this book took me aaaages to finish.
some chapters i liked, though some bored me to death. likewise, i absolutely hated some of the characters, for instance, Bounderby was despicable, whereas i could sympathize with Stephen.
all in all, it was not an awful book, i found it quite enjoyable, however i didn't love it.

اول بذارید غر بزنم: خدااااا چقدر این نویسنده‌های انگلیسی به من نمیچسبن

Δεν αρνούμαι πως οι σπουδές μου στοίχισαν φτηνά. Είναι λοιπόν σωστό κύριε, μια και βγήκα από την πιο φτηνή αγορά, να διαθέσω τον εαυτό μου στην πιο ακριβή

Μ’ αρέσουν τα βιβλία που κάθε κεφάλαιο έχει δικό του τίτλο. Μ’ αρέσουν πολύ κι ας έχουν κάτι παιδικό, ίσως και γιατί μου θυμίζουν καλοκαίρια που διάβαζα κρυφά, πολλές ώρες μετά τα μεσάνυχτα. Οι λέξεις Αστήρ, Παπαδημητρίου κόλλησαν στη γλώσσα μου. Και για να μη μακρηγορώ, προφανώς τα κεφάλαια έχουν τίτλους και το κείμενο καθρεφτίζει την ίδια αυτή ελαστικότητα που συναντάγαμε στα ποιοτικά παιδικά μιας εποχής, με τη μεγάλη γραμματοσειρά και τα κοτσωνάτα εξώφυλλα.

Μια κρυφή αίσθηση πως είχε αποτύχει κι είχε γίνει γελοίος – ένας φόβος για το τι θα ‘λεγαν εις βάρος του οι άλλοι που έκαναν την ίδια δουλειά μ’ αυτόν αν το μάθαιναν – τον βασάνιζαν τόσο πολύ, που έφτασε να κρατάει μυστική, σαν κάτι που τον ντρόπιαζε, την καλύτερη πράξη της ζωής του

Ένα απ’ τα πιο ενδιαφέροντα σημεία του βιβλίου, είναι το τέχνασμα της κυρίας Σπάρσιτ. Της ανακοινώνει ο εργοδότης της πως θα παντρευτεί μια νέα γυναίκα και πλέον αντί για οικονόμο στο σπίτι, θα τη μεταφέρει ως οικονόμο στην τράπεζα του. Κι εκείνη του συμπεριφέρεται σαν αυτός να είναι θύμα, που τον συμπονά. Όσο πιο μεγαλόχαρες κι υποχωρητικές οι αντιδράσεις της, τόσο περισσότερο θυματοποιείται ο Μπάουντερμπαντ. Κι αυτό βέβαια είναι που καταργεί τη νεκροποίηση των συναισθημάτων του. Παράλληλα, αισθάνθηκα λύσσα και αηδία στη σκέψη του πατέρα της Λουίζας. Πως μπόρεσε να μην αισθανθεί αναγούλα όταν ο φίλος του που είδε την κόρη του να μεγαλώνει, του είπε πως πάντα την περίμενε να ωριμάσει για να την παντρευτεί. Τη μεγαλύτερη όμως οργή, μου την προξένησε η στάση του αδερφού της. Σκέφτομαι πως το βιβλίο μεταξύ άλλων, πρέπει ν’ αποτέλεσε μεγάλο ερέθισμα για βιβλία σαν το Εμείς, το 1984, το Άνθρωποι και σπίτια και Την τιμή του αδερφού, για διαφορετικούς λόγους.

Πρόκειται επί της ουσίας για τον παππού του str8 story. Αν οι άνθρωποι μεγάλωναν με τεχνοκρατικές αντιλήψεις, απ’ την απλούστερη απόφαση, περιθωριοποιώντας τη φαντασία, τον αυθορμητισμό, τα συναισθήματα. Που τελικά όπως αποδεικνύει η σοσιαλιστική επανάσταση ακόμα και όπως πραγματικά κινήθηκε ο κόσμος, που δεν πατάει εντελώς στη λογική, παρότι δοκιμάζεται και πάλι δεν αποφεύχθηκαν οι μεγάλες εξεγέρσεις της ανθρώπινης κρίσης. Γιατί τελικά την πολυτέλεια να είναι τεχνοκράτες σε όλη την ουσία τους, τη διατηρούν οι έχοντες. Οι υπόλοιποι πάντοτε ασπάζονται μόνο τα υποπροϊόντα, τις ευκολίες που δε γεμίζουν τη ζωή και τελικά γι’ αυτό πάντοτε τα Κόκτάουν θα αυτναφλέγονται και θα ξεριζώνουν συθέμελα της Πομπηίες.

