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4.5
Ameeei, um dos melhores do ano até agora.
Ameeei, um dos melhores do ano até agora.
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Vanity Fair
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A novel that chronicles the lives of two women who could not be more different: Becky Sharp, an orphan whose only resources are her vast ambitions, her native wit, and her loose morals; and her schoolmate Amelia Sedley, a typically naive Victorian heroine, the pampered daughter of a wealthy family.
867 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,1847
This edition
- Format
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867 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 29, 2003 by Penguin Books
- ISBN
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9780141439839
- ASIN
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0141439831
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Amelia Sedley
From "Vanity Fair" by William Thackeray.more...
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Rebecca Sharp
From "Vanity Fair" by William Thackeray.more...
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William Dobbin
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George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne CH (born Gideon Oliver Osborne, 1971) is a former English politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government....
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Rawdon Crawley
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Jos Sedley
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About the author
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William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist, satirist, and journalist, best known for his keen social commentary and his novel Vanity Fair (1847–1848). His works often explored themes of ambition, hypocrisy, and the moral failings of British society, making him one of the most significant literary figures of the Victorian era.
Born in Calcutta, British India, he was sent to England for his education after his father's death. He attended Charterhouse School, where he developed a distaste for the rigid school system, and later enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, he left without earning a degree, instead traveling in Europe and pursuing artistic ambitions.
After losing much of his inheritance due to bad investments, Thackeray turned to writing for a living. He contributed satirical sketches, essays, and stories to periodicals such as Fraser's Magazine and Punch, gradually building a reputation for his sharp wit and keen observational skills. His breakthrough came with Vanity Fair, a panoramic satire of English society that introduced the enduring character of Becky Sharp, a resourceful and amoral social climber.
Thackeray's later novels, including Pendennis (1848–1850), The History of Henry Esmond (1852), and The Newcomes (1853–1855), continued to explore the lives of the English upper and middle classes, often focusing on the contrast between personal virtue and social ambition. His historical novel Henry Esmond was particularly praised for its detailed 18th-century setting and complex characterization.
In addition to his fiction, Thackeray was a noted public speaker and essayist, delivering lectures on the English humorists of the 18th century and on The Four Georges, a critical look at the British monarchy.
Despite his literary success, he lived with personal struggles, including the mental illness of his wife, Isabella, which deeply affected him. He remained devoted to his two daughters and was known for his kindness and generosity among his friends and colleagues.
His works remain widely read, appreciated for their incisive humor, rich characterizations, and unflinching critique of social pretensions.
Born in Calcutta, British India, he was sent to England for his education after his father's death. He attended Charterhouse School, where he developed a distaste for the rigid school system, and later enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, he left without earning a degree, instead traveling in Europe and pursuing artistic ambitions.
After losing much of his inheritance due to bad investments, Thackeray turned to writing for a living. He contributed satirical sketches, essays, and stories to periodicals such as Fraser's Magazine and Punch, gradually building a reputation for his sharp wit and keen observational skills. His breakthrough came with Vanity Fair, a panoramic satire of English society that introduced the enduring character of Becky Sharp, a resourceful and amoral social climber.
Thackeray's later novels, including Pendennis (1848–1850), The History of Henry Esmond (1852), and The Newcomes (1853–1855), continued to explore the lives of the English upper and middle classes, often focusing on the contrast between personal virtue and social ambition. His historical novel Henry Esmond was particularly praised for its detailed 18th-century setting and complex characterization.
In addition to his fiction, Thackeray was a noted public speaker and essayist, delivering lectures on the English humorists of the 18th century and on The Four Georges, a critical look at the British monarchy.
Despite his literary success, he lived with personal struggles, including the mental illness of his wife, Isabella, which deeply affected him. He remained devoted to his two daughters and was known for his kindness and generosity among his friends and colleagues.
His works remain widely read, appreciated for their incisive humor, rich characterizations, and unflinching critique of social pretensions.
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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 98 votes)
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Thackeray's opus is a wonder. Long, yes, but so very good in so many ways.
