Kari (deltatiger) reviewed The History of Pendennis : His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy (The World's Classics) on + 74 more book reviews
An autobiographical novel based on Thackeray's own youth and young manhood. At 977 pages it isn't for the faint of heart, and the end notes are less helpful than they could be in some places. Still, if you read Victorian novels you're probably used to not quite getting all the references, so that shouldn't be an impediment.
The book does drag in a few places, and there are a few rants the book could do without (like the 'bankrupt authors belong in debtors prison like everyone else who can't pay their bills' rant). If you can skip or overlook these parts, the action moves along as quickly as a 1,000 page novel allows. Things round out to a nice, satisfying conclusion. Not as good as Vanity Fair, but a satisfying read nonetheless.
The book does drag in a few places, and there are a few rants the book could do without (like the 'bankrupt authors belong in debtors prison like everyone else who can't pay their bills' rant). If you can skip or overlook these parts, the action moves along as quickly as a 1,000 page novel allows. Things round out to a nice, satisfying conclusion. Not as good as Vanity Fair, but a satisfying read nonetheless.