Αναμνήσεις του πως έφτασε ν’ αποκτήσει τις μικρές της γνώσεις από τους μαγεμένους εκείνους δρόμους, που αυτή κι εκατομμύρια αθώα πλάσματα είχαν φανταστεί. Του πως όταν πρωτογνώρισε τη λογική, μέσα από το τρυφερό φως της φαντασίας, την είχε δει σαν έναν ευεργετικό θεό που υποκλινόταν σ’ άλλους θεούς, το ίδιο σαν αυτόν μεγάλους, όχι σαν ένα βλοσυρό είδωλο άγριο και παγερό, με τα θύματα του δεμένα χειροπόδαρα και την πελώρια βουβή μορφή του να κοιτάζει με τα τυφλά κι άδεια μάτια του, ένα είδωλο που δε μπορούσε να κινηθεί παρά μονάχα με τη δύναμη τόσο σοφά υπολογισμένων μοχλών

Είναι δύσκολο ανάγνωσμα. Συγκροτημένο, καλοϋπολογισμένο, φαινομενικά χωρίς κανένα σημάδι αυθόρμητης γραμμής. Τα διαλείμματα μου υπήρξαν συχνά και η ανάγνωση του κοπιώδης. Αυτό δεν το κάνει λιγότερο ενδιαφέρον. Έχω ακούσει πως στο συγγραφέα αρέσουν οι μελοδραματικοί τόνοι. Δίνει αυτή ακριβώς την αίσθηση, μόνο που υποψιάζομαι ότι σε ορισμένες, αν όχι σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις εξωτερικεύει εσωτερικές κουβέντες και διεργασίες του ατόμου, βάζοντας κάποιο μάρτυρα στο χώρο για να μπορέσει να το κάνει. Αυτές οι φύσεις που μέσα μας δεν έχουν κανένα μελοδραματισμό, γιατί ο λογικός λόγος βρίσκει αντίλογο στο συναισθηματικό. Δημιουργώντας διαλόγους, ή χρησιμοποιώντας το τέχνασμα του σχετικού παρατηρητή αναδεικνύει την αδυναμία να παραμείνουν μετρημένες ως σκηνές. Χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει πως δεν κρύβει μέσα του ο συγγραφέας, μια μικρή Κατίνα Παξινού. Αυτό που δεν αποφεύγεται και το βρίσκω επιζήμιο, είναι η αίσθηση που μου δημιουργεί ο Ντίκενς ιστοριών που θυμίζουν παραμυθάκια που ξεκινούν με το μια φορά κι έναν καιρό και καταλήγουν με ηθικά διδαγματάκια που μειώνουν την αξία των πραγματικών αποσταγμάτων του συγγραφέα.

…ή αν με είχατε τουλάχιστον αφήσει στον εαυτό μου, πόσο καλύτερο, πόσο πιο ευτυχισμένο πλάσμα θα ‘μουνα σήμερα

Η βαρύτητα του έργου είναι μεγάλη. Τοποθετείται ανάμεσα στο προγενέστερο Λισιέν Λεβέν και στο μεταγενέστερο Έγκλημα και τιμωρία. Με το μεγαλύτερο ίσως κομψοτέχνημα που αποδεικνύει στο ρου του βιβλίου ο συγγραφέας, είναι πως η Λογική δεν είναι ενδεικτική ούτε της εξυπνάδας, ούτε της συμπόνιας, ή της κατανόησης. Η Λογική είναι εργαλείο, όσο και το συναίσθημα. Χωρίς την ελευθερία της εσωτερικής διεργασίας που το Πνεύμα συζητά με την Ψυχή δεν διαφέρουν από τηλεκατευθυνόμενο χωρίς μπαταρίες, κανένα απ’ τα δύο. Και μέσα απ’ όλα αυτά αναδύονται οι μεγάλες μορφές του Γκαίτε και του Μπαλζάκ.

Υπάρχουν χειρότερες πράξεις απ’ το φόνο;

Όταν η καλή πρόθεση είναι ο δολοφόνος, η κακή τι είναι;

Όσο παράλογο κι αν θα ήταν, 70 σελίδες πριν το τέλος του μυθιστορήματος παραλογισμών, αδικιών και κακών κρίσεων ήμουν σε τόσο αφύσικη διάθεση που αν ξεπηδούσε από κάπου ο Reaper κι έλεγε που ‘σαι φιλαράκι, θα τους φάω όλους για πάρτη σου, θα χτύπαγα παλαμάκια!