He's part Oscar Wilde, part Jonathan Swift, with a dash of Dickens, but all his own voice.
Since the story is so long and sprawling, I only jotted down a few notes on my impressions.
* He breaks the 4th wall, some times with savage glee, yanking it down making you look at yourself and the characters in a new light. Other times he does it with delicacy, sliding back the wall and making you feel like it's just him and you in the same room, both of you enjoying the wit and banter of this story, you his equal and friend.
* It's long. He wrote it in installments, and got paid by the pound. Okay, maybe not by the pound, but it was in his best interest to keep the story going. And so it goes on for a long time. However, I was never bored, never wanting to skip this chapter and get it over.
* Becky Sharp? Wicked, resourceful, likable and detestable. All too human, which is why I liked her, and deplored her. Brilliant dance of vagueness and ambiguity about how rotten she was, fantastic ending of her partial rise and questions of her motives. She is an archetype, some times playing the saint, other times playing Clytemnestra.
* The title. It's from "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. Vanity Fair sits out side the town Vanity on the path to heaven. Thackeray uses this motif to expose humanity's frailties and foibles.
* All of humanities weaknesses gently mocked, virtues decried as so much humbug and hypocrisy, upper class skewered under his pen and he kept going all the way down to the lower class now and then.
* Sometimes it feels like a morality play. Just a touch.
There is so much more to say, but I would never be able to do this book justice.
I strongly recommend this book. Yes, it's long, but you might just find a wonderful adventure among humanity in Vanity Fair.
He's part Oscar Wilde, part Jonathan Swift, with a dash of Dickens, but all his own voice.
Since the story is so long and sprawling, I only jotted down a few notes on my impressions.
* He breaks the 4th wall, some times with savage glee, yanking it down making you look at yourself and the characters in a new light. Other times he does it with delicacy, sliding back the wall and making you feel like it's just him and you in the same room, both of you enjoying the wit and banter of this story, you his equal and friend.
* It's long. He wrote it in installments, and got paid by the pound. Okay, maybe not by the pound, but it was in his best interest to keep the story going. And so it goes on for a long time. However, I was never bored, never wanting to skip this chapter and get it over.
* Becky Sharp? Wicked, resourceful, likable and detestable. All too human, which is why I liked her, and deplored her. Brilliant dance of vagueness and ambiguity about how rotten she was, fantastic ending of her partial rise and questions of her motives. She is an archetype, some times playing the saint, other times playing Clytemnestra.
* The title. It's from "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. Vanity Fair sits out side the town Vanity on the path to heaven. Thackeray uses this motif to expose humanity's frailties and foibles.
* All of humanities weaknesses gently mocked, virtues decried as so much humbug and hypocrisy, upper class skewered under his pen and he kept going all the way down to the lower class now and then.
* Sometimes it feels like a morality play. Just a touch.
There is so much more to say, but I would never be able to do this book justice.
I strongly recommend this book. Yes, it's long, but you might just find a wonderful adventure among humanity in Vanity Fair.
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Senryu Review:
Sprawling satire with
vicious wit and moral kicks
to the heart and head.
Sprawling satire with
vicious wit and moral kicks
to the heart and head.
...
