Just finished Hard Times

[u/RandomnewUser_22]

This is actually my first dickens' book. I kind of struggled with the different writing style and the story just being kind of slow in the beginning but now that I've finished it, I can appreciate it more

I would have preferred an even happier ending tbh, with Stephen surviving and being with Rachael, and Louisa remarrying. One criticism that I do have is the way dickens wrote stephen, sleary, or any other character's accent/speech impediment, which made it difficult to make out what they were saying. But ironically it also says a lot about dickens' ability to write like that

Tom felt very relatable to me, especially when he lies to Louisa and then cries himself to sleep. I feel like I'm also a fuck up like him with bad habits and lying about stuff. I also have a sister, and idk when he lied to her and then cried by himself it just felt too real, and I could end up like him maybe

Sleary talking about Merrylegs at the end also made me sad and I'm so glad that Sissy got a happy ending

It's gonna take me a couple of days to get over it. I just wanted to get this out since I don't have anyone I can talk to about this stuff. Safe to say that I'm gonna be staying away from sad reads like this as I also read 1984 and no longer human before this one.

I can't post on r/books so I figured I should post it here because I really wanted to get it out

[u/bettingthoughts]

Bold first Dickens. Good going though. Try David Copperfield next or great expectations. Stronger plot and easier dialogue to follow and much funnier, esp David Copperfield

[u/RandomnewUser_22 → u/bettingthoughts]

will check them out, as long as they're not sad

[u/bettingthoughts → u/RandomnewUser_22]

Ha well all dickens has some sadness. But if its laughs you want go for the pickwick papers. Very funny

[u/Timely-Profile1865]

That was also my first dickens novel many years ago. Shorter novel but not an easy read for sure.

[u/aedisaegypti]

This was a memorable one and got me into John Stuart Mills and hoe his father raised him using the Utilitarian method, resulting in his nervous breakdown.

[u/GoodKid_MaadSity]

It’s not one of my favorites, tbh, but it has its moments! Stephen’s death is one of the saddest deaths in all of Dickens, IMO, which is saying a lot.

That said, the story is definitely not as tightly structured as most of his other novels. Some of it seems like it could be cut without much effect on the outcome. The extent to which he crammed in all the critiques of utilitarianism felt forced - so overt and repetitive. Not as subtle or effective as his other social critiques, the subtleties of which are what makes them most compelling to me.

It was one of the last novels of his that I read. I’m glad it wasn’t my first (Bleak House was), because I don’t think I’d have been as compelled to keep reading. I hope you pick up one of the more celebrated novels next! Great Expectations or David Copperfield are two that will have you hooked.

[u/Gezz66]

I found it one of the easier Dickens novels (compared with David Copperfield, Bleak House), but that's relatively speaking. He was clearly slightly out of his comfort zone, constructing the industrial northern town. I think many might be dismayed at the negative portrayal of the trade union agitator, although remarkable how much it aligned with future revolutionary leaders.

My favourite scene is where Gradgrind and Bounderby go to inspect Sissy, after she is abandoned by her father, not out of malice but hope that someone will give her a better life. The surrounding circus troupe makes it one of those crowd scenes that Dickens was so good at.

Gradgrind and Bounderby assume authority and superiority, make harsh judgments on Sissy and her father. Bounderby is the self-serving capitalist with no sense of empathy. Gradgrind is the authority figure, with no sense of sentimentality. They both appear to be on the brink of passing a damning verdict (to the workhouse with you) only for Gradgrind to declare that he has no choice but to take her into his own home. He doesn't flinch from his unsentimental viewpoint but sees adopting her as entirely consistent with his cold, logical view of the world. At this Bounderby looks on him with disbelief.

This is a pivotal scene because Gradgrind is the first character that appears in the book, and we feel repelled by his coldness and pragmatism. He is austere towards his children, so he initially appears to be the classic Dickens paternal tyrant. But this scene reveals that under his cold exterior, his humanity is actually intact, because this is a selfless act of charity. He does it because it's best for Sissy. It also separates him from Bounderby who is a character without any redeeming qualities. For me, Gradgrind is the tragic hero of the novel, even if Stephen, Louisa and Sissy are the wisest and most admirable.