Martin Chuzzlewit Audiobook

" Mr. Dickens has a peek at America and is none too pleased. "

" Although good, this wasn't my favorite Dickens novel. He spent too much time in stereotyping Americans, which got old rather quickly, and of course the character of Pecksniff makes one want to rip one's hair out. However, I find it fascinating that this character's name has become part of our vocabulary ("Pecksniffian"). "

" Charles Dickens must be an ascended master. I suspect he was exorcising the demons of life as a human when he wrote his timeless novels. Martin Chuzzlewit drew me in (although he took awhile). The dialogue between Tom Pinch & his sister Ruth on the subject of Tom's unrequited love of Mary is unforgettable & worth the reading of the whole book. "

" A re-read. My favorite Dickens novel. Deeply satisfying villains. A trip to America. Biting, mean, funny, and sweet. "

" Classic Dickens! Need I say more? "

" SPOILER alert: Up until Chapter 58 (or something like that), I loved Martin Chuzzlewit. The descriptions were richly evocative of time and place, and Dickens' characters were a wide assortment of his best angels, devils, fools, clowns, and the wise. But then, disaster. I think the book got too long, because Dickens gave up at the end and did a "wrap-up." He has old Martin just tell everyone why everything happened, then quickly gets the couples married off to live happily ever after. What a disappointment! Still, I had so many happy hours reading most of this. "

" Wonderful story. It did take some determination to get through the middle half due to the long "I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you" section, but it does the important job of conveying the sense of how wearying life can be when the world seems set against you. And then the importance and possible reward of perseverance. "

" I love how Dickens gives us a protagonist who is clearly weak, or insipid, boring even, and then surrounds him with a sparkling cast of vile deceivers and eccentric charmers. To me, Tom Pinch is the sure-fire central character here, with Mark Tapley vying for attention - certainly one of Dicken's more delightful creations. Martin's character grows, but he is never the hero - and I get a kick out of that off-center way of telling a story. Wasn't so fond of the American parts, although I understand Dicken's anger that his novels were being unashamedly bootlegged there, and that he would've seen it as a country where people take advantage of the unsuspecting. Dickens and America do not go together for me. This is not my favorite of his novels, but that's like saying dark chocolate isn't my favorite chocolate. Dickens is always wonderful. "

" My favourite Charles Dickens book - hilarious! "

" Dickens always amazes me. I start his novels and I think "Jeez, I'm not going to be able to get thru this one."; then, inexorably, I re-learn the language and, no matter the length or the twisting plot, I cannot help but go where he directs. The protagonist seems to serve as merely connective tissue to link the antagonists (of which there are many) together. "

" It's taken a couple of months to re-read Martin Chuzzlewit, but not due to the quality of this wonderful victorian classic. Although not regarded as Dickens at his best, I love the satire and fabulous characterisation; Especially the vile Seth Pecksniff, and in contrast, the marvellous Tom Pinch. "

" Three words...I love Dickens. Not my favorite Dickens work by any means but some great moments and thoughts! "

" This is another of Dickens's epic tales.It contains two negative characters, Seth Pecksniff and Jonas Chuzzlewit. The life of Martin Chuzzlewit is the main focus of this story. There are other significant characters like Tom Pinch, Mark Tapley, Martin Chuzzlewit's grand-father,Anthony Chuzzlewit. Of all the characters liked by me was Mark Tapley and Tom Pinch. Tom Pinch is a simple person who despite, everybody else's accusation of Seth Pecksniff of hypocrisy. He gets to realize his mistake as having made a wrong judgement of character. He is one of those people who are honest and anybody can rely on without any doubt in their mind. Mark Tapley's friendship and loyalty towards young Martin Chuzzlewit is worth commendable. "

" This is a long book with a cast of thousands (almost). I was constantly having to flick back to remind myself of how certain characters fitted into the plot and I'm not surprised that it wasn't particularly well received by the public when it was published. However, as usual with Dickens, there were some excellent moments, some sharp satirical humour and some wonderfully developed characters that made it all worth while. But this was quite a chore to get through and a book that demands quite some dedication. "