Show More
.اِمی با اندوه گفت: کاش به من محبت پیدا میکردند. همیشه با من سرد بودند
جورج پاسخ داد: طفلکِ من، به تو هم اگر دویست هزار لیره داشتی، محبت پیدا میکردند. اینها را اینجور بار آوردهاند. جامعهٔ ما، جامعهٔ پول و پَله است. ما در میان صرافان و کَلهگُندههایِ بازارِ شهر زندگی میکنیم که لعنت بر همهشان باد و هرکس که با آدم حرف میزند صدای جرینگجرینگِ لیرههای جیبش
را درمیآورد
اولا
جائی خواندم، رمانِ "بازار خودفروشی"، این داستانِ بی قهرمان را، یکی از بیست رمانِ بزرگِ قرن 19اُم دانسته اَند، اکنون که مطالعه اَش را به پایان بُرده ام، بعید می دانم که ادعائی بی راه و گزافه باشد
نویسنده، "ویلیام تکری"، با نگاهی نقادانه به زندگیِ مُزورانه و بَزَک-دوزَکیِ بریتانیائیهایِ هم عصرش، که شخصیت هائی از طبقاتِ مختلفِ اجتماعی اَند، داستانِ زندگی دو زن را مبنایِ روایتَش قرار می دهد. یکی فَلک زَده اما آب زیرکاه والبته در اندیشه یِ در صَدر بودن و قَدر دیدن و آن دیگری، ساده دلی مهربان و مُرَفه که در مدرسه ای شبانه روزی با هم آشنا -اگر نگوئیم یک روح در دو بدن- شده اند. ابزارِ اصلیِ تکری در ساختنِ این یاوه بازار، تغییر و تبدیلِ روزگارِ این دو زن است که ضمنِ آمدن و رفتنِ گاه و بی گاهِ شخصیت هایِ دیگر، جذابیتی دوچندان می یابد. این دو "آملیا" و "ربکا" هستند
دوم
الف: سبکِ ترجمه یِ "منوچهر بدیعی" در این کتاب، از لحاظِ بهره بردن از نسخه نسبتاََ به روز و قابلِ فهمی از فارسیِ قَجری، با ترجمه دریابندری از "بازمانده روز" مشابه است
ب: ترجمه دوست داشتنیِ بدیعی پُر بود از عباراتِ زیبا و ناشنیده یِ فارسی که گرچه خواندنش دلنشین بود اما یاد سپردنش، البته سخت
ج: بدیعی در مقدمه ای ارزشمند، ضمن اشاره به عبارت "یاوه بازار"، با استدلالاتی مقبول و با عنایت به بیتِ زیر از حافظ، عنوان برازنده یِ "بازارخودفروشی" را به سایر مواردِ متصور ترجیح می دهد
در کویِ ما شکسته دلی خَرند و بَس /// بازارِ خودفروشی از آن سویِ دیگر است
سوم
تاریک روشنِ بازارِ "خودفروشی"، برایِ خواننده اَش، نَه یک چاله و چاه، که مَغاکی است هَم تاریک و خَلسه آور، هَم روشن و دوس داشتنی!. متنِ سخت خوانِ رمان، گاهی خواننده را -هر قدر هم که بلحاظِ عادت مطالعه، منظم و سخت جان باشد-، به زمین گذاشتنِ کتاب و دوری جستن از "تکری" می خواند، آنهَم نَه یک ساعت و یک روز بلکه گاهاََ چند روز. بعنوانِ نمونه، برای خودِ من، برآوردِ هفت تا 10 روزه برایِ اتمامِ رمان، عملاََ به یک ماهِ تمام رسید. شایان ذکرست که جاذبه و دافعه یِ توصیفاتِ خُردکننده یِ تکری از جلوه فروشی هایِ تفاخرگونه و نمایشی، چنان مایه و پایه درستی دارد که در عیب جوئی، هیچَش نَتوان گفت اِلا سکوت
رخصت دهید مثالی بیاورم. کیست که به "اورست"، این دست نَیافتنی ترین خاکِ عالم برایِ آدمیان صعود کند و در خاطره گوئی اَش، توصیفاتِ دل انگیز از شعفِ نیل به قله را وانَهد و از اِفلاس و جان کَندن هایِ کوهپایه ها نوحه سرایی آغازَد؟!. تکری اما، در بازارِ خودفروشی اَش، راهی دیگر در پیش می گیرد. اگر که از کوهپایه هایِ سخت گذرِ توصیفاتِ تکان دهنده و مواجهه با سوال هایِ گاه و بی گاهِ تکری از وجدانِ خواننده بِسلامت بگذرید و نگاهی به پشتِ دُکانِ کاسبانِ پرشمارِ بی روی و چشمِ بازارِ خودفروشی بیندازید، آنگاه همچو خریداری دقیق، از لابلایِ 846 صفحه -که هر صفحه اَش یک دُکان از بازار خودفروشی است- به قُله خواهید رسید
!و چه سخت است این، هَم اگرکه حاصل شود، چه شیرین
چهارم
در این رمان که به روشی بیشتر شبیهِ "دانایِ کُل" روایت شده، نویسنده، گهگاه سوالاتی با مَطلعِ n "کیست که نداند / نتواند..."n، می
پرسد که هدفش را می توان خواندنِ مخاطب به عرصه یِ مَحکِ ریاکاریِ خویشتنِ خویش در معرکه یِ بازار خودفروشی دانست و بَس
