Vanity Fair
by William Makepeace Thackery | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 1573354007 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 1573354007 Global Overview for this book
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/2/2018
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/2/2018 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I got this good-condition paperback from the charity-sale shelves at a local Hannaford's, and was glad of another release copy.
I'd first "read" the book via audiobook and enjoyed it immensely, in spite (or because of) the fact that the famous Becky Sharp was both much nastier and much more desperate than most of the film versions of the story indicate! [I only remember one brief passage in the book that revealed Becky as actually being frantic with worry and fear, and that only lasted a short time. Once she got back on her feet again she seemed as cheerfully able to mangle the lives of others for her own benefit as ever.]
Despite Thackeray's subtitle "A Novel Without A Hero",I wouldn't say that the novel is really without a hero; poor stalwart Dobbin behaves about as heroically as one could wish. But he's not the central character, and even he shows plenty of character flaws, so the impression overall is of a society in which it's difficult if not impossible to behave well and still have things turn out for the best. Sarcastic, sardonic, and loaded with wry humor, I thoroughly recommend Vanity Fair. (The TV Tropes page is entertaining, touching on the book and some of the film adaptations, but do beware of spoilers.)
[Re the film versions... the 2004 film was a stylish production that pretty much reinvented Becky's character, making her a spunky heroine with a heart of gold - a much more sympathetic view than the novel took, and much less interesting. There have been several films and at least a couple of TV mini-series (some of which get much better reviews than the films did, like this 1998 mini-series, which I saw via Netflix), so one can choose from a plethora of Beckys and Dobbins and Crawleys!]
I'd first "read" the book via audiobook and enjoyed it immensely, in spite (or because of) the fact that the famous Becky Sharp was both much nastier and much more desperate than most of the film versions of the story indicate! [I only remember one brief passage in the book that revealed Becky as actually being frantic with worry and fear, and that only lasted a short time. Once she got back on her feet again she seemed as cheerfully able to mangle the lives of others for her own benefit as ever.]
Despite Thackeray's subtitle "A Novel Without A Hero",I wouldn't say that the novel is really without a hero; poor stalwart Dobbin behaves about as heroically as one could wish. But he's not the central character, and even he shows plenty of character flaws, so the impression overall is of a society in which it's difficult if not impossible to behave well and still have things turn out for the best. Sarcastic, sardonic, and loaded with wry humor, I thoroughly recommend Vanity Fair. (The TV Tropes page is entertaining, touching on the book and some of the film adaptations, but do beware of spoilers.)
[Re the film versions... the 2004 film was a stylish production that pretty much reinvented Becky's character, making her a spunky heroine with a heart of gold - a much more sympathetic view than the novel took, and much less interesting. There have been several films and at least a couple of TV mini-series (some of which get much better reviews than the films did, like this 1998 mini-series, which I saw via Netflix), so one can choose from a plethora of Beckys and Dobbins and Crawleys!]
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at The Castleton in Windham, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, March 10, 2018
GoryDetails at The Castleton in Windham, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, March 10, 2018
Released 11 mos ago (3/10/2018 UTC) at The Castleton in Windham, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book, bagged against the elements, at the foot of the eye-catching Letizio Tower on Enterprise Drive near the Castleton; hope the finder enjoys it! [See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2018 Four Elements Release Challenge for the embedded "air" in the title. ***
*** Released for the 2018 Movie release challenge. ***
