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knicknat188's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
erindoublee's review against another edition
2.0
Read this novel for a college class. The book is so slow to start, so agonizingly slow. The last one hundred pages it finally picks up and is somewhat entertaining. A good forerunner for novelists like Jane Austen who were probably inspired by this setting of true love and marriage.
ethandickler's review against another edition
I just know that if Henry Fielding lived in Iowa County, WI, he would write a weekly column in the Dodgeville Chronicle on the virtues of country life and all would be so well with the world.
phantomeyer's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was an enjoyable read for the most part. Especially the second half, which contained exactly the sort of period drama of which I require at least an annual dose. Some of the goings-on and the descriptions of said goings-on surprised me with their candour, as I have found other novels in a similar line to be much more prudish. Good fun.
However, this is also one of the most self-indulgent books I’ve ever read. Persisting through the author’s superfluous musings on “history writing” and the often tiring monologues of Mr or Mrs Weston sometimes made it feel like the author could have culled a few of the 975 pages. Would only recommend this one to lovers of the genre.
However, this is also one of the most self-indulgent books I’ve ever read. Persisting through the author’s superfluous musings on “history writing” and the often tiring monologues of Mr or Mrs Weston sometimes made it feel like the author could have culled a few of the 975 pages. Would only recommend this one to lovers of the genre.
eubie's review against another edition
3.0
I can't review really b/c I don't have context to compare to its precursors. I am not used to reading books where the narrator is in the foreground and takes up whole chapters. I chuckled at the descriptions of thought processes of scoundrels, thieves and hypocrites (and doctors don't forget doctors!). The servants exist in the book simply to provide verbal cannon fodder; to pester and annoy. Though the biggest buffoon in the book is Squire Western. I listened to the audio-book and the narrator had to yell all of the Squire Western dialog. Anyway I finished this forty hour audio-book that I would not have survived reading. That's my blather.
wille44's review against another edition
4.5
Tom Jones is an imposing book on the surface based on its sheer size, and coming from reading too much postmodern fiction I’ve been conditioned to “big books” as a challenge, tomes penned by authors with the intent to defeat prospective readers, to overwhelm them with complexity and opacity and batter them into submission. To step back into literary tradition over 250 years and nestle into the light hearted, funny, raucous adventures of Tom Jones was a total delight and much needed breath of fresh air.
Henry Fielding’s magnum opus transports us to England of the mid 1700s, in which we follow the trials and travails of our titular hero, an orphan raised lovingly by a wealthy squire only to be thrown out as a young man when he falls in love with a woman above his caste. His love requited, the two of them wander different cris-crossing paths across the country, sometimes pursuers and sometimes pursued, and the novel is presented in a pseudo-episodic format, largely in that its pieces and subplots all fit together in a way that is meticulous, complex, and very satisfying, a thousand page book that throws out countless threads and somehow tracks and binds them all together wonderfully in the end.
As far as it’s length is concerned, the other surprise it contains besides it’s impressive plotting and structure is its compulsive readability. Unlike our hero who is forced to ignominiously walk from place to place, we gallop from scene to scene, Fielding moves his comedy at a breakneck pace, as wild tavern mishaps, cartoonish fighting sequences, and witticisms fly so fast one cannot help being swept along for the ride. In terms of comedy specifically, Fielding was formed in a similar mold to his contemporary Jonathan Swift, a style that reads like Restoration era essayism consistently subverted by flashes of bone dry wit, the result was rarely laugh out loud (and frankly Fielding, while funny, doesn’t reach the heights of Swift in the comedy department) but still very entertaining nonetheless.
He delivers this through wry asides about his character’s actions and motivations, and entire introductory chapters to each of his sub books (around 20 in total) in which he waxes satirically about writing as a craft, literary tradition as a whole, and his inspiration and hopes for the novel itself. These chapters are wonderful palette cleansers for the novel, breaks from the action in which Fielding demonstrates an impressive depth of insight and provides some surprising opinions, and trying to discern how much is tongue in cheek and how much is genuine is half the fun.
Satire without cultural context rings hollow, and this could have been a challenge to a modern reader given the age of the work. This is a novel that still does benefit tremendously from a good edition that provides historical footnoting, as my Wesleyan edition did so well, but even without it the natural benefit of its length is that it gives Fielding plenty of room to provide that cultural context organically through the narrative. By reading Tom Jones you will feel like you lived in 1700s England, from complaints about window taxes of the day to the politically charged landscape in the wake of Jacobite uprisings to the economics both above and below board of keeping a tavern operational, Fielding paints a vivid portrait of a world far gone now, beautifully preserved in novel form.
Ultimately, Tom Jones is a marvelously crafted novel that is pure fun and adventure, while also delivering razor sharp satire with a surprisingly erudite edge, a great novel that has stood the test of time.
lisahopevierra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Note to self: Own different folio edition
judelon's review against another edition
4.0
If I'd known it was 1000+ pages, I don't suppose I would have chosen it as my book-a-week choice. But it was well worth it. Tom Jones is a very entertaining story, with characters you might meet anywhere today, pursuing their own interests, and telling themselves and each other the same lies. I'm so glad I read it.
vartika's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maryehavens's review against another edition
1.0
Abandoned on track 53 out of 67 because a character brought up “famous rapes” (think Helen of Troy, Sabine Women) and posited that pre-marital and marital rape “made for better wives”. NOPE! I noped out of there so fast and then felt nauseous.
I was half paying attention anyway - 36 hours of audio when it could have been condensed into 8. Same old, same old: foundling, parentage, marriage prospects, fights of some sort. I was determined to finish but I can’t abide thoughts like this, even if it is satire. Guess I can’t take a joke.
I was only hanging on to the story for the occasional enthusiastic “SLUT!” Screamed by a character or the gratuitous use of “blockhead”. That made me think of Charlie Brown every single time.
I was half paying attention anyway - 36 hours of audio when it could have been condensed into 8. Same old, same old: foundling, parentage, marriage prospects, fights of some sort. I was determined to finish but I can’t abide thoughts like this, even if it is satire. Guess I can’t take a joke.
I was only hanging on to the story for the occasional enthusiastic “SLUT!” Screamed by a character or the gratuitous use of “blockhead”. That made me think of Charlie Brown every single time.