در پایانِ ریویو، چند نمونه از این دست را -از متن کتاب-، پیشکشِ نگاهتان می کنم
مگر در زندگیِ هَمگان فصلهایِ کوتاهی وجود ندارد که ظاهراََ چیزی به نظر نمی رسند اما در بقیه زندگیِ آنان اثر می گذارد؟
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پس ای بانوانِ جوان!، محتاط و به بِهوش باشید که چگونه دل می بندید. چنان به خانه شوهر روید که در فرانسه می روند. در آنجا حقوق دانان ساقدوش و ینگه عروس و داماد هستند. عهدی مَبندید که به وقتِ ضرورت نَتوانید بر آن چیره شوید. در بازار خودفروشی راهِ حُرمت دیدن و فضیلت یافتن همین است
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فقط زنها می توانند این گونه زخم بزنند. نوکِ تیرهایِ کوچکِ آنان به زهری آلوده است که هزاران بار بیش تر از شمشیرِ مردان کارگر می افتد
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نمی دانم آیا اینکه مردمان، شجاعت را تا بدین اندازه می ستایند ، بِدان سبب است که در نهان بُزدل هستند؟
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فلان عضوِ شورایِ ولایتی که از ضیافتِ بوقلمون می آید، دیگر از کالسکه اش پایین نمی پَرد تا رانِ گوسفندی بِدُزدد، اما همین آدم را گرسنگی بدهید، می بینید که از کِش رفتنِ یک قرصِ نان هم ابایی ندارد
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هر مردمآزاری، صرفاً به حکم عقل و منطق، ناگزیر است که خباثتِ مردِ از اسب اُفتاده را ثابت کند – وگرنَه بَدطینتی خود را ثابت کرده است
لینکِ مقاله فرج سرکوهی درباره رمان بازار خودفروشی در کافه بوک
https://kafebook.ir/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B...
لینکِ مقاله یِ رادیو فردا درباره رمان بازار خودفروشی
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f3_weekl...
جورج پاسخ داد: طفلکِ من، به تو هم اگر دویست هزار لیره داشتی، محبت پیدا میکردند. اینها را اینجور بار آوردهاند. جامعهٔ ما، جامعهٔ پول و پَله است. ما در میان صرافان و کَلهگُندههایِ بازارِ شهر زندگی میکنیم که لعنت بر همهشان باد و هرکس که با آدم حرف میزند صدای جرینگجرینگِ لیرههای جیبش
را درمیآورد
اولا
جائی خواندم، رمانِ "بازار خودفروشی"، این داستانِ بی قهرمان را، یکی از بیست رمانِ بزرگِ قرن 19اُم دانسته اَند، اکنون که مطالعه اَش را به پایان بُرده ام، بعید می دانم که ادعائی بی راه و گزافه باشد
نویسنده، "ویلیام تکری"، با نگاهی نقادانه به زندگیِ مُزورانه و بَزَک-دوزَکیِ بریتانیائیهایِ هم عصرش، که شخصیت هائی از طبقاتِ مختلفِ اجتماعی اَند، داستانِ زندگی دو زن را مبنایِ روایتَش قرار می دهد. یکی فَلک زَده اما آب زیرکاه والبته در اندیشه یِ در صَدر بودن و قَدر دیدن و آن دیگری، ساده دلی مهربان و مُرَفه که در مدرسه ای شبانه روزی با هم آشنا -اگر نگوئیم یک روح در دو بدن- شده اند. ابزارِ اصلیِ تکری در ساختنِ این یاوه بازار، تغییر و تبدیلِ روزگارِ این دو زن است که ضمنِ آمدن و رفتنِ گاه و بی گاهِ شخصیت هایِ دیگر، جذابیتی دوچندان می یابد. این دو "آملیا" و "ربکا" هستند
دوم
الف: سبکِ ترجمه یِ "منوچهر بدیعی" در این کتاب، از لحاظِ بهره بردن از نسخه نسبتاََ به روز و قابلِ فهمی از فارسیِ قَجری، با ترجمه دریابندری از "بازمانده روز" مشابه است
ب: ترجمه دوست داشتنیِ بدیعی پُر بود از عباراتِ زیبا و ناشنیده یِ فارسی که گرچه خواندنش دلنشین بود اما یاد سپردنش، البته سخت
ج: بدیعی در مقدمه ای ارزشمند، ضمن اشاره به عبارت "یاوه بازار"، با استدلالاتی مقبول و با عنایت به بیتِ زیر از حافظ، عنوان برازنده یِ "بازارخودفروشی" را به سایر مواردِ متصور ترجیح می دهد
در کویِ ما شکسته دلی خَرند و بَس /// بازارِ خودفروشی از آن سویِ دیگر است
سوم