" Wonderful story. It did take some determination to get through the middle half due to the long "I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you" section, but it does the important job of conveying the sense of how wearying life can be when the world seems set against you. And then the importance and possible reward of perseverance. "

" I'm not gonna lie...it was a struggle getting through it. "

" Why is it that villains are often the most delicious dishes of fictional feasts? If the protagonist is the main course, the antagonist is almost like dessert, to be sinfully savored but, really, more like the post prandial drink and smoke, to be enjoyed outside, in the dark, when the other guests can't see or hear your naughty habits. The title of Dickens' seventh novel, written between the more familiar works, The Old Curiousity Shop and David Copperfield, might lead readers to think this tale is about Martin Chuzzlewitt, a fortune-less orphan who sets his sights on America in the hopes to gain riches that will earn him the hand of his best girl, who just happens to be the caretaker of his rich and stingy uncle, cause they're always stingy and suspicious if they're rich. However, the reader would be wrong to think the book centers around its eponymous hero. It seems Dickens would much rather linger outside and savor his after dinner cigar and snifter of brandy than join the square pegs in the drawing room, and, instead of honing in our hapless protagonist, because we can do that in Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield, we consort with the shadiest, most snakiest, and slimiest of characters, Seth Pecksniff, a hypocritical architect who has crafted a career of designing lies and erecting deceit, and Jonas Chuzzlewitt, cousin to young Martin and nephew to the wealthy and old Martin Chuzzlewitt, who's thirst for greed is as deep as Old Martin's pockets. The novel starts off with an abstract family history of the Chuzzlewitt's then takes a hairpin turn to foreground the Pecksniff family whose story is told in such sarcastic terms and with such a caustic tongue, the acid burns off the page, singing the reader's fingertips. We see what a laughably despicable pack the Pecksniff's are and can't help but revel in their horrible ways. As enjoyable as it may be cavorting with villains though we can't spend all our days and nights smoking and sipping liquer in the chilly dark. We must turn to the light and that light is not our eponymous hero but the faithful and naive Tom Pinch, who has every bit the DNA of all Dickensian do-gooders because in Chuck D's world, if they're poor and pure, they're always trusty and doe-eyed innocent. Pinch, despite his saccharine ways or perhaps because of, is quite likeable. Tom Pinch lives to serve the conniving architect Pecksniff, and this tale is really more about poor Tom's betrayal than young Martin's rites of passage. In the shortest and most brutal of synopses, the novel follows Tom Pinch, young Martin Chuzzlewitt, Jonas Chuzzlewitt, Seth Pecksniff, and Mark Tapley. Tom Pinch is abruptly dismissed from Pecksniff's service for no reason save that Pecksniff's motives border on evil. After serving years in loyal admiration to his employer, Pinch is forced to fend for himself and redeem his name and honor. Young Martin soon takes residence with Pecksniff, hoping to learn the craft under his tutelage, but is also fired when Pecksniff realizes old Martin will favor him more without the employment of his nephew. And, so, like Pinch, young Martin must pursue his own enterprise but instead of remaining in England where his flesh and blood uncle won't have him, he looks to Uncle Sam. Jonas Chuzzlewitt, cousin to young Martin and nephew to the old slithers in and out of the story scheming his way to riches, while most everyone else is trying to earn their keep honestly. Of course there's plenty more characters to cover like Merry and Cherry Pecksniff (their full names, Mercy and Charity) or Mrs. Gamp, John Westlock, Montague Tigg, and Chevy Slyme, etc. etc, but there's only so much time in the day and only so much patience this reviewer has. When we're not following Pecksniff or reviling in Jonas' dastardly actions, Dickens reminds us every now and again why the book is titled Martin Chuzzlewitt, and we get to tramp around in a semi-picaresque romp. Young Martin's story gives a nod to Pip when our eponymous hero proclaims he had great expectations that were dashed when he fell in love with his grandfather's charge. With no hope for his uncle, old Martin Chuzzlewitt, crossing his palm with silver or gold, young Martin