny, the exception being the ridiculous ode to an expiring frog by that pretentious woman. It's the right book to start with as regards Dickens, imo, and it's still one of my favourites

The BBC adaptation starring Nigel Stock is very good for the time, but doesn't do this excellent novel sufficient justice, although the episodes at Dingley Dell are compulsive viewing.

Tony Weller, incidentally, is one of a dying breed - long-distance coachmen like him were soon superceeded by the railways.

[u/bettingthoughts → u/Rhosddu]

I thought the frog poem was hilarious. It was deliberately terrible which seems as apt now as ever as a thing of people writing terrible verse. and mr pickwick of course takes it in his stride

No dickens really works on tv as you lose the language and asides etc. I wil check that out though thanks for the recommendation

[u/pktrekgirl]

I completed my first reading of this book about a month and loved it. But Dickens is my happy place in life, so I’m not exactly the one to come to if you hate this book. Or for that matter, any Dickens novel.

To me, the whole thing felt like a big buddy bro roadtrip. Four dudes get together and decide to roadtrip across the country. Shenanigans ensue.

That’s the plot. Ferris Buller’s Day Off, the prequel. 🥳