تاریک روشنِ بازارِ "خودفروشی"، برایِ خواننده اَش، نَه یک چاله و چاه، که مَغاکی است هَم تاریک و خَلسه آور، هَم روشن و دوس داشتنی!. متنِ سخت خوانِ رمان، گاهی خواننده را -هر قدر هم که بلحاظِ عادت مطالعه، منظم و سخت جان باشد-، به زمین گذاشتنِ کتاب و دوری جستن از "تکری" می خواند، آنهَم نَه یک ساعت و یک روز بلکه گاهاََ چند روز. بعنوانِ نمونه، برای خودِ من، برآوردِ هفت تا 10 روزه برایِ اتمامِ رمان، عملاََ به یک ماهِ تمام رسید. شایان ذکرست که جاذبه و دافعه یِ توصیفاتِ خُردکننده یِ تکری از جلوه فروشی هایِ تفاخرگونه و نمایشی، چنان مایه و پایه درستی دارد که در عیب جوئی، هیچَش نَتوان گفت اِلا سکوت
رخصت دهید مثالی بیاورم. کیست که به "اورست"، این دست نَیافتنی ترین خاکِ عالم برایِ آدمیان صعود کند و در خاطره گوئی اَش، توصیفاتِ دل انگیز از شعفِ نیل به قله را وانَهد و از اِفلاس و جان کَندن هایِ کوهپایه ها نوحه سرایی آغازَد؟!. تکری اما، در بازارِ خودفروشی اَش، راهی دیگر در پیش می گیرد. اگر که از کوهپایه هایِ سخت گذرِ توصیفاتِ تکان دهنده و مواجهه با سوال هایِ گاه و بی گاهِ تکری از وجدانِ خواننده بِسلامت بگذرید و نگاهی به پشتِ دُکانِ کاسبانِ پرشمارِ بی روی و چشمِ بازارِ خودفروشی بیندازید، آنگاه همچو خریداری دقیق، از لابلایِ 846 صفحه -که هر صفحه اَش یک دُکان از بازار خودفروشی است- به قُله خواهید رسید
!و چه سخت است این، هَم اگرکه حاصل شود، چه شیرین
چهارم
در این رمان که به روشی بیشتر شبیهِ "دانایِ کُل" روایت شده، نویسنده، گهگاه سوالاتی با مَطلعِ n "کیست که نداند / نتواند..."n، می
پرسد که هدفش را می توان خواندنِ مخاطب به عرصه یِ مَحکِ ریاکاریِ خویشتنِ خویش در معرکه یِ بازار خودفروشی دانست و بَس
در پایانِ ریویو، چند نمونه از این دست را -از متن کتاب-، پیشکشِ نگاهتان می کنم
مگر در زندگیِ هَمگان فصلهایِ کوتاهی وجود ندارد که ظاهراََ چیزی به نظر نمی رسند اما در بقیه زندگیِ آنان اثر می گذارد؟
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پس ای بانوانِ جوان!، محتاط و به بِهوش باشید که چگونه دل می بندید. چنان به خانه شوهر روید که در فرانسه می روند. در آنجا حقوق دانان ساقدوش و ینگه عروس و داماد هستند. عهدی مَبندید که به وقتِ ضرورت نَتوانید بر آن چیره شوید. در بازار خودفروشی راهِ حُرمت دیدن و فضیلت یافتن همین است
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فقط زنها می توانند این گونه زخم بزنند. نوکِ تیرهایِ کوچکِ آنان به زهری آلوده است که هزاران بار بیش تر از شمشیرِ مردان کارگر می افتد
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نمی دانم آیا اینکه مردمان، شجاعت را تا بدین اندازه می ستایند ، بِدان سبب است که در نهان بُزدل هستند؟
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فلان عضوِ شورایِ ولایتی که از ضیافتِ بوقلمون می آید، دیگر از کالسکه اش پایین نمی پَرد تا رانِ گوسفندی بِدُزدد، اما همین آدم را گرسنگی بدهید، می بینید که از کِش رفتنِ یک قرصِ نان هم ابایی ندارد
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هر مردمآزاری، صرفاً به حکم عقل و منطق، ناگزیر است که خباثتِ مردِ از اسب اُفتاده را ثابت کند – وگرنَه بَدطینتی خود را ثابت کرده است
لینکِ مقاله فرج سرکوهی درباره رمان بازار خودفروشی در کافه بوک
https://kafebook.ir/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B...
لینکِ مقاله یِ رادیو فردا درباره رمان بازار خودفروشی
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f3_weekl...
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"Ah! Vanitas vanitatem! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? Or having it, is satisfied?"
