::READERS REVIEWS::

One of Dickens' Best, though Not Well Known - I was introduced to Dickens' work in High School via "A Tale of Two Cities". It is a great book and well known, but there are a lot of novels by Dickens that are as good or better. "Great Expectations", "Bleak House", "Oliver Twist" are excellent books, but "David Copperfield" and "Our Mutual Friend" are Dickens' best works. "Our Mutual Friend" is often overlooked and it was the last Dickens book I read, because I was not aware of its existence. I actually learned of it when watching the television show, "LOST". It is my favorite or second favorite Dickens novel and I highly recommend it. I'd like to see a modern Silver Screen adaptation.

Other reviewers have mentioned that it is difficult to read Dickens and they are right. There is a lot of purple prose, especially at the beginning of many of Dickens' books. All the superfluous adjectives might make you want to stop reading. I gave up several times on "Bleak House" initially, because of this. Just skim through the purple prose if it isn't your thing. There are a lot of words that aren't in the modern lexicon, so a dictionary maybe handy.

If you like Dickens, check out the works of Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. My three favorite authors.

Dickens Is The Man - Reading Michael Slater's new biography of Charles Dickens rekindled my desire to revisit one of his works. I chose Our Mutual Friend as I had enjoyed it so very much when I first read it back in May of 1980. I read the same paperback copy that I did back then--one my parents gave me for Christmas in 1979.

Dickens was a true genius. The plot of this, his final completed novel, is dark and highly complex. The characters, too, are deep and multi-leveled. Indeed, Bella and Lizzie are two of Dickens' most believable female characters. I had a difficult time deciding which one I was more in love with.

Many other great characters appear in the pages of Our Mutual Friend. My favorites include Silas Wegg, Bradley Headstone (what a great name!), Mr. and Mrs Boffin, Mr. Fledgeby, and Jenny Wren (who was the subject of a Paul McCartney song). One of the minor characters even shares my last name--we never learn the first name of Brewer or his compatriot, Boots. If you enjoy a good yarn superbly told, Charles Dickens is the man.

Money is Trash - This is one of my favorite Dickens novels, and that's saying something. I find Little Dorrit to be a delightful page-turner, and A Tale of Two Cities haunts me with the tragedy that is Sydney Carton. But Our Mutual Friend, while a harder read for me, is one incredible tale. Dickens' final novel, this is a very long story with a huge cast and labyrinthine plot. The story centers on John Harmon whose sadistic father leaves quite a hitch in his will: for John to get his inheritance he must marry a woman he's never met but that his father chose for him. Bella Wilfer is a pretty thing, all right, but John's father lived to punish his son, so John immediately smells a rat. He enacts a plan to discern Bella's true character, and our plot sets off in typical twisting, turning Dickens style. I had to read this book very slowly the first time to be sure Dickens didn't lose me. There's a lot going on here! The over-riding theme of this book is wealth and its effects on people, most of these effects being really bad. Just in case you might be about to miss this point, Dickens hits you over the head with it by making the source of Harmon's wealth his garbage-collecting business. (Do you smell that? I think it's irony.)The motif of the mounds of refuse is a powerful image of Dickens' attitude toward wealth and the society that surrounds it. There are too many characters and side-stories for me to describe, but suffice it to say that this is probably Dickens' most ambitious work in terms of sheer number of plots that are all tied together with incredible detail and style. And I think he created some of his most fascinating characters here, both male and female, from the poor but noble Lizzie Hexam to her two suitors: the Sydney Carton-ish Eugene Wrayburn(another ne'er-do-well attorney) and the frighteningly obsessed schoolteacher with the great name of Bradley Headstone. There's much humor in this book, too. Dickens deftly juggles storylines romantic, tragic, and also hilarious. I find myself unable to accurately describe this book except to say that while it's not a particularly quick or easy read, it's a fascinating work where Dickens shows his true skills at creating masterful plots and characters. This edition is nicely done and nicely priced, too. It's not one of those "super cheap" editions so it's a nice weight with smooth pages, nice print, etc. I can't recommend this book enough, either to the Dickens lover or the novice. It's a book unlike anything else I've ever read, and wonderfully so.

Filth and the Filthy Rich - The filth upon which wealth and pomp can be constructed is a central image in this, Dickens's deepest and darkest novel. The tale revolves around an inheritance based on London's trash. The River Thames - a central personage in the novel - is a moody muddy cloaca of murders and misanthropy. Yes, there are love interests, tra la, and love does triumph, though the victory seems shadowed by the deception it involves. And there's the murder mystery, as murky as any detective fiction lover could wish. And of course the ending is sappy and implausible, so mood-shattering that you may wish you'd lost the book on the bus before finishing it. This is Dickens, after all. Nevertheless, Our Mutual Friend is easily a candidate for "the greatest Victorian novel of all" and a very entertaining novel as well, gut-bustingly funny, fiercely satirical, masterpiece-colorful.

