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| Martin Chuzzlewit (Penguin Audiobooks) |  | Author: Charles Dickens
Creator: John Wells
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Category: Book
Buy Used: £11.96
Used (6) Collectible (1) from £11.96
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 824167
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Pages: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 5.2 x 4.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0140860657
EAN: 9780140860658
ASIN: 0140860657
Publication Date: August 25, 1994
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: **UK SHIPPED**FIRST CLASS** With friendly customer service! "Buy with confidence, Buy Book EcoLOGICal" Contains 4 audio tapes. Used - Good
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 Second only to Tale of Two Cities January 27, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dickens is unquestionably one of the best writers in the history of English literature, combining compelling plots with laugh-out-loud humour and a savage satirical eye. Having read most of his books, I have to say Martin Chuzzlewit is one of the best - second only, in fact, to the awesome Tale of Two Cities.
This is despite the book having possibly the worst beginning of the lot - if you can get past the initial 8 pages, where not one character appears, you'll find several dozen well worth the wait. This includes the usual memorable characters - drunken Mrs Gamp and her imaginary friend; the older-than-his-years Mr Bailey; and Mark Tapley, who finds no credit in being happy unless he is surrounded by the most miserable of circumstances; not to mention Pecksniff, Charity and Mercy.
But what is most notable in the book is its picture of a self-mythologising America, a country where "they're so fond of Liberty that they buy her and sell her and carry her to market with 'em. They've such a passion for Liberty, that they can't help taking liberties with her," a country which holds itself up as an example to the rest of the world, and where any criticism of an individual American is held to be a criticism of its "institutions" and defended as such. It's a picture that has many echoes more than 150 years on, perhaps demonstrating how long the legend of 'America' has been in development.
The story is about greed, and the plot is comedy. The observation is sharp as ever, focusing on hypocrisy, selfishness, and including a fascinating portrait of guilt. It's one of the best books ever, hilarious at points, and wickedly true. Just read it.
 Another fine wedge. November 16, 2006
Martin Chuzzlewit Senior is tormented by greed and selfishness of his family - this forms the basis of the story. It was first published in monthly instalments (1843-4), so this perhaps goes a long way to explain the patchy nature of a long book. It seems to have been formulated from page to page or fashioned chapter to chapter in its writing rather than a subsequent unravelling of initial inspiration. A great wedge to admire but not one I was particularly taken by. I yawned a lot.
It can be rewarding, although I did find it a bit of a puzzle for much of the way. One can easily loose the plot as I did several times. If I was to recommend a book to a first time reader of Dickens it would not be this one for that reason. Oh yes its complicated, maybe this makes it simpler to condemn than praise. The tiresome bits are contrasted by lengthy passages of momentum which can render the reader fully absorbed in the plot.
A handful of characters are really well developed. You can love to hate Mr Pecksniff for he is the best of them as a freeloading hypocrite. Mr Pecksniff probably provides most of the comic absurdity which is so eloquently portrayed. There are many characters who are still being introduced in the final chapter. Such a wealth of characters in numbers had a tendency to dilute the storyline with sub plots and red herrings.
Worth a mention is the interesting excursion into the United States, though I found it annoying and disappointing. In the U.S. here, there is savage satire which did not do it for me, however one can see how it might have worked well at the time. Despite these criticisms, there is still plenty to appreciate contained in the rest of the pages with comedy and fascinating drama.
 Dickens on top form. October 25, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Dickens included experiences of his recent first tour of America in this novel, poking generous fun at the pretensions of the "U-nited States", whilst making equal mischief with his English characters too.It's already been said how rambling this novel can be, but in many ways Dickens wrote it as ideas came into his head with only a mild inkling as to how it would all end. And although his characters tend to be wholly righteous or wholly evil, this does at least allow for excellent comedy, for it is by emphasising the extreme aspects of character at the expense of a more well-rounded disposition that we can laugh at some aspects of ourselves. A good read.
Another Dickens Comic Masterpiece May 31, 2000
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Martin Chuzzlewit is a gigantic sprawling Victorian novel about relationships. In typical Dickensian fashion it is both serious and comic as it deals with various relationships between family members (in particular Martin Chuzzlewit senior and his grandson, Martin junior), friends, acquaintances and enemies. There are a great many brilliant characters in this novel, though I would especially single out Seth Pecksniff, the worst, the most hypocritical and vile villain imaginable, and Tom Pinch, a better man and friend than anyone could ever ask to meet. Although the plot does tend to ramble at times, in the last quarter of the novel where the focus switches to the actions of Jonas Chuzzlewit, it moves along at a fair old clip. This might not be Dickens' greatest novel (I would place at least four or five of the others before it) but it is, nonetheless, a minor comic masterpiece that has a great deal of wisdom and sheer pleasure to offer any reader. And oh! what characters you're guaranteed to meet on the way!
Martin Chuzzlewit is funny, memorable, and insightful. April 3, 1998
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Martin Chuzzlewit is a funny, memorable, and insightful book. The engravings in the Oxford Illustrated edition are a charming addition to this story of hypocrisy, family intrigue, selfishness, loyalty, and friendship. Dickens's use of language is precise and often stinging. The book is laced with humor in the service of more profound goals. If you buy the Oxford Illustrated edition, skip the critical essay at the start of the volume, as it gives away some plot elements best left for the reader to discover. (Read the essay AFTER you have finished the book, if you like, or just ignore it.) My 9 rating reflects the combination of humor, satire, memorable characters (most especially the resolutely jolly Mark Tapley and the hypocritical Mr. Pecksniff), and a thoroughly entertaining plot.
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