And so ends VANITY FAIR. Thackeray's purpose seems to be to expose the universal condition of vanity and, to achieve it, he takes his two female characters, Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp, and uses them to explore and expose the workings of vanity. Amelia will be used for the private sphere (home and affections) and Becky, for the public sphere (social climbing and social status).
In my opinion, the problem of this novel is its narrator. Thackeray once defined the novel as a "sort of confidential talk between writer and reader." Well, I feel that there is simply too much of this kind of talk. The narrator is annoyingly intrusive and not only that, his voice is somewhat puzzling. Sometimes he plays the fool, at other times he plays the preacher. He can be a man of the world and also cloyingly sentimental. And he is very repetitive. He underlines a point already made absolutely clear, or he illustrates his point in several ways and, if he thinks this is not quite enough, he will point its moral. His extended musings produce breaks in the continuity of the novel and for this reason, I found that the novel dragged for ever. Undoubtedly, Thackeray can be a bore.
However, some interesting things happen as well. The remarkable thing about VANITY FAIR'S moral universe is that good does not triumph over evil. This doesn't happen often in the English nineteenth century novel. Sexual forces (rather than money) are the real determinants of the action and this points to the idea that deferential attitudes towards women, the sentimental idealisation of women, the protective masculine displays towards women are merely hypocrisies. This was true in Victorian England and surely it still holds some truth in Western culture today.
So if you are a patient reader, able to bear the garrulous narrating voice, you will find an unusual satirical novel which describes a panorama of life in Victorian England with irony and wit.
And so ends VANITY FAIR. Thackeray's purpose seems to be to expose the universal condition of vanity and, to achieve it, he takes his two female characters, Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp, and uses them to explore and expose the workings of vanity. Amelia will be used for the private sphere (home and affections) and Becky, for the public sphere (social climbing and social status).
In my opinion, the problem of this novel is its narrator. Thackeray once defined the novel as a "sort of confidential talk between writer and reader." Well, I feel that there is simply too much of this kind of talk. The narrator is annoyingly intrusive and not only that, his voice is somewhat puzzling. Sometimes he plays the fool, at other times he plays the preacher. He can be a man of the world and also cloyingly sentimental. And he is very repetitive. He underlines a point already made absolutely clear, or he illustrates his point in several ways and, if he thinks this is not quite enough, he will point its moral. His extended musings produce breaks in the continuity of the novel and for this reason, I found that the novel dragged for ever. Undoubtedly, Thackeray can be a bore.