This is Dickens's second-most political novel, after Hard Times. The satire makes tatters of the pretensions of both old wealth and new, of the Veneerings and the Podsnaps, the unlovable conservatives whose mansions seem to float on the river of filth and misery that runs through British society. Dickens was a curious blend of social prudery and radical labor sympathy, and it is true that his mudlarks and cutpurses are always more fully human than his uppity burghers. But the depiction of smug conservatism in Our Mutual Friend nails its targets with such sharp scorn that Podsnappery became a term of political opprobrium in after-years. Perhaps as Dickens gained access to the upper classes through his literary success, he became more acquainted with their human foibles and follies, and was better able to portray them in this, his last finished novel.

I've read this great novel twice, and I think I'm due to read it again in light of its relevance to the false self-images of America's neoliberal "conservatives," Podsnappers every one of them. I'm grateful to a young friend in Florida, whose review of the filmed version of this novel brought it back to my attention.

Down by the river, up from the river - The last completed novel by Dickens is also one of the darkest and, in my opinion, one of the best. The plot, as usual, is too dense and complex to be treatd here in detail. The story centers around one John Harmon, back from abroad to claim the inheritance from his deceased, horrible, and miser of a father. For reasons that are never explained (one of the several loose ends of the book), Old Harmon had set the condition that, in order for his son to receive the inheritance, he must marry a young, poor girl called Bella Wilfer, whom young Harmon had never met. One night, a guy whose trade was to recover things -and bodies- from the fetid Thames, along with his daughter, finds a corpse, which is later identified as that of John Harmon. Mysterious characters appear to have an interest in the affair, but the fact is that, missing the first-choice heir, the fortune must go to the Boffins, long time employees of Old Harmon. By the way, Old Harmon's source of fortune is a very strange one: he was a Dustman, apparently someone who trades in garbage and other discarded objects. The Boffins are an old, childless, good, charming, and ignorant couple. Feeling sorry for the death of beloved Johnny, and owing to a sense of reparation, they practically adopt Bella Wilfer. They also hire as their secretary an old tenant of the Wilfers, the mysterious John Rokesmith, who falls in love with the arrogant and pretentious Bella.

What follows is a mad, symphonic, convoluted tale of ambition, corruption, passion, crime, and revenge, as well as of confused identities. All in a tone of farce and black -but very funny- humor. Dickens paints his very own London, dark, wet, fetid, inhuman. The characters travel up and down the Thames, through St. James, the Temple, the City, etc., crossing time and again the dangerous river. They come and go all the time. The two young ladies, Bella and Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the man who first recovered the body, are subject to mad passions, especially the latter. There are dozens of subplots, all worth reading. Dickens mocks just about every kind of people in London: business, politics, social habits. Most characters are mean and ridiculous. The vividness of the situations is witness to the enormous creative powers of this great writer.

Thre are too many characters to sketch them all here, but some memorable ones are: Miss Jenny Wren ("I know your tricks and your manners"), the dolls' dressmaker, smart, cynical, penetrating, beautiful and handicapped, as well as her pathetic drunkard of a father. Silas Wegg, "a man of letters and with a wooden leg", a sinister rascal who tries to dispossess the Boffins through blackmail, and his associate, Mr. Venus, embalmer and taxidermist, always sitting in his dark parlour, surrounded by phaetuses in bottles. Bradley Headstone, who literally gets crazy about Lizzie. Rogue Riderhood, the common criminal of the Thames. The most outrageous one is an usurer, a petulant and despicable pseudo-dandy called Fascination Fledgeby.

It's true: in contrast with most great writers of the XIX Century, Dickens does not create human beings. He creates cartoons. In fact, at least for me, some passages of the novel are more easily imagined as cartoons than as people. But, as Anthony Burgess put it, "Language and morality add dimensions to his cartoons and turn them into literature". This is an enormously funny book, well worth your dedication through its many pages. Some people criticize him for leaving subplots open and for not tying it all up close circle. Who cares, his power with words is extraordinary and his landscape of characters unforgettable.

Down by the river, up from the river - The last completed novel by Dickens is also one of the darkest and, in my opinion, one of the best. The plot, as usual, is too dense and complex to be treatd here in detail. The story centers around one John Harmon, back from abroad to claim the inheritance from his deceased, horrible, and miser of a father. For reasons that are never explained (one of the several loose ends of the book), Old Harmon had set the condition that, in order for his son to receive the inheritance, he must marry a young, poor girl called Bella Wilfer, whom young Harmon had never met. One night, a guy whose trade was to recover things -and bodies- from the fetid Thames, along with his daughter, finds a corpse, which is later identified as that of John Harmon. Mysterious characters appear to have an interest in the affair, but the fact is that, missing the first-choice heir, the fortune must go to the Boffins, long time employees of Old Harmon. By the way, Old Harmon's source of fortune is a very strange one: he was a Dustman, apparently someone who trades in garbage and other discarded objects. The Boffins are an old, childless, good, charming, and ignorant couple. Feeling sorry for the death of beloved Johnny, and owing to a sense of reparation, they practically adopt Bella Wilfer. They also hire as their secretary an old tenant of the Wilfers, the mysterious John Rokesmith, who falls in love with the arrogant and pretentious Bella.

