Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Chimes: Large Print by Charles Dickens

3 reviews

gossamer_lens's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The first few pages reminded me... I well and truly love Dickens' style of writing. It is so full of descriptions, repeating for emphasis, wit and banter. I love it! This story didn't feel as classically crafted as his Christmas Carol. But the moral, characters and tale were charming, poignant and very relevant in modern times. If someone likes the Christmas Carol and hasn't ever gotten to this, I do think they would enjoy it a lot. 

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is like a reverse [book:A Christmas Carol|5326], in which a poor man learns to hate rich men on New Year's Eve... 

Okay, it's a little more complicated than that, and the book makes a few really good points about the unfair way poor people are treated and talked about. (And interesting how relevant those lines still are today...)

That said, this is not an enjoyable story unless you enjoy sadness.

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friends2lovers's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

3.0

The Chimes has been sitting in my Audible library for years.  I can't believe I've only just now managed to listen to it considering it's such a short book.  I wasn't expecting such a dark and depressing story.  I'm curious what Dickens' political beliefs were.  The Chimes depicts the horrors of capitalism.  But instead of critiquing the political system, Dickens seems to be criticizing the moral failings of individuals. 

This audiobook edition is superbly narrated by Richard Armitage!  I've also got an audio edition of David Copperfield narrated by Armitage in my library…maybe I'll try to tackle that this year as well.

Genre: Literary Fiction
Tags: classics, holidays, new year's  
Setting: Victorian era London, England
Protagonist: Trotty Veck
Point-of-View: 3rd person omniscient, past tense
Length: 3h, 40m (novella)
Format: audiobook, own
Narrator: Richard Armitage
Read Date: 14 Jan 2023

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