However, some interesting things happen as well. The remarkable thing about VANITY FAIR'S moral universe is that good does not triumph over evil. This doesn't happen often in the English nineteenth century novel. Sexual forces (rather than money) are the real determinants of the action and this points to the idea that deferential attitudes towards women, the sentimental idealisation of women, the protective masculine displays towards women are merely hypocrisies. This was true in Victorian England and surely it still holds some truth in Western culture today.
So if you are a patient reader, able to bear the garrulous narrating voice, you will find an unusual satirical novel which describes a panorama of life in Victorian England with irony and wit.
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Make sure that you read William Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair in public, not in the hope that someone may spot you reading a classic, but so that you may see the characters of this wonderfully perceptive (and prophetic) novel wandering about in the flesh. Vanity Fair is populated not by characters but by real people and thus, will never date.
Thackeray is masterful, he allows his characters the freedom to do as they please; they are autonomous and must make decisions on their own, as must we all. Some choose poorly, and yet succeed. Some choose well and yet are rewarded by misfortune. Some grab and grumble, some laugh and give, some believe they are masters of their own destinies while some are cut down in their prime.
In Vanity Fair Thackeray has captured humanity in the raw - just after getting out of bed and before our first cup of coffee. You will delight in discovering people you know in its pages. You may smile when they reveal themselves as cads, you may cry when those who deserve better are treated cruelly and you may laugh when the frauds get their comeuppance.
But be warned, read Vanity Fair and enjoy the show, but know that somewhere within is pages lurks a soul much like your own, and when you least expect it, maybe when you’re laughing hardest at the foibles of another, you will recognise yourself and be silenced.
For whether you know it or not, we all live in the pages of Vanity Fair.
Thackeray is masterful, he allows his characters the freedom to do as they please; they are autonomous and must make decisions on their own, as must we all. Some choose poorly, and yet succeed. Some choose well and yet are rewarded by misfortune. Some grab and grumble, some laugh and give, some believe they are masters of their own destinies while some are cut down in their prime.
In Vanity Fair Thackeray has captured humanity in the raw - just after getting out of bed and before our first cup of coffee. You will delight in discovering people you know in its pages. You may smile when they reveal themselves as cads, you may cry when those who deserve better are treated cruelly and you may laugh when the frauds get their comeuppance.
But be warned, read Vanity Fair and enjoy the show, but know that somewhere within is pages lurks a soul much like your own, and when you least expect it, maybe when you’re laughing hardest at the foibles of another, you will recognise yourself and be silenced.
For whether you know it or not, we all live in the pages of Vanity Fair.
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The author makes his presence known towards the end of the book. It was both eerie and uncanny. He kept breaking the fourth wall, then he conjured that apparition of his in one of the last chapters.
Vanity Fair contains no real heroes. That was a fact that Thackeray himself stated, and who am I to dispute that. This book of his is quite droll in its stitching together. There is a threat of a continuum, then everything is put back into question.
Classics are a strange beast. With them, I feel attachment like it's the result of Stockholm Syndrome. My delight at finishing these Mesozoic beasts is unique to the genre. Long may it continue.
Vanity Fair contains no real heroes. That was a fact that Thackeray himself stated, and who am I to dispute that. This book of his is quite droll in its stitching together. There is a threat of a continuum, then everything is put back into question.
Classics are a strange beast. With them, I feel attachment like it's the result of Stockholm Syndrome. My delight at finishing these Mesozoic beasts is unique to the genre. Long may it continue.
...
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DNF na 150 stron przed końcem.
Wrzuciła mnie w zastój czytelniczy. Raczej nigdy do niej nie wrócę.
2,5/5
Wrzuciła mnie w zastój czytelniczy. Raczej nigdy do niej nie wrócę.
2,5/5
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