I study it At my last High School year...
It was seriously Hard Times :)
I loved the story and lived in my head the places,the characters ... I even create a cast for the novel to live it :)

n  “Don't be cross with us poor vagabond. People must be amused. They can't be always a learning, nor yet they can't always a working, they ain't made for it. You must have us, Squire.
Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of us; not the worst!”n

Simply beautiful!
The book is divided into three parts. There isn't much that's happening in the first two parts, apart from the world-building and character introductions, so, you might just flow with the writing. But the third part is plain humour. Mrs. Sparsit's pursuit of Louisa is hilarious and every interaction thereafter. Dickens has this quality of making you ache with laughter at one moment and all sober the next, and it's magnificent. And the depth of his stories, their subtleness are the cherries on top.

الكاتب الأول عن البؤس .. لم يستطع أي كاتب آخر ان يصل لمستوي تشارلز ديكنز في الكتابه عن البؤس والمعاناه .. طريقة كتابته تشعرني دائما بنفس شعور الأبطال ويبكيني احيانا كثيرة

أوقات عصيبة من أفضل الروايات .. علي الرغم من اني اعجب بجميع كتابات تشارلز ديكنز وعندما اجد كتاب له ابدأ في قراءته بدون تفكير

A slim and compact tale whose characters and story packs a powerful punch, Dickens’ Hard Times is as vitriolic an indictment against the institutionalized teaching model Paolo Friere scathingly criticized as the “banking concept” in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Josiah Bounderby is delectably drawn, as is the crooked and colorful characters of James Harthouse, Mrs. Sparsit, and our cold and calculated heroine, Louisa Gradgrind. Dickens, at first, seems to forgo his typical habit of idealizing women and turns to poor, noble Stephen Blackpool, our vessel of compassion and relative to Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit, who all share the soppy and saccharine blood of all that is good and pure.

In the same vein, Tom Gradgrind is a more evil and broken version of his predecessor, Richard Carnstone. Dickens makes his downfall so wickedly delightful that we can’t help but take pleasure in the fact that sometimes it feels so good to be so bad. The book, like Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, also raises a harsh and scrutinizing brow towards Industry, dismissing the stoic heartlessness of businessmen who only have minds and spend time on cold, hard facts. Our saving hope eventually swoops in and typical to the great Chuck D. only Sissy Jupe’s kind, warm heart can melt the icy stubbornness of an otherwise frigid cast.

Sissy Jupe, a truly fascinating woman, is sadly left unexploited as a character. The abandoned daughter of a circus performer turned savior to Coketown, so much potential is lost in a conclusion that is sadly rushed and seems slapdash at most. With a transparent plot that rockets each character into a fiery trajectory, their destinations dissipate into deflated summary at the end of the novel. Dickens strength is utilizing the environment and surroundings of his story to open up his characters and give depth to his themes. This is a wonderfully condensed example of how to use Place to shade characters and direct action.

I looked through 10+ pages of cover images and gave up. I'm reading a paperback from Dolphin Books. No idea how old it is, but it's in pretty good shape. $0.95 new. I also have a hardbound edition that's part of a complete set of Dickens, but is not in such good shape. Anyway, it's time I got back to the 19th century and Mr. D. in particular. Pretty good so far ...

Moving on as CD sets up his plot and characters deliberately. The whole lithping thing'th kind of nnoying, ithn't it??? Then there's the steady flow of alliteration ... curious. Thus far the usual CD pack of fools is limited in number, but I suspect more that just Bounderby, Gradgrind and M'Choakumchild will be trotted out as we get along.

The scope of the tale seems limited compared to my previous Dickens reads(David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations). Not so many characters(though the names are cherce) or locations. So far we're pretty much stuck inside Cokeville, a man-created early industrial hell of a place. As usual, CD lays on the suffering. One wonders if the author's personal life is reflected to a degree in the character of Louisa. Dickens was said to have been in love with his wife's younger sister and his own marriage wasn't a happy one I do believe.

- Once again Dickens annoys the reader with the excessively idiosyncratic speech of Stephen Blackpool. I'm reminded of "Wuthering Heights."