What follows is a mad, symphonic, convoluted tale of ambition, corruption, passion, crime, and revenge, as well as of confused identities. All in a tone of farce and black -but very funny- humor. Dickens paints his very own London, dark, wet, fetid, inhuman. The characters travel up and down the Thames, through St. James, the Temple, the City, etc., crossing time and again the dangerous river. They come and go all the time. The two young ladies, Bella and Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the man who first recovered the body, are subject to mad passions, especially the latter. There are dozens of subplots, all worth reading. Dickens mocks just about every kind of people in London: business, politics, social habits. Most characters are mean and ridiculous. The vividness of the situations is witness to the enormous creative powers of this great writer.

Thre are too many characters to sketch them all here, but some memorable ones are: Miss Jenny Wren ("I know your tricks and your manners"), the dolls' dressmaker, smart, cynical, penetrating, beautiful and handicapped, as well as her pathetic drunkard of a father. Silas Wegg, "a man of letters and with a wooden leg", a sinister rascal who tries to dispossess the Boffins through blackmail, and his associate, Mr. Venus, embalmer and taxidermist, always sitting in his dark parlour, surrounded by phaetuses in bottles. Bradley Headstone, who literally gets crazy about Lizzie. Rogue Riderhood, the common criminal of the Thames. The most outrageous one is an usurer, a petulant and despicable pseudo-dandy called Fascination Fledgeby.

It's true: in contrast with most great writers of the XIX Century, Dickens does not create human beings. He creates cartoons. In fact, at least for me, some passages of the novel are more easily imagined as cartoons than as people. But, as Anthony Burgess put it, "Language and morality add dimensions to his cartoons and turn them into literature". This is an enormously funny book, well worth your dedication through its many pages. Some people criticize him for leaving subplots open and for not tying it all up close circle. Who cares, his power with words is extraordinary and his landscape of characters unforgettable.

Boring - Sadly, this book was just too boring for me to continue with. Not even the possibility of finding LOST answers can compel me to trudge on.

Dickens' mind was falling apart - This is an exceptionally lousy book from Dickens. I read it and understood the words, but I didn't understand anything. It seems like there is no coherence in the book. The numerous characters are just babbling away on their own account, and I couldn't discern any logical progression of a plot. This is the last novel completed from Dickens, I seriously believe he was growing crazy or something at this point, or maybe his mind was just decomposing and falling apart?

Fine writing but contrived plot - In her biography of Dickens, Jane Smiley recommends Our Mutual Friend as one of Dickens' greatest books. Smiley is correct that Dickens never wrote better prose than in his last completed novel. While fine writing is important for the reader, a well told story must accompany well written words. Unfortunately, the story of our mutual friend, John Rokesmith, disappoints for many reasons.

A man pulled out of the river Thames and falsely identified as John Harmon, a young man who would stand to inherit a great fortune, begins this overly long and convoluted novel. Julius Handford, alias John Rokesmith, alias John Harmon decides to allow the false identification to stand and watches quietly as his vast fortune goes to his father's servant Noddy Boffin. Rokesmith (Handford/Harmon) goes to work for Boffin as his private secretary to influence him and monitor his actions. Rokesmith knows he can reveal his identity at any time and claim his fortune. This plot line is central to all that happens in the novel. Unfortunately, 700 hundred pages later when the mystery of our mutual friend is finally resolved, I was most unhappy with the false and contrived conclusion of the story.

Additionally, the first 400 pages of the novel are slow going. Dickens introduces many additional characters and story lines. I waited patiently for something to happen and finally, after 400 pages, the various stories and characters came to life. At last, I said to myself, my patience is rewarded; and it was, until the final 100 hundred pages of the novel when disappointment set in for the last time. The resolution of all the various stories in the novel felt, as mentioned earlier, false and contrived to me. I will not reveal them for they are certainly spoilers for anyone reading this review who decides to read the book.

I have read all of Dickens' completed novels. I consider David Copperfield, Dickens' own favorite, to be his masterpiece. Our Mutual Friend, which as Jane Smiley says rightly, has some of Dickens' greatest writing, I group with Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewit, Little Dorrit, and Dombey and Son, all exceptionally long books which will fail to entertain most modern readers. In my opinion Henry James was correct that Our Mutual Friend may not be considered one of Dickens' great novels.