Il romanzo parte bene, ma si arena su una serie di storie e situazioni così complesse e arzigogolate da far sembrare il protagonista peggiore di Mr Bean.
Dopo 1050 pagine di disavventure poi, la conclusione arriva in 5 capitoli e sembra quasi che l'autore avesse fretta di terminare, o forse gli era scaduto il contratto con l'editore.
I personaggi sono ben caratterizzati, ma a volte sembrano delle macchiette, mentre Fielding, da bravo deus ex machina, fa trionfare il bene sul male senza che il presonaggio principale si sia sbattuto più di un tot, probabilmente esaurito da tutto quello che gli è successo in precedenza.
Diciamo pure che senza il gruppo di lettura non sarei mai riuscita a finirlo, ma ora che ci sono riuscita posso considerarla la mia prova di resistenza :)

Tom Jones is a foundling, raised with the nephew of his wealthy benefactor. He's impulsive and fun-loving with a generous heart. The story is reminiscent of a stage production, with the intertwining of stories and characters. I got a real kick out of Fielding's writing. His essays at the beginning of each of the novel's 16 books were a mixed bag but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

I got very little actual pleasure out of reading this book, which was kind of a surprise and disappointment to me, because usually, when I get around to reading the classics, I find them to be a hoot, and easy to understand their long term appeal. And I guess the second part of that axiom is true: Fielding is, I'm convinced, a serious thinker about novels, and he gives you a lot to work over. Really, he makes someone like Richardson look like a child, and the complexity of this book, just on the level of plotting, is astounding, and I can't think of more than a handful of "serious" books that so skillfully integrate social issues like the Jacobin movement (though not, at least to me, other social issues like those concerning class and gender). But given the incredible expansiveness of his vision, Fielding never lets up on his own sour cynicism, which makes this kind of hard to read.

If anyone has read a page of Fielding, you know how he likes to bully, cajole, and coerce his readers with his point of view, and given that this is 800 pps of that, it's kind of a lot to take. No doubt Fielding is a really bright guy, but for me at least, this novel despite its scope never exceeds Fielding's boundaries. I know I'm being anachronistic looking for Bakhtinian polyphonics in a novel from 1750, but, well, I wanted that nonetheless.

There is a lot to like here-- Jones himself is a pretty interesting character, flawed but given forgiveness and only partially redeemed. There's a lemony sourness to Sophia's final giving in to her father's commands, though I found her character one of the least interesting in the book. There is a whole range of characters here, at almost every level of society, and the scope really is impressive, as are many of the portraits Fielding renders which only occasionally go off the rails-- Partridge's behavior at the theater struck me as especially improbable, but most of the rest felt about right. I could never quite figure out what I was supposed to hear in Squire Western's dialect, but at least it was consistent, so I take the blame for that one.

I did think the book was sexist, and I might if pressed go so far as to say it's misogynist-- its not just the free range given to Western's rants, but also characters like Lady Western, Bellaston, and Jones' mother, the real one and the one he takes his surname from. Women just don't get the same chances for complexity and dynamism that Fielding gives to his male characters, which makes Sophia a kind of dim light in this romance.

Really, having read this, I hope I don't find myself in a spot where I need to read it again.

I listened to this on audiobook for a book group. I had read it for a course and did not like it. I enjoyed the audiobook and have revised my opinion. Most of the negative memories I had of the book were actually from the 1960s movie version. The book itself was much different than I remembered. I have added it here to make my target number of 80 books read this year. Goodreads says rereading books counts, so I am not cheating.

Just not for me.

This book is great fun, in an 18th century way, of course. This is the convoluted, witty, charming story of a young man who has many grand qualities, among them generosity of both spirit and pocket, impeccable manners, captivating good looks, grace, spirit, resilience, courage and pluck. He has a few failings to go with these, primary among them that he has a young man's predilection for falling into bed with just about anyone who finds him attractive (which is just about every woman who comes his way). This gets him into untold amounts of trouble, as you might imagine. He also is excessively trusting, which gets him is another pile of trouble. But we are never less than wholly on Tom's side. A delightful story that I would recommend to anyone.

Didn't expect to enjoy this book so much! Halfway through I had to confirm when it was written because the self-awareness and seemingly modern viewpoints had me questioning if it wasn't from 200 years later. Clever, satirical, rejecting of stereotypes and misogyny, exploring the complexity of human nature - what a good book.

Trotts att boken är en tegelsten till bok så har jag tappat räkningen på hur många gånger jag läst den här boken. Den har allt. Spänning, romantik och kostymdrama och författaren är med som egen hög person som berättare av boken. Genialt!