So ... I've got about 70 pages to go, not 20, or whatever the progress thingee says. This story began within the world of Gradgrind and M'Choakumchild as CD attacked the Utilitarian/Joe Friday mode of looking at and living in the world. In doing this he seemed to be siding with Matthew Arnold in "Dover Beach." But then he leaves that milieu behind to establish a sort of cardboard Victorian drama within the foul anti-paradise of Coketown. The characters ... Bounderby = the wealthy, narrow-minded self-adoring, up-by-the-bootstraps guy - perhaps about to be cuckolded but the foul snake-in-the-grass narcissist/hedonist Harthouse and Bounderby's much younger wife Louisa, emotionally hamstrung by her fathers attachment to a Utilitarian education. Her brother = Tom, a creep. Mrs. Sparsit, a nasty, mincing, hypocritical, Heep-like onlooker and score-keeper. Steven Blackpool, proletarian saint and his equally saintly pal Rachael. The mysterious Mrs. Pegler, whose mystery was stumbled upon by me in a trivia question - OOPS! Whatever ... I find that I'm less than enthralled by the whole thing and at this point find myself judging it to be Dickens of inferior(relatively speaking) quality. Still, one wants to know the outcome. Forward!

- I'm not exactly clear what is at the heart of Stephen's estrangement from his co-workers. He won't go on strike? Is that it? It's hard to tell from his mangled way of speaking.

- The ages old arguments about capitalism. Haves vs. have-nots and all the attendant mythology.

- Hard to be sympathetic to the foolish, narrow-minded Bounderby. We'll see if there's some redemption for him.

- Another complaint - I'm finding that the prose doesn't flow so smoothly in this one. Another G'reads reviewer says the words are over-wrought and over-worked. Seems that way to me too.

Finished last night as no one but St. Stephen has to suffer too awfully much. According to Wiki this book is by far the shortest of CD's novels(although ... "A Christmas Carol" was pretty short too), and was written for "business" reasons. I put it in the same general category as "Oliver Twist": it's okay ... it's nowhere near CD's best work, but it still provides an adequate diversion. Notes ...

- Bounderby the striver ... the capitalist ... the liar who fabricates a back story out of whole cloth to bolster his own mythology.

- Why the hate for the labor agitator?

- This book is somewhat padded. One G'reads reviewer correctly calls for stricter editor. Could've been up to 50 pagers shorter. Too much word-wind from the famous Mr. D.

- All that impenetrable Lancastrian yak from Stephen and lithping from Sleary get old fast(though the sad tale of Merrylegs[shades of Argos] is moving[especially if you're a dog lover] despite the lithping).

- Why so hard on the whelp? Is he made out to be a villain in service of CD's attack on the lad's "factual" upbringing?

- Tom hides out in the horse circus = shades of Frank Troy in "Far from the Madding Crowd."

- 3.25* rounds down to 3*.

I really enjoyed this. I think it was a great introduction to Charles Dickens as it was his first full-length novel I read. The language was witty and humorous, characters - interesting and well-developed. I also loved the idea of the novel which basically that our feelings and facies are an important part of us and should never be neglected.

My only criticism would be that I wanted the character of Sissi to be present on pages more and developed more and deeper. To me, she felt almost like a shadow next to all the other so well done characters and her figure in the book is actually very important and significant. But that would be my only problem.

All in all, I absolutely loved reading this book and would highly recommend it!

This is the second novel written by Dickens that I meanly give only three stars. The Dickens chemistry, his verve, and his charisma are not here.

Don't get me wrong - all the characters are typically his, as well as his pathos, his satire, and his WORDSMITHERY. Despite his typical Dickens features, it was one of the most unlikable novel - the characters were all detached from the me, and their inner world eluded me all the time. Their heartbeats, their desires, and their hopes that his characters usually wear on their sleeves were mysteriously and unfavorably missing.

The novel was cold - some of his characters were unreachable and unrelatable even on the level of rejection. Sometimes one relates to characters by simply hating their guts, and in this novel, I felt absolutely nothing.

I can not even pinpoint the reason of this emotional failure - the language was inventive and the imagery is highly original, the zeitgeist of the small industrial town is perfectly captured, the social issues are burning and their exploration is truly visionary, but the chemistry between this novel and me is nonexistent.

Sorry, Maestro.

