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What are readers saying about Vanity Fair (Penguin Classics)?
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Paul posted a review at 2009-11-23 17:20:09.
(Language: English)
 
One of the best Victorian novels that I've read. Very different from Middlemarch, which has a better narrative voice, but a very satisfying read, nonetheless. The ending is superbe.
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Ruth posted a review at 2009-10-31 09:31:11.
(Language: English)
I'm on Chapter 10... I'll finish this book in November, I'm sure!
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Jaime posted a review at 2009-10-27 23:02:30.
(Language: English)
Well, actually I only read about 2/3 of it before I had to put it down. I usually finish all my books within a couple of days, a week usually at the most. After almost 3 weeks, I still wasn't done all 900 pages of it. The author fills page after page with random information about people who are less than minor character and bounces around the timeline is no sence of linear fashion. I know this book is suppose to be satirical but I found it just plain rambling.
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Beloved posted a review at 2009-10-03 03:39:50.
(Language: English)
A birthday gift from my friends when we were in highschool. Nice reading. Although Rebecca might be characterized unkind, but I really don't judge her at all. The name of the novel had attracted me before I came to read it. Vanity fair - Just like life somehow...
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A reader posted a review at 2009-09-11 04:36:18.
(Language: English)
So far am not amused. Will be glad when I'm through with this one. Gave up on it. FAIL.
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Marina posted a review at 2009-07-29 10:44:19.
(Language: English)
The hefty investment this book requires (over 800 pages, after all) definitely pays off- there's rarely a dull moment, thanks to Thackeray's wicked sense of humor. He was clearly a huge inspiration for writers like Wilde, Wodehouse and others who have profited from the British brand of frothy social satire. I would've thought the novel was Thackeray's answer to Jane Eyre- Becky Sharp is the complete antithesis of the Bronte heroine- but in fact, the two novels were published in the same year. Nevertheless, Thackeray clearly anticipated the turn that Victorian novels were soon to take... and he viciously, deliciously ridiculed that sentimentalism. A must read for any student of English lit!
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A reader posted a review at 2009-07-08 20:50:01.
(Language: English)
A joy to read.
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John-Mark posted a review at 2009-06-21 07:44:10.
(Language: English)
A classic critique of the middle classes - oh how relevant even today! Yes people you know who I'm talking about!
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Nicholas posted a review at 2009-05-27 15:03:56.
(Language: English)
I really enjoyed this. It's essentially the story of Becky and Amelia, two girls of English high society of the Regency and reign of George IV, and what happens to them both after they leave school and marry against the wishes of their husbands' families. Becky is much the more interesting of the two; her adventures repeatedly lead her to personal and/or financial disaster, but she always bounces back. She is rather selfish in the way she constantly and instinctively exploits those around her, but also does have a good heart in the end. I find her one of the most fascinating characters of Victorian literature; Thackeray's portrayal of her is sympathetic despite the harsh circumstances. Although the book's subtitle is "A Novel without a Hero", that's not quite true: the virtuous Amelia is loved from afar by her husband's friend Dobbin, whose behaviour is pretty saintly. However his gentlemanly and honourable conduct seems a bit of a waste, since Amelia is blind to him for most of the book. The settings of the story - London, the Crawley country mansion, Brussels, the Grand Duchy of Pumpernickel - are tremendously well realised, especially in their human landscape. Thackeray's portrayal of a multi-racial London is memorable; also Amelia's brother Jos is addicted to curries. Thackeray is of course a racist, but at least he actually has black characters. The first half of the book climaxes at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. I could not help but compare Thackeray's account of the battle with my memory of Victor Hugo's version in Les Miserables. For Hugo, it's an extended flashback to explain certain bits of back-story for Thenardier and Marius; although the battle is described with a historical precision, the really memorable scene is among the corpses on the battlefield after it is over. For Thackeray, the battle mainly happens off-stage: his characters don't know the outcome, and he has a brilliant sequence of chapters in Brussels preparing for the coming crisis, including the Duchess of Richmond's ball, and then the non-combatants left behind in a city swept by rumours as the artillery fire rumbles up from the south. I used eat my lunchtime sandwiches in the Parc de Bruxelles, where Thackeray's characters promenade. Anyway, lots of neat touches of characterisation, lots of good circumstantial detail, and a plot that kept me reading. It's rather long - 672 pages of small print in my Penguin copy - but recommended.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-05-24 21:37:56.
(Language: English)
Wonderfully satirical and insightful. Thackery does an excellent job of engaging us in the lives of the characters. He does so by tracking the lives of two women who live symmetry but very diametrically opposed. They both marry unwisely, have sons who leave them, and are seeking entrance to society, but do so in such different ways. Amelia marries Mr. Osborne - a man who does not love her but whom she loves to the point of obsession (reminds me of Sonia's love for Nicholas in War and Peace), has a son whom lives with his grandfather to enjoy the luxuries in life, and seeks to be accepted by her husband's family for the sake of her son. Becky marries Mr. Crawley, a weak man easily manipulated by Becky, has a son who lives with his aunt and uncle to enjoy paternal love, and seeks to live among the elite in society for personal gain. And yet, one can't help but pity Amelia and admire Becky. She intelligently gets herself out of difficult situations through manipulations and insightfully claims that she could be an honest woman for five thousand pounds. Although on the long side, it is very witty and doesn't have the heaviness that most novels of it's size have.
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