sets his sights on the new nation to the West. Mark Tapley, another poor gentleman, also a former employee of Pecksniff who is too kind for his own good, meets young Martin in London just before he departs and convinces our hero to take him as his manservant. We know how Dickens felt about the Suffragettes after visiting Bleak House, and we gathered his strong sentiments against Jews in Oliver Twist, or his exoticizing them in Our Mutual Friend. In Martin Chuzzlewitt Chuck D lambasts America and all of her children who he paints as utterly vain and ridiculous. He scorns the U.S. for still practicing slavery when Europe had just freshly discarded the evil act, yet he still manages to portray freed slaves as docile and obtuse. On their travels by steamboat, Mark and young Martin endure tabbacky chewing, spitoon-spitting, raucously loud and boisterous buccaneers as they head south to make their fortune. After purchasing an estate, which seemed promising on paper, in the City of Eden, where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet, Mark and young Martin have a go at Chuzzlewitt & Co., Surveyors & Architects in a rank mosquito infested swamp. Meanwhile, poor Jonas back in England makes much more than mischief. Poor Jonas. We can't help but empathize his insecurity. With his lust for money and vindication, we feel a twinge of those very same desires in our own bones, but the choice of acting on these emotions is what keeps us from turning into pale comparisons of our antagonist. Jonas' own father didn't trust him enough to love him, and so our loathsome villain is misunderstood and kicked about while Dickens masterfully shows how a bad turn leads to the worst. When Chuzzlewitt and Mark Tapley return home, the madcap fun ends along with the clarity of the narrative. Plots get messy, characters become indistinguishable. Impatient readers may find themselves consulting Wikipedia to follow who's who and what's what. Too many twists and too many clues to follow that don't seem worth following litter the pages. The incentive just isn't there since the characters we most care about, Tapley and Pinch, recede to the wings. Even Dickens himself seems to lose interest in his own creations and plays more like a will-full child who tosses characters and plot lines aside when he no longer fancies them. For instance, the resilient and resourceful Mark Tapley ends up being used and abused after saving our title hero from the brink of death in the dire and dank dregs of the American swamps. Once the two step foot in England, again, the narrative switches to same ole, same ole' and our title character takes the lead. Young Martin is as interesting and complex as any average lead male in a picaresque; in another words, he's a dupe and a boring droll one at that. And, as for the ladies, Mary Pinch, Tom's sister, is as sticky as taffy, saccharine enough to make your teeth and the inside of your cheeks hurt. Ah, Dickens' women. I could go hours upon hours ranting about his female characters. Granted, Tom Pinch can be just as nauseating as his sister--but he's not a woman, and so, Dickens manages a sense of proportion and reality when he fashions creations of his own gender. As kind as Pinch may be, readers may find themselves pulled into his story, drawn by his humility which aches for recognition by others, and Dickens, the masterful magician that he is, works his spell on us with this wonderful creation. With Tom Pinch, being a do-gooder is a crime. We want to condemn him for his good nature but there's something in his motivation, a slice of Truth that we ourselves hunger for. He's so cheerful its sadistically dark because the world is so vengeful and suspicious. We wonder how such a ray of light can penetrate the evil that surrounds him. Pinch's nature makes him such great prey, and, like the rubber-neckers we are, there's that sadist in all of us just waiting to see him get crushed by his own naivete. Martin Chuzzlewitt starts strong like a stiff drink, but then, as most evenings enjoying hard liquor usually go to the dogs, so does this story. Not half as enjoyable or keen as OMF or GE, Dickens wasn't quite on his game with this novel. He may have considered this work one of his finest, but the critics didn't agree with him. Readers will find glimpses of genius, but they are few and far between. One of the sticking points with Chuzzlewitt is that the prose is so dense it's difficult stomping through the text. Though every writerly bone and nerve in this reviewer wants to champion the scribe and scoff the critics, unfortunately, in this case, the critics were right. "

" Hilarious and underappreciated among Dickens's works. "

" Wonderful from the beginning. Read 3 chapters a day for a week to get in to it. "

" Wonderful from the beginning. Read 3 chapters a day for a week to get in to it. "

" Dickens draws on his own experiences of travel in the USA, and his descriptions of politics there still seems quite relevant today. "

" Once again Dickens give really good description of people,places and the Victorian age. "

" First Dickens I ever read and therefore my favorite. There is no credit in being jolly when times are good. "

" My favorite of all his books! Its brilliantly clever. Its one of the few books that I was compelled to read after watching the BBC movie. Dyane "

" I finally finished! This was a very long audiobook! Dickens isn't ever subtle but this one is over-the-top satirical and obvious. And still I enjoyed it. Martin Chuzzlewit (there are two of them) doesn't really feature that much! Pecksniff is such a slimy hypocritical character who tries to manipulate everyone around him and Jonas Chuzzlewit is so hideous, one can't help wondering why on earth Mercy would have agreed to marry him. Mark Tapley's neverending optimism is more inspiring than mocking and Tom Pinch is the world's most loyal person. And I haven't mentioned the drunken nurse, Sarah Gamp and her friendship with Betsy Prig. I'd hate to have these women nursing me! As usual, Dickens stuffs his story with a zillion characters each with a unique attribute (although my favourite is still the chap from Little Dorrit whose hair stands up on end) and everything ends happily (except for The Olde Curiosity Shop) and satisfyingly morally. And as usual, Naxos does sterling work. Sean Barrett is brilliant and made one of Dickens's less spectacular novels into something quite marvellous. "

" This is my favorite Charles Dickens book. I have a hard time getting through some of his (cough) "ramblings," but this book seemed to have less of them and the storyline was really fun. There is a quote by Dickens in which he says that Martin Chuzzlewit was actually his favorite of his own books. "

" I can't say that this was my favorite Dickens but it was really good. I think Dickens is a little higher on his "moral high-horse" than usual as it's an undisguised attack on greed and on the USA of that time but still it had a lot of memorable characters, the usual panoply of good and evil characters with few in-between but I still enjoyed it a lot. "

" Fabulous creator of the most memorable characters. I love living in England - I've found some great films done of his books to watch as a treat afterwards. The actors' adaptations of their characters are fabulous, and this isn't an easy task as he tends to make them beautifully bizarre. "

" Not one of Dickens's best -- but even on an off day, he's marvelous. "

" The font is SO tiny. "

" I'm not much of a Dickens fan, but this one is even worse than the other ones I've read. It's boring and confusing. Too many characters. "

" Classic Dickens! Need I say more? "

" And I thought MY family was crazy! "

" I enjoyed it. Full of Dickens great characters, great story. "

" Well, having basically finished reading most of Dickens, what can I say but this book was truly awful. If this had been my introduction to the old man, I would probably never have picked up another one. Time to re-read Great Expectations to get the bad taste out of my mouth. "

" Dickens to the core with stereotypical villains and unlikely heroes. "

" Classic Dickens! Need I say more? "

" Dickens always gets five stars in my head, but for some reason I did not like the female character at all in this one. But of course the story was masterfully delivered. "

" Great book. Dickens' language takes a little getting used to but it's well worth the effort. "

" Dickens always gets five stars in my head, but for some reason I did not like the female character at all in this one. But of course the story was masterfully delivered. "

" This was a good read. Dicken's uses very different verbage in this piece. Tom and Ruth Pinch are my favorite characters in this story and it could very well have been titled, Tom Pinch, instead of Martin Chuzzlewit. Bravo for Dicken's stand as an abolitionist at a hinge in history's making. "

" This is the only Charles Dickens book that I haven't liked so far. It lacked a lot of the charm of his other books. "

" Hilarious and underappreciated among Dickens's works. "

" I read this in A.P. English. I didn't catch the humor at first, but once I did it was enjoyable. It is a long book. My class read it together in installments throughout the year. I love how Dickens writes. "