Up to a point, it was an expected slack after the powerful and masterful gem of Bleak House. It happens to the best of us :-)

I have mixed feelings about Charles Dickens shortest novel, Hard Times. As a satire/social commentary of 19th Century English Industrialization, morality/ethics and utilitarianism (Phew!) it succeeds pretty well. As for straight up storytelling, I think it falls flat.
As a satire, tis a bit heavy-handed and smothers the lively, colorful characters Dickens is so great at creating. One of the characters, Stephen Blackpool, an honest factory worker and man of great integrity, speaks in a vernacular that is difficult to read at times, requiring extra effort. Mr Sleary, the lisping circus proprietor is almost as challenging to read.
I love Dickens, his magnificent prose and the characters he creates but in Hard Times its glaringly apparent that they serve his greater purpose by being caricatures of political/philosophical ideologies at extreme ends of the moral spectrum. 'Good' people are the poor hard working, honest people. 'Bad' people are the rich, immoral factory owners, bankers, etc. An overly simplistic view? But I imagine quite popular with his readership back in the day.
All of this would be fine if the story could rise above it, but none of the threads of the narrative went in any direction I wanted them to go and led to an unsatisfying result. Which ultimately makes for an unsatisfying read.
I ain't be dissing Dickens though; my rating is probably more a reflection of how it compares to some of his other novels which I just loved more..

Há, na pobreza, muita «riqueza». Livro após livro, Charles Dickens tenta mostrar-nos isso mesmo, evidenciando em simultâneo, e de forma tão sua, que podemos encontrar igualmente uma boa dose de «pobreza» na riqueza.

Em «Hard Times», Dickens traz-nos mais um excelente retrato de época, desta vez, dando ênfase ao desenvolvimento industrial e à pressão económica que este gerou. Como é habitual, guarneceu o livro com personagens cómicas/dramáticas, humildes/afogadas em «snobismo», sérias/trapaceiras, altruístas/egoístas, inocentes/bem sabidas - contrastes entre si mas todas elas excecionalmente bem caracterizadas, todas relevantes para a narrativa e todas únicas.

Através delas, Dickens mostra-nos o valor da honestidade, o possível antagonismo entre o que queremos e o que precisamos e como a perseguição dos nossos desejos nos pode levar a perder o que efetivamente nos faz falta; mas também como não nos podemos deixar guiar apenas pelos factos, pela razão, ignorando as ânsias do coração. Como se fossem marionetas, usa habilmente as suas personagens para transmitir pontos de vista; chama-nos na altura exacta para presenciarmos uma cena, encaminhando-nos para a próxima, e a próxima, pacientemente, de acordo com o seu objectivo, e depois, quando satisfeito, indica que nos afastemos para que estas personagens possam seguir com as suas vidas.

Acreditando na completa racionalização do ser humano, Thomas Gradgrind personifica o espírito da revolução industrial ao considerar as pessoas como máquinas; tudo deveria ter como base apenas os «factos», lógicos e verdadeiros. Assim, Gradgring acaba por educar os seus filhos de uma forma que mais tarde só os poderia levar ao fracasso pessoal, incapazes de reconhecer e expressar emoções, sem capacidae imaginativa. Louisa, a filha, não exibe sequer traços da feminilidade victoriana. Já Bounderby representa as oportunidades advindas das alterações sociais proporcionadas pela industrialização e capitalismo, subindo na vida a pulso, pelo seu próprio esforço, isto claro, se ele não fosse uma fraude! A eles juntam-se Mrs. Sparsit, uma aristocrata em declínio e Stephen um trabalhador que, apesar de todas as dificuldades, mantém a sua honestidade e integridade.

Aprecio muito o cuidado que Dickens teve com cada frase, obtendo do leitor a reacção e efeito desejados, dando-lhe crédito ao não ser demasiado óbvio. «Diz-nos» uma coisa mas deixa-nos entrever outra completamente diferente, permitindo-nos desenvolver opiniões próprias, antecipar acontecimentos e, assim, criar afeições.

O seu estilo muito próprio, reconhecível, permite que nos apeguemos não a um livro específico mas a toda a obra do autor, e até a ele próprio. Não conseguindo contrariar a minha imaginação, conjecturo-o sempre sentado a uma mesa de madeira, debruçado com afinco sobre uma série de folhas; as faces marcadas pelo tempo, o mesmo que lhe trouxe a preciosa sabedoria que anseia por partilhar connosco. Não consigo, de igual forma, contrariar o inexplicável carinho que sinto por este escritor.

Acredito que podemos avaliar a qualidade de um livro, em relação ao seu conteúdo, pelo tempo que poderíamos dissecá-lo em conversa - e, neste caso, a resposta é: muito tempo. Cada «E aquela parte em que…» nos levaria a uma nova discussão, também ela cheia de ramificações.

E é por isso que não me demoro mais: se tiverem a oportunidade de ler Dickens, por favor, façam-no.