" My least favorite Dickens so far. There were so many characters, it was distracting. I never felt invested in any of them and they were more like caricatures instead of characters. Finished, but it was a rough one. "

" Good story, but very dragged out. Some memorable characters. Obviously Dickens did not have a favorable impression of the USA so I didn't like reading the scenes in America. "

" My first Dickens but I thought it was great. It made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. It was good that all things were tied up. "

" Three words...I love Dickens. Not my favorite Dickens work by any means but some great moments and thoughts! "

" A good read: interesting and humorous, with Dickens's finely drawn characters, as usual. Perhaps a little too long. Five stars ***** for anyone not in any rush. Three stars *** for anyone in a hurry. "

" I found the beiginning somewhat slow going and the trip to America seemed to be an add on but once the book got going it was overall a very good read "

" With dialogue that made me laugh out loud, this is one of my favourite Dickens all told. The American scenes are palpably angry and disgusted satire. "

" I love Dickens, but this was a slog. Only diehard Dickens fans should read this book. "

" Great book. Dickens' language takes a little getting used to but it's well worth the effort. "

" Great book. Dickens' language takes a little getting used to but it's well worth the effort. "

" Great book. Dickens' language takes a little getting used to but it's well worth the effort. "

" Dickens always gets five stars in my head, but for some reason I did not like the female character at all in this one. But of course the story was masterfully delivered. "

" Dickens always gets five stars in my head, but for some reason I did not like the female character at all in this one. But of course the story was masterfully delivered. "

" Dickens always gets five stars in my head, but for some reason I did not like the female character at all in this one. But of course the story was masterfully delivered. "

" I enjoyed it. Full of Dickens great characters, great story. "

" I enjoyed it. Full of Dickens great characters, great story. "

" I enjoyed it. Full of Dickens great characters, great story. "

" All right-I'm weird. I don't know why, I just really liked this one. Loved Martin.<br/>Ellie NYC "

" All right-I'm weird. I don't know why, I just really liked this one. Loved Martin.<br/>Ellie NYC "

" All right-I'm weird. I don't know why, I just really liked this one. Loved Martin.<br/>Ellie NYC "

" Dickens draws on his own experiences of travel in the USA, and his descriptions of politics there still seems quite relevant today. "

" Dickens draws on his own experiences of travel in the USA, and his descriptions of politics there still seems quite relevant today. "

" Dickens draws on his own experiences of travel in the USA, and his descriptions of politics there still seems quite relevant today. "

" I read this when I was a teenager and my grandmother sent us the set from England. <br/>I read it twice again at university. "

" I read this when I was a teenager and my grandmother sent us the set from England. <br/>I read it twice again at university. "

" I read this when I was a teenager and my grandmother sent us the set from England. <br/>I read it twice again at university. "

" I liked the story, but found the book to be difficult to read due to the rather long winded descriptions and antiquated language used. "

" I liked the story, but found the book to be difficult to read due to the rather long winded descriptions and antiquated language used. "

" I liked the story, but found the book to be difficult to read due to the rather long winded descriptions and antiquated language used. "

" A good read: interesting and humorous, with Dickens's finely drawn characters, as usual. Perhaps a little too long. Five stars ***** for anyone not in any rush. Three stars *** for anyone in a hurry. "

" A good read: interesting and humorous, with Dickens's finely drawn characters, as usual. Perhaps a little too long. Five stars ***** for anyone not in any rush. Three stars *** for anyone in a hurry. "

" A good read: interesting and humorous, with Dickens's finely drawn characters, as usual. Perhaps a little too long. Five stars ***** for anyone not in any rush. Three stars *** for anyone in a hurry. "

" Loved it and am very proud to have finished my goal of reading (at least once) all Dickens novels. "

" Loved it and am very proud to have finished my goal of reading (at least once) all Dickens novels. "

" Loved it and am very proud to have finished my goal of reading (at least once) all